Dr. Haner Hernández

Dr. Hernández is from Borikén (Puerto Rico), fluent in Spanish and English, and lives in Massachusetts.  With more than 36 years of experience in planning, implementing, and evaluating Substance Use Disorder, Mental Health, HIV/AIDS, HCV, Problem Gambling, and related services, Dr. Hernandez leads with a social justice lens and approach grounded in eliminating disparities and building equity.  As a public health professional, with experience across the continuum, he embraces and promotes a greater understanding of the Structural Determinants of Health (SDOH) approach, coupled with implementing multiple strategies over multiple domains.  Dr. Hernandez also believes that quality public health work cannot be accomplished without true partnerships and engagement with people with lived and living experiences, their families, and formal and meaningful relationships with community based organizations and institutions. 

Dr. Hernandez has served as a consultant to a wide range of organizations and institutions funded by federal, state, and local sources, including the Prevention, Addiction, and Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers, the Opioid Response Network, and other National Technical Assistance Centers located through the US. In this capacity he delivers tailored technical assistance, capacity building, and training to people in the front lines of service delivery, as well as those in leadership and senior management roles.  Currently, Dr. Hernandez is Chief of Public Health at New North Citizens’ Council in MA, serves as Senior Consultant at the Addiction Technology Transfer Center at Brown University, is a member of the Steering Committee of the National Peer Recovery Center of Excellence, and is on the Advisory Board of the National Hispanic and Latino Behavioral Health Center of Excellence.  He also teaches at the New England Schools of Prevention and Addiction Studies and the Best Practices School and is President of the Massachusetts Addiction Counselor Certification Board. 

As a person in long-terms recovery, Haner is committed to uplifting the voices of people in recovery and wellness processes and works tirelessly creating equitable and meaningful access and quality of care to the entire Public Health Continuum, which includes Prevention, Intervention, The Multiple Pathways of Recovery, including Treatment, and Recovery Supports.