Dona Dmitrovic
Awardee: Dona Dmitrovic Awardee Organization: SAMHSA Awardee Title: Senior Advisor for Recovery Currently serving as the Senior Advisor for Recovery at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dona Dmitrovic supports recovery initiatives across the agency. In her previous role, she served as the Director of the…
Read MoreEmily Newton
Emily Newton is a young woman in long-term recovery from substance use and mental health challenges. As a student, she returned on campus to the Rutgers Recovery House where she led, advocated, and built relationships. She has found purpose in advocating for recovery spaces to become increasingly more inclusive and accessible, particularly for youth. Emily…
Read MoreJessica Geschke
Jessica currently leads various projects that aim to bring awareness to substance use disorder and end the stigma surrounding it within her employment at Serve You Rx. She is the creator and founder of the Overdose Aid Kits, an Employer and Community-Placed Opioid Overdose Prevention Project, providing life saving medication to those who are at…
Read MoreAshley Gardner
Ashley Gardner has been in the field of recovery services since 2021. Ashley is a woman in long-term recovery. Thanks to her lived experience, Ashley now works as a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist which allows her to work alongside people who struggle with substance use. In her active use, Ashley worked with a Recovery Navigator…
Read MoreGretchen Bergman
Gretchen Burns Bergman is Executive Director and Co-Founder of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), a non-profit organization that works to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies. She served as State Chairperson for Proposition 36 in…
Read MoreJohn Donovan
Maj. John G. Donovan, M.Ed., C.P.R.S., U.S. Army, Ret. Maj. John G. Donovan is a person in long-term recovery with over 44 years of recovery time. He is passionate about recovery and lectures frequently to audiences on substance use disorder and recovery therefrom. He blogs on recovery; he is a certified peer recovery specialist; and…
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