Call for

Presenters

Do you have a valuable experience you want to share with Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) and leaders in the addiction field?

We want to hear from you. To be considered to lead a session focus topic, submit an inquiry today.

About

Presentation Overview

Both Alliance for Recovery Centered Organizations (ARCO) members and non-members are invited to submit presentation proposals for 90-minute session blocks.

Faces & Voices of Recovery encourages professionals specializing in addiction and co-occurring disorders from assorted organizations and disciplines to submit their proposals.

Benefits of Presenting

Presenters receive a complimentary full access conference registration. Presenters interested in supporting America Honors Recovery Gala Dinner (AHR) will need to purchase this ticket seperately.
Presenter names and credentials will be promoted on our website and in applicable electronic marketing materials.
Presenters get a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate their expertise to other industry professionals.
Ample networking opportunities.

Presenting Eligibility

To be considered, presenters must:

Have professional qualifications in good standing with their professional regulatory board (if applicable).
Be subject matter experts in their respective fields.
Have experience training on the subject of the session.

Terminology Usage

Faces & Voices of Recovery request that presenters refrain from using stigmatizing terminology. Examples include:

Instead of addict, please use  person with a substance use disorder.
Instead of alcoholic, please use person with an alcohol use disorder.
Instead of drug/substance abuse, please use substance use or misuse.
Instead of clean or sober, please use not actively using substances or in recovery.

Session

Focus Areas

We encourage proposal submissions from new voices and emerging recovery leaders spearheading changes in recovery spaces, the recovery movement, and recovery systems.

Please submit your proposal no later than March 31, 2025.

Advocacy, Outreach & Public Policy

Covers state or federal policy and advocacy, community outreach, civic engagement, inclusive advocacy efforts, and skills-building.

Leadership Development

Presenters are encouraged to submit creative ideas around addressing organizational capacity building, such as board development, organizational policies and procedures, effective partnerships, participatory processes, and data collection and reporting.

Organizational Development, Wellness, and Sustainability

Evaluating and sustaining organizational wellness is an essential practice when it comes to the longevity and legacy of any organization, so topics in this focus area may include compassion fatigue, employee wellness, organizational succession planning, and financial sustainability.

All Pathways of Recovery

This topic concerns the "multiple pathways of recovery" philosophy, including non-traditional routes like sober curiosity, risk-reduction activities, natural recovery, SMART recovery, and medication-supported recovery.

Peer Recovery Support Services

Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) and their peers have developed creative approaches to peer recovery support services (PRSS) when it comes to wider-reaching inclusivity, so we expect to hear about peer ethics and supervision, role clarity within systems of care, rapport-building, and interpersonal skillsets.

Meet our

Keynote Speakers

Andre Johnson

Dr. Andre L. Johnson, a native Detroiter, is currently the Founder/President/CEO of the Detroit Recovery Project Incorporated, a trailblazing multi-service non-profit agency that provides a wide spectrum of prevention, treatment, and recovery support services to the city’s recovery community. Dr. Johnson has consulted on behalf of the United States President’s…

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Andrew D. Kessler

Andrew D. Kessler, JD, is founder and principal of Slingshot Solutions LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in behavioral health policy. With 20 years of policy experience- and over a decade in behavioral health- Kessler is a fixture in circles that advocate for substance abuse treatment, prevention, recovery, and research.…

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Angel Carroll

Angel Carroll is an advocate and data equity strategist working at the intersection of justice, mental health, and community-driven systems change. As the Director of Advocacy at Measure, she leads initiatives that challenge traditional data practices by centering the lived experiences of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. Through coalition-building, policy…

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Brayden Robinson

Brayden Robinson transitioned from a successful career as a chef to peer support work in 2018, driven by his passion for recovery and service. Brayden has worked as a certified peer support specialist and supervisor, developing leadership skills and a passion for organizational culture and building communities of recovery. At…

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Brian Peek

Brian Peek, in recovery from alcohol use since 1990, is the Executive Director of RISE Peer Recovery. A Certified Addiction Peer Recovery Coach (CAPRC II) and Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC), he has 18 years of experience in recovery work. Leaving a 26-year career at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, he built…

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Deborah Steinberg

Deborah advocates for state and federal policies to improve access to comprehensive and equitable substance use disorder and mental health care in Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance. She leads the Legal Action Center’s Medicare Addiction Parity Project and the Parity for All initiative, and serves as a consumer representative to…

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Dr. John Kelly

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School – the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is also the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Associate Director of…

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Libby Jones

Libby Jones is the Program Director of GHAI’s Overdose Prevention Initiative. Libby leads the Initiative’s advocacy efforts, advancing federal policies to reduce the overdose death rate in the US by expanding access to treatment and promoting harm reduction. Prior to joining GHAI, Libby served as government relations officer at the…

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Nikki Soda

Nikki Soda is a highly accomplished advocate and strategic marketer with a strong background in the behavioral health field. She possesses an MS in Addiction Policy from Georgetown University and has amassed 10 years of experience in this domain. Passionate about advocacy and public policy, Nikki actively engages in volunteering…

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Shelly Weizman

Shelly Weizman, JD is a human rights lawyer whose areas of interest include advancing public policy related to addiction, mental health, and disabilities. She is the associate director of the Center on Addiction and Public Policy at the O’Neill Institute at Georgetown Law, where she works on a project portfolio…

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Tara Moreno-Wallen

Tara Moreno-Wallen, M.A., ADS is a skilled communicator with a background in journalism and education. She holds a Master’s in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of Michigan-Flint and a Bachelor’s in Telecommunications from Michigan State University. Driven by her own recovery journey, Tara founded Serenity House in 2015, a…

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Teresa Miller

Teresa joined LAC in 2024 as the National Director of Health Initiatives, bringing a passion for racial justice and health equity. She leads LAC’s work to defend Medicaid and other public benefits for people with substance use disorders and arrest and conviction records. Previously, she served as Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner,…

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Vanessa Phillips

Vanessa Phillips, B.S., CADAC II, CSPR-CL, is the Director of Forensic Services at RISE Peer Recovery, where she leads efforts to expand peer-led re-entry services. Shaped by her own experiences growing up with addiction and domestic violence, she is passionate about building recovery-focused systems. After overcoming postpartum anxiety and psychosis,…

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