Her Story
About Angelina
Angelina Ojeda is an Addiction Counselor based in New York City, where she brings compassionate, client-centered care to individuals navigating substance use recovery. Currently serving in outpatient addiction services, she conducts individual counseling sessions, facilitates group therapy, and manages the clinical documentation required to support quality, compliant care. Beyond direct treatment, she plays a critical role as a resource navigator for her clients, helping them secure housing, scholarships, food assistance, and other essential supports that lay the groundwork for lasting recovery. Her approach is grounded in trauma-informed practice, harm reduction, and motivational interviewing, with a particular commitment to culturally responsive services within the communities she serves.
Ojeda's path into this work followed a career shift from managerial roles into social work and addiction counseling nearly four years ago. Since then, she has built a strong academic foundation to match her clinical experience, earning an associate degree in Human Services with a focus on mental health and a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She is now advancing her education further as a student in the Advanced Standing MSW program at Adelphi University, while maintaining professional credentials such as her CASAC certification, SAFE training, and motivational interviewing training through regular renewal. Her academic and professional achievements have been recognized through membership in honor societies including Pi Theta Kappa and the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Deeply engaged with her professional community, Ojeda holds memberships across a range of organizations, including the National Association of Social Workers and the National Association of Black Social Workers, both through their NYC chapters, as well as the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work, the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine, the NAACP, and the New York League of Puerto Rican Women. She credits much of her professional drive to the unwavering support of her children, family, and friends, and she leads her career guided by the values of accountability, integrity, and honesty. Facing ongoing challenges such as funding cuts and persistent stigma in the field, Ojeda remains focused on advocating for her clients while encouraging others, particularly young women entering the profession, to define their own paths rather than allow circumstances or background to set their limits.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Angelina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the support system in my life. My children, my family, and my friends are the foundation that has kept me grounded, and without them, I don't know if I would be doing the work I do today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is not to allow people to put you into a box. A professor of mine once told me that I was so much more than I thought I was, and that sometimes I needed to think outside the box she saw others trying to place me in.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering this field not to let others determine their path. Your career and your recovery are yours to control, and you shouldn't allow anyone else to drive that vehicle. Don't let people tell you that you can't do something because you lack lived experience or because of your background.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges I see in my field are funding cuts, a lack of reliable resources, and ongoing stigma. Clients often need stable housing before they can even begin to focus on recovery, so I frequently serve as a resource finder, connecting people to scholarships, grants, food pantries, and housing. At the same time, I see real opportunity in continued education, innovation in treatment approaches, and building culturally centered community programs rooted in peer recovery advocacy.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Accountability, integrity, and honesty are the values I hold most important, both in my work and in my personal life.
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