Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds
I’ve got more than 35 years worth of public service experience and currently serve as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Family and Children’s Association, based in Garden City, NY. Since it began as an orphanage 139 years ago, Family and Children’s Association (FCA) has been committed to caring for Long Island’s vulnerable children, youth and families while helping them prepare for successful futures. We offer community-based programs for struggling families, at-risk adolescents, vulnerable seniors, and adults challenged by substance abuse. Today, FCA is one of Long Island’s largest health and human organizations with an annual budget of $25 million, 360 staff, 200 volunteers and 40+ programs. FCA has consistently been named one of Long Island’s top places to work.
From 2009-2014, I was privileged to serve as Executive Director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD). With offices in Westbury, Holbrook and Riverhead, LICADD provides substance abuse screenings, brief interventions and referrals to addiction treatment, as well as professionally-facilitated family interventions, relapse prevention programs and anger management services to adults and adolescents. Under my leadership, LICADD pioneered the launch of “Too Good for Drugs," an evidence-based K-12 substance abuse prevention program in several Long Island schools, initiated a new mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents and expanded LICADD’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). During my tenure, LICADD’s revenues tripled and the number of families served per month increased nine-fold.
Fighting the Opioid Crisis
Prior to joining the LICADD team, I worked for the Long Island Association for AIDS Care (LIAAC) for 19 years, where I started out doing case management and finished my tenure as Vice President for Public Affairs, responsible for government relations, resource development, strategic marketing, and communications. In 1997, I co-founded BiasHELP of Long Island, an organization dedicated to assisting victims of hate crimes and their families. As BiasHELP’s Chief Operating Officer, I secured federal, state and local grants and launched a wide array of crime victim assistance services and school-based violence prevention programs.
I chaired Suffolk County's first Heroin/Opiate Epidemic Advisory Panel, I’m on the Executive Committee of the Nassau County Heroin Prevention Task Force and serve as co-chair of Suffolk County’s Sober Home Oversight Board. I have served as Chair of the Nassau County Youth Board, appointed by the Nassau County Executive and serve on Suffolk County’s Welfare to Work Commission. I remain the longest serving member of the NYS AIDS Advisory Council, first appointed by the NYS Senate Majority Leader in 1994 and reappointed four times since then, where I remain Vice Chair. In 2016, I was appointed by the NYS Governor to serve on New York’s Heroin and Opioids Task Force and I currently co-chair the Huntington Town Opiate Task Force. I serve on the Nassau County Family Violence Task Force and co-chaired Nassau County’s Nonprofit Task Force. I've also served on the Transition Team for former Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and the current Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. In August, 2018, I was appointed to serve on a task force to draft legislation to create New York’s Adult-Used Regulated Marijuana Program. I also serve on the board of directors of Lightning Warriors, a nonprofit youth triathlon team, the board of the New York State Council for Community Behavioral Health Care and the Board of the Long Island Association.
I have served as a consultant and grant reviewer for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), am a TEDx speaker and a frequent presenter at local, statewide and national health and human service conferences.
More than 350 news and op-ed articles
I have authored more than 350 news and op-ed articles that have appeared in a wide variety of publications and am consistently used as an expert source for mental health, addiction, HIV/AIDS and human/civil rights information by local and national radio, television, print and online outlets. Some of my recent press appearances are linked here.
I have been fortunate to receive numerous awards for my community service, business acumen and leadership and was named one of the “50 most influential Long Islanders” each year between 2010 and 2024 by the Long Island Press. I was honored by the Simple Hope Foundation for my efforts to prevent drunk driving and I have received the Distinguished Professional Award from Caron Treatment Centers. In December 2013, I was named “Man of the Year” by The Times of Smithtown and since 2016, have received awards from the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, STRONG Youth, Mainstream House and the Long Island Recovery Association (LIRA). In 2017, I received the Outstanding Nonprofit Association Executive Award from the New York Society of Association Executives. In 2020, I received an Executive Circle Award from Long Island Business News, was inducted into the Long Island Business Hall of Fame at Hofstra University and was named one of the Top Business Leaders of 2020 by Blank Slate Media. In 2022, I received a Long Island Excellence in Healthcare Award from Herald Newspapers, the "Hero of Hope" award from CN Guidance & Counseling and the Gone But Not Forgotten Award from the Mental Health Association of Nassau County. In May 2023, I was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on Mental Wellbeing at NatCon 2023 in Los Angeles. This year I was humbled to receive a 2024 Moxy Award that recognized my commitment to advancing the careers of women and the Long Island Business News Corporate Citizenship Award for nonprofit leadership.
I hold a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Dowling College, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) with a specialization in health administration from Long Island University and a doctorate from Stony Brook University’s School of Social Welfare. My doctoral dissertation focused on the how people change health-related behaviors and I have lectured at Stony Brook University and Long Island University. I am also a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) and a graduate of the Energeia Partnership, a regional leadership academy run by Molloy College.
In addition to my work in the nonprofit health and human space, I founded AmericanFlags.com in 2001, bootstrapping the e-commerce retailer to become the world's largest supplier of American flags and patriotic memorabilia until I sold the company in August 2022. At the same time, I founded Causation, a New York-based publisher of health, mental health, and wellness content.
I’m an avid runner, having completed my first 5K in October, 2010. Since then, I have competed in dozens of road races and completed the Long Island Marathon four times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), the 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022 New York City Marathons, the Suffolk County Marathon (2015), the Steamtown Marathon (2014, 2018) and the Philadelphia Marathon (2016). Since 2013, I have also completed 30 triathlons including the olympic-distance New York City Triathlon three times, six Ironman 70.3 mile races (Atlantic City, 2016 & 2017; Maryland, 2017, 2018 & 2019; Maine, 2021) and a full 140.6 mile Ironman (Florida, 2021).
In May of 2022, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and in July of that year, I underwent surgery that so far seems to have been successful. In August, 2023, I was diagnosed with a second cancer - Stage 3B colorectal cancer - and in March 2024, I completed an extensive radiation/chemo treatment regimen as part of an ongoing clinical trial. I've opted to share the details of my diagnosis, treatment and recovery publicly so as to guide and support others with, or at risk for cancers, along with their caregivers.