About the President

            Howard Josepher, LCSW, is the founder and president of Exponents, a minority led, community-based organization in New York City helping people struggling with substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and reentry to the community after incarceration. Mr. Josepher’s programs focus on the health and mental health needs of participants, providing self-management skills to prevent chronic conditions from becoming more acute and requiring a higher and more expensive level of care. His organization offers an array of services offered through 11 different programs including out-patient drug treatment; transition planning from prison and re-entry services; HIV testing and counseling; and a recovery and wellness support center.

            In 1988, Mr. Josepher created ARRIVE, one of the first HIV/AIDS programs in the country for injecting drug users. The program, which began in a church basement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, pioneered the use of harm reduction practices and utilization of peer educators. As of April 2011, the ARRIVE program has more than 9,500 graduates, all of whom attended voluntarily. The ARRIVE model has been recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) as an evidence based, best practices model for working with individuals in the criminal justice system

            As an outspoken recovery advocate, Mr. Josepher has served on the New York City Department of Correction’s (DOC) Task Force, NYC HIV Planning Council, NYC DoHMH, Mental Hygiene Advisory Council, is a past chairman of the Substance Abuse Committee of NYC’s HIV Prevention Planning Group and is a member of the NYS, OASAS Recovery Implementation Team. He is a past recipient of the National Association of Social Workers’ Diego Lopez Award for his work with HIV/AIDS patients. Mr. Josepher is a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a recovering person, having overcome his own addiction to drugs many years ago.