Holly Sawyer, PhD, is the director of the Masters in Addictions Counseling (MAC) program and assistant clinical professor in the department of Counseling and Family Therapy. For three years, she served as an adjunct professor and course developer for the MAC program. Prior to her employment at Drexel University, Sawyer was a clinical director at an intensive outpatient treatment facility and clinical supervisor at a methadone clinic. For 19 years, she has been teaching in the areas of K-12, Adult Basic Education and Higher Education. She is a private practice practitioner in Pennsylvania where she helps professional Black women navigate microaggressions in the workplace by helping them find their inner power through assertiveness without using substances to cope. As a scholar-practitioner, she is a licensed professional counselor (LPC), a national certified counselor (NCC), certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor (CAADC), DOT qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) and PA certified board endorsed clinical supervisor.

Professional Society

Selected Publications

Sawyer, H. (2023). Mindfulness: Strategies to Implement Targeted Self-Care. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, Volume 31, 100614, ISSN 2405-4526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2023.100614

Kennedy, B., Mezu, K., Robbins, M., Sawyer, H., Schenkel, S., Squillini, C., & Underdahl, L. (December 2015). Stress management techniques used by faculty in the asynchronous learning environment. The Exchange, 2(2).

Editorial review board membership:

Journal of Interpersonal Education and Practice (JIEP)

Research Interests

Sawyer's thesis investigated an alternate policy to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) towards equality on leave, pay and gender. Her doctoral dissertation investigated college policies on illicit drug use among HBCU students. Her research focused on the effects of college policy on illicit drugs on students’ frequency of drug usage and the effect of the availability of drugs and students’ perception of illicit drug usage effects on GPA. Her other areas of research include drug and alcohol prevention programs for college students, decriminalizing substance use disorders, using Topamax to treat cocaine use disorders, women in leadership and microaggressions in the workplace.

PhD, Higher Educational Leadership
Trident University International

MPA, Nonprofit Management
Southeastern University, Washington D.C.

MS, Professional Counseling
Grand Canyon University

BA, Mass Communication/Media Studies
Grambling State University