Dr. Colon-Rivera grew up between San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico. Following medical school in Puerto Rico and a residency in psychiatry at the Boston University Medical Center, he completed his addiction psychiatry training at Yale University. He is currently a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Veteran Affairs Medical Center where he specializes in the acute care of patients with a wide variety of mental health and substance use disorders. Alongside he is an attending physician at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center working on an emerging community program to increase rural access to Medical Assisted Treatments for patients with substance use disorder.

He has been committed to actively serving the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in leadership positions. He served at the Joint Reference Committee, the Board of Trustee, and the APA Council on Addiction Psychiatry. He is currently the president of the Hispanic Caucus and a consultant for the Council on Membership for the APA.

Dr. Colon-Rivera also serves as a clinical advisor for the Advisory on Alcohol and Other Drugs committee for the State of Pennsylvania, and he is the senior advisor for the Opioid State Targeted Response Technical Assistance for Puerto Rico.