Lived experience can teach more than the person who has been through it. It can also help others navigate similar challenges.

That belief has shaped Dr. Masica Jordan's career and her work to change how counselors, educators and communities approach recovery.

Jordan, an associate professor in Bowie State University's Department of Counseling & Psychological Studies, studies culturally responsive peer recovery, which combines professional training with insights from people who have experienced addiction, trauma, incarceration and other life-altering challenges.

Her connection to this work is personal. Her father struggled with substance use, and Jordan spent parts of her childhood in environments where addiction, violence and trauma were common. Her mother, a longtime police officer, also introduced her to a community of professionals and showed her another vision of what her future could hold.

Those contrasting experiences led Jordan to think about children facing similar circumstances and how she could help them.

At Bowie State, Jordan studied sociology and criminal justice while considering careers in psychology and juvenile defense law. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2003.

"I wanted to help children who may have had a childhood like mine," she said. "I'd lived it; I'd experienced so much. I thought, let me go help other people."

A scholarship to study counseling psychology at Bowie State helped Jordan clarify her career path. She earned a master's degree in counseling psychology from Bowie State in 2005 and a doctorate from Argosy University in 2010. Her career in behavioral health, education and recovery eventually brought her back to Bowie State as a faculty member.

Before joining the university's faculty, Jordan held a leadership role at a Maryland recovery organization where men participated in a yearlong residential program. Participants who had successfully navigated their own recovery received training to support others entering the program.

Jordan saw the value of these peer relationships. When Maryland began developing a credential for peer recovery specialists, she recognized a gap: The training she believed these specialists needed did not exist. So she developed it herself.

The culturally responsive peer recovery training program she created has since expanded throughout Maryland and beyond. Its approach challenges assumptions about who experiences addiction and who has the expertise to help people recover.

"In many recovery programs, we're missing the person who actually lived through it. We're missing the opportunity to train them and send them back to help others," Jordan said.

Jordan went on to found Jordan Peer Recovery, where she serves as CEO. Its workforce development and professional training initiatives have trained more than 5,000 people in peer recovery, behavioral health and emerging workforce fields. The organization has also helped more than 50 organizations in three countries develop clinical, culturally responsive, trauma-responsive and evidence-based programs.

The work has earned national recognition. Its peer recovery curricula have received approval from credentialing organizations including NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium. In 2019, Jordan provided expert testimony to the U.S. Government Accountability Office on peer recovery and technology-based solutions to the opioid epidemic. In 2022, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recognized her culturally responsive workforce development approach among the top 10% of recovery innovations in America.

For Jordan, the work extends beyond training individuals. "We are building sustainable workforce ecosystems that help people translate lived experience into professional expertise, economic opportunity and community transformation," she said.

Jordan sees opportunities to apply peer support beyond substance use, including helping people rebuild their lives after incarceration and trauma. She also believes college campuses could benefit from this approach.

As a resident assistant at Bowie State, Jordan encountered students who were struggling but had not yet sought formal help. That experience shaped her belief that peers and campus staff who interact with students daily can provide early support when equipped with appropriate training and resources.

Jordan brings that emphasis on practical experience into her teaching. Students in her counseling and psychology courses participate in professional development activities and specialized training beyond their regular coursework. Practicums and internships allow them to apply their knowledge in professional settings, with placements aligned with their career interests.

"If you say you're interested in helping a certain population, we work to get you into the training that you need now," Jordan said. "Not when you graduate, but now."

Her teaching philosophy also reflects her experience as a Bowie State student. She remembers professors who invested in her ambitions, challenged her thinking and expected her to use her education for something larger than earning a credential. She now brings those expectations to her own students.

As an alumna now teaching at her alma mater, Jordan considers it especially meaningful to help develop the next generation of counselors, behavioral health professionals and community leaders.

"My educational journey at Bowie State helped establish the foundation for the work I now have the privilege of leading nationally and internationally," she said.

Jordan's commitment to creating opportunities extends beyond counseling and recovery to economic mobility for people affected by the justice system. She views entrepreneurship as another way to rebuild lives and create opportunities for others.

Through her involvement with Black Wall Street AVL, a nonprofit business incubator and community hub supporting Black entrepreneurs, Jordan has worked with formerly incarcerated people pursuing business ownership. She also helped establish a graduate chapter of the organization at Bowie State to introduce students to entrepreneurship before they leave campus.

"You don't have to wait till you graduate to become a business owner," Jordan said. "There's so much that they can do. They just need to be given tools."

For Jordan, those tools take different forms depending on a person's circumstances. Her work reflects a consistent belief: Experience can become more than something a person survives. With the right training, relationships and opportunities, it can become a resource for helping someone else move forward.