Joe Powell

rls23-presenter-joe-powell

Joe Powell is in long term recovery with thirty-one year’s free of alcohol and other drugs. President/CEO of APAA-Association of Persons Affected by Addiction in Dallas, a recovery community organization that provides peer-to-peer mental health and substance use recovery support services for individuals, family members, and the community. Mr. Powell is a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor for over 25 years.

His accomplishments with APAA include:

  1. The firstPeer Recovery Community Organization in Texas funded in 1998by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  2. First five (CAPRSS) Accreditation for Peer Recovery Support Services in US.
  3. Initiation support and trainer for Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRP) at University of North Texas (UNT) and Eastfield College.
  4. Peer advocate for passing of House Bill 1486,Peer Medicaid-Reimbursement.5.Chairman of the Peer Committee for Texas Certification Board(TCB)2021.6.Trainer of Trainers for APAA Training Entity and Certified Peer Specialists.7.Started the first African American NAMI-National Alliance on Mental Illness Chapter in Texas in 2003. 8.In 2003, one Founding members of National Faces and Voices of Recovery.9.Provided Peer services in Divert, Drug, Re-entry, STAC,Veteran Courts, and Community Court inDallas. 10.ImplementedAPAARecovery POD(63 men) in Lew Sterrett Jail.11.In 2019, Initiated the naming and grand opening of the “Dr. Louis E. Deere Behavioral Health Complex”, crisis and forensic supports at North Texas Behavioral Health Authority”Living Room”in South Dallas, Texas.12.Served as the President of the National Leadership Council on African American Behavioral health (NLC).13.Member of the Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Centers Regional Advisory Council (SWATTC).14.Governor’s Appointment on the Rehabilitation Council of Texas (RCT)19/20/21. 15.Chair and Host of the largest Big Texas Rally for Recovery in 2016,2019& 202016.Recipient of the Rep. Garnet Coleman Eternal Flame Award, by the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference (February 2020). 17.2021, participant on 3 national Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committees.18.Peer Advocate for Dallas County Behavioral Health Leadership Team(BHLT)19.Chair of the Health, Wellness and Recovery for the South Dallas Project20.SelectedRCO/CEO for Texas HHSC Leadership Fellow Academy (LFA) 2021.