Board Member

About The J Healthcare Initiative

The J Healthcare Initiative is a Canadian registered non-profit organization on a mission to prevent overdoses through community- and evidence-based initiatives that uplift youth in our local communities. As we expand our operations into the United States, we are establishing our inaugural US Founding Board to build strong community-based, evidence-based overdose prevention initiatives while expanding opportunities to local youth to be involved in solving the overdose crisis.

Role Overview

We are seeking visionary, dedicated leaders based in the US to serve as Founding Board Members for our expansion into the United States. As a founding board member, you will provide vital governance, strategic direction, and leadership to establish our US presence, forge key partnerships, and drive initiatives across New York and nationally.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Governance & Expansion: Guide the organizational setup, strategic growth, and governance of The J Healthcare Initiative’s US branch, ensuring alignment with our core mission and harm-reduction principles.
• Fiduciary & Governance: Oversee financial health, regulatory compliance, and organizational accountability as we scale our operations in the United States.
• Public Relations: Serve as an organizational ambassador, building relationships with US policymakers, public health experts, and community leaders to advance overdose prevention initiatives.
• Resource Mobilization & Fundraising: Support donor cultivation, grant identification, and financial sustainability efforts to fuel our US based programs.
• Community Uplift: Ensure our US initiatives remain deeply grounded in community needs, centering the voices of youth and individuals with lived or living experiences with mental health and substance use.

Qualifications

• Location: Must be US based to participate in local governance and in-person founding sessions.
• Expertise: Demonstrated prior leadership experience in public health, non-profit management, finance, or clinical medicine (addiction medicine, community health, nursing, etc.).
• Core Values: Unwavering commitment to full-spectrum harm reduction substance use health and health equity.
• Assets: Lived or living experience with substance use or deep roots in underserved New York communities is highly valued.

Commitment & Terms

• Time Commitment: Approximately 3–5 hours per month, including monthly board meetings and strategic committee work.
• Term: Initial 2-year term as a founding board member.

How to Apply

Please send your resume or professional bio, along with a brief statement of interest detailing your vision for our US expansion, to volunteer@j-initiative.org with the subject line "US Founding Board

Member Application."

The J Healthcare Initiative strongly encourages applications from people with lived/living experience of substance use and underserved populations.