SWAGÊÓƵ

Napoleon, ND—The NBCC Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), recently selected Heather L. Moser, of Napoleon, North Dakota, for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program for Addictions Counselors (MFP-AC). As an NBCC MFP-AC Fellow, Moser will receive funding and training to support her education and facilitate her addictions counseling service to underserved populations.

The NBCC MFP-AC is made possible by a grant awarded to the NBCC Foundation in collaboration with the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The NBCC Foundation administers the MFP-AC, including training and collaboration activities, such as , that are open to all board certified counselors. The goal of the program is to reduce health disparities and improve behavioral health care outcomes for racially and ethnically diverse populations by increasing the available number of culturally competent behavioral health professionals.

The NBCC Foundation will distribute $15,000 to Moser and the other 39 master’s-level addictions counseling students selected to receive the fellowship award. Moser is both a graduate of and currently a master’s student at the University of Mary in the addiction counseling program. Upon graduation, Moser intends to work with youth and adults who are living in rural areas where mental health and addiction services are generally lacking. This fellowship will allow Moser to further her education by attending counseling conferences that will help her establish a stronger professional identity as a counselor. It will also allow her to learn better practices to serve individuals in a rural setting and continue to advocate for the counseling profession, particularly for those living in rural and underprivileged areas. Her mission is to successfully make a positive difference in as many individual lives in rural and underserved communities as possible.

The NBCC Foundation has also awarded 20 $20,000  through the MFP and 30 $10,000  through the MFP-Mental Health Counseling-Master’s (MFP-MHC-M). The NBCC Foundation plans to open the next NBCC MFP-AC application period in fall 2020. To learn more about the NBCC MFP and its fellows, please visit