Jennifer E. Boyd, PhD, CPRP, was awarded a Presidential Citation for her internationally renowned contributions in combating the debilitating effects of external and internalized stigma of serious mental illness, which have significantly influenced the field at a broad level.
Director, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center, San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs, Boyd has produced extraordinary accomplishments in advocacy, research, innovative program development and service delivery for individuals with serious mental illness. She received the first APA Div. 18 Outstanding Contributions in Psychosocial Rehabilitation Award (2009) and the Distinguished APA Div. 18 Mike Neale Award (2013). Her bold public discussion of her own recovery from debilitating mental illness has been a shining beacon of hope to consumers and fellow mental health providers with lived experience. The program she directs nurtures novel treatment approaches. She is a tireless worker and remarkably, the least likely person to draw attention to her vast accomplishments. Her humility is exemplary. She promotes and advances respect, understanding and deep appreciation for the diversity of human experience.