Juan Cortez
Juan Cortez is the Associate Director of Holistic Health at OnPoint NYC (formerly New York Harm Reduction Educators), a groundbreaking organization that vigorously advocates for social justice and works to address adverse outcomes among people who use drugs or engage in sex work by providing the resources, tools, and support they need to enhance the quality of their lives and live with dignity. He oversees the organization’s holistic healing programs, where modalities such as acupuncture, acupressure, aromatherapy, Reiki, and meditation are used to address trauma, stress, anxiety, drug use, and overdose.
In 2021, Juan founded Qi Zone Wellness, an organization dedicated to promoting health and wellness in communities negatively impacted by the war on drugs. Through free community wellness events, Qi Zone offers acupuncture, acupressure, Reiki, tai chi, yoga, drumming circles, and dance, creating spaces for healing and connection. These gatherings also provide healthy meals and connect participants to resources through partnerships with community-based organizations.
Growing up in the South Bronx, Juan both witnessed and experienced firsthand the individual and collective harms associated with drug use, as well as the hardships accompanying systemic underinvestment in his community. He brings to his work a deep commitment to ending the war on drugs, dismantling the apparatus of mass incarceration, and providing services, education, support, healing, and love to those most in need.
He began his work in harm reduction as a peer outreach volunteer and later received training in acupuncture, becoming a case manager and then a holistic health specialist before stepping into his current leadership role at OnPoint NYC. He holds a massage therapy degree in Shiatsu from the Swedish Institute and certifications in Reiki instruction, Tai Chi and Qigong instruction, and personal fitness training, and is a black belt in ITF Taekwondo. He is also a registered trainer with the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association and has trained thousands to be soldiers in the ongoing struggle for health justice in this country.