My name is Jennifer Boyce. I have been a board member of the prevention Council for the past year, starting in 2023. I was approached over several months by a fellow board member who believed that I would be interested in this counsel and assisting our community to prevent the cycles that can perpetuate from drug and alcohol use in our communities families. And she was right!
I am a board-certified nurse practitioner with 12 years experience as an NP in several areas of medicine, including emergency, primary care and addiction medicine. I also have 15 years experience as a registered nurse prior to getting my masters degree. As a nurse, I worked in OB/GYN, end-of-life, med/surg and correctional nursing. I received my undergraduate education at SUNY Brockport, and my masters degree from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.
My favorite aspect of working in the community is helping others overcome adversity and getting to see improvement in individuals lives and in the lives of their families. Buffalo is a city with a small town feel! It is gratifying when you see someone, or a group of people that you have touched and provided some level of assistance and you can see the difference that assistance has helped to improve their lives!
My favorite place to be is anywhere in Buffalo! I love live music, sports, food, and being by the water: all things that Buffalo has to offer!!
My proudest accomplishment is having raised my family and simultaneously obtaining my masters in nursing. It was a long road with a lot of tough choices to make, as I went to school part time while working full-time and raising three children. But I feel it set a great example to my kids as to how one can balance their home life while setting and achieving their own goals and aspirations.
Substance use prevention is important to me, because not only do I work in the area of addiction medicine and recovery, but as with so many others, substance use has touched my life personally. Both my father and daughter have been diagnosed with addiction use disorders. I have lived the effects that addiction has on an entire family; not just the person who struggles with their disease. I am raising two of my grand children, as are so many others, due to the devastating effects of drug and alcohol use. I believe it’s ever increasingly important that we break the cycle of addiction and provide individuals and families with alternatives, healthy habits, and life skills to change for themselves, and for the families around them.
I was asked to provide a quote, however, I feel there are too many that I found in my life to be profound so instead, I will provide my own personal attestation:
“I believe in accountability, but I also believe in it takes a village of support to succeed.”
“believe in second and third and fourth chances but I also believe in boundaries for the safety of my heart and soul and mind.”
“I believe in listening to others while speaking, and standing up for my own self truths and convictions And I believe in being grounded in reality, while also allowing myself to imagine and dream.”