E. JAMALL WATKINS Counseling and Advising Center Brighton Campus Monroe Community College Peter A. Spina Administration Bldg Building 1, Room 231F Phone Number: 585-292-2256 E-Mail Address: ewatkins@monroecc.edu

E. Jamall Watkins, MS, Ed N.C.C Was born in Eastville Virginia many years ago as his parents were following the migratory paths of the seasonal workers from and to the south. At some point they were compelled as were other Blacks of that era to leave the agrarian way of life and not return to their southern homeland in the Louisiana bayou. They opted to settle in New York Stare among the Finger Lakes. E.J. is the 4th of 7 siblings. He is married and the father of four. Professionally, E.J. has many years of experience in crisis intervention, community mental health, advocacy, program analysis, program initiating and program building. He came to MCC after a stint at the University of Rochester as the Director of the Rochester Community Mobile Crisis Team and the Mentally Ill Chemically Abusive Homeless Programs. In collaboration with the County Office of Mental Health and Coordinated Care Inc., He built the Mobile team from its beginning into a highly diverse unit of expert crisis interventionist. Just prior to directing the Mobile Team and the Homeless MICA programs, E.J. was a Resource Manager for Rochester New Futures Initiative. New Futures was a major attempt by the Rochester community to reorganize and restructure itself to provide better outcomes for city youth and their families. It was a systems/institutional change strategy designed to improve the life outcomes of those in our community who were/are at-risk of a desolate future. He was out stationed at one of the schools in the Rochester City School District. At the school he had a major impact. One of his many contributions was; he developed one of the first school based wellness centers in the Rochester City School District. Just prior to beginning a career at New Futures, E.J. was employed as a Counseling Specialist for the Rochester Police Department with the Family and Crisis Intervention Team. This unit supported the work of the uniformed officers. E.J., also worked as a vocational rehabilitation, mental health and chemical dependency counselor. He did this work at the Anthony Jordan Health Center. This was a new program that specialized in the care and treatment of people of color. Concurrent to his employment at New Futures, the Rochester Police Department, and Anthony Jordan, he was employed part-time for many years at the Health Association’s Employee Assistance Program. E.J. began his lifelong counseling and advocacy career as a street outreach youth worker at Charles Settlement House. He states he “stumbled” into the counseling position at Charles House as he was searching for ht fulfilling occupation after graduating from college. Once there he states he looked around and decided “this must be my destination”. He later became the Director of Youth Services. Educationally, E.J. graduated from the Honeoye Central School District. He graduated from Monroe Community College. He earned an undergraduate from SUNY Brockport. He also earned a Masters degree in Counseling Education form SUNY Brockport. At Brockport in the masters program his areas of concentration were; School Counseling, Community Mental Health and Counseling Minority groups. He knew he would need all of those skills and others if he was to make a difference. Making a difference has always been his primary goal. E.J. is also a veteran. He served in the Far East in the United States Army as an infantryman.