Alliance Alert: Our Alliance is very pleased to provide details about our extraordinary program and presenter lineup at this year’s Annual Conference, entitled “Unbreakable! Harnessing Our Power, Building Our Resilience, Inspiring Hope and Courage”, to be held from September 29-Oct. 1st at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center in Callicoon, NY.
Please use the following links to register today for the conference and for Villa Roma lodging and meals.
We’re also excited to announce the launch of our official online store—your one-stop shop for exclusive Annual Conference gear! Start exploring and show your conference pride—happy shopping!
Sign up for a free bus ride back and forth from NYC to the Villa Roma and back at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHTbISwJ6pnxu3UrTkaSpn5W6wB0XMjs_4vaYFTnL_Er-Jbw/viewform and (https://pci.jotform.com/form/252513776120048
Look for more information about our Long Island bus tomorrow!
Contact Eileen Crosby at eileenc@rightsandrecovery.org with any questions and sign up and check our Alliance E-News listserv for frequent news and updates.
Unbreakable! Harnessing Our Power,
Building Our Resilience, Inspiring Hope and Courage
Alliance for Rights and Recovery 43rd Annual Conference
September 29 – October 1, 2025 Villa Roma Resort, Callicoon, NY
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2025
11:30am Lunch and Welcome Remarks
1:00-2:15pm KEYNOTE: HOW DO YOU ROAR? Pat Deegan, PhD FORUM
Founder and CEO, Pat Deegan & Associates
2:30-3:45pm WORKSHOPS ROUND 1
- Clubhouse Comes Back to Upstate New York! EAST I
Members and Staff of the Hudson Valley Clubhouse and Venture House; Arvind Sooknanan, Fountain House Board of Directors; Nicole Patton, Policy & Advocacy Manager, Fountain House; Moderator, Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This interactive panel will showcase the Clubhouse model as a proven, recovery-oriented approach to supporting people with mental health challenges. Members and staff from several Clubhouses will share their experiences, highlighting the unique benefits of Clubhouse participation, including social connection, skill development, education, and employment pathways. Panelists will walk through the steps to establish a new Clubhouse, discussing best practices, common challenges, and the differences between Clubhouses and traditional “day programs.” Participants will also learn about the new funding in the New York State Budget to support the launch of additional upstate Clubhouses, providing concrete opportunities for communities to expand access. Attendees will leave with practical insights and guidance on how to bring a Clubhouse to their community and why it is such a powerful model for recovery and inclusion.
- Out of Chaos: Inspiring Hope Through My Journey of Recovery and Advocacy EAST II
Cohen Miles-Rath, Author of Mending Reality: An Advocate’s Existential Journey with Mental Health
When Cohen Miles-Rath was in college, he faced a mental health crisis, attacked his dad with a knife, and was incarcerated amid severe psychosis. With years of challenges, he never experienced effective support. Now, as a mental health advocate and professional, Cohen shares his story, revealing how to better approach mental health in ourselves, our families, and our communities.
3. Developing Resilient Leaders Through a Culture of Mentorship EAST III
Jeffrey McQueen, Executive Director, Mental Health Association of Nassau County
Join us for an engaging and interactive workshop led by Jeff McQueen, where we delve into the transformative power of reshaping organizational culture. This session will explore the journey from a traditional hierarchical structure to a dynamic framework of mentorship, empowering every individual within the organization.
Jeff will share actionable insights and strategies for identifying and developing leaders from within, creating an environment that nurtures employee success and aligns with their career aspirations. Participants will learn how to foster programs that promote personal and professional growth, while also adopting a management style that inspires collaboration, innovation, and achievement. This workshop is designed for leaders, managers, and professionals eager to cultivate a culture of mentorship, drive program development, and implement practices that lead to organizational success. Don’t miss this opportunity to unlock the potential of your team and redefine what it means to lead in today’s workplaces.
4. Paying It Forward: Using Our Collective Wisdom to Empower the Next Generation of Peer Supporters MARTY’S LOUNGE
Jeremy Reuling, Senior Director for Special Projects; Aviva Cohen, Chief Strategy Officer, Hands Across Long Island
The increase in the number of peer roles in today’s service environment has continued at an astounding pace, with some reporting that there are now over 100,000 peer supporters working in the United States, in both mental health and substance use service settings. Due to the rapidness of this growth, a significant majority of the peer workforce comprises of individuals who are relatively new to the role. However, the foundational values of peer services are rooted in a long history of advocacy for individual and collective rights, alternative service options, and self-determination. It is a critical responsibility for peer leaders who have spent significant time within the peer movement to instill those values and history in the next generation of peer supporters. This workshop will look at where we have been, where we are going, and how we can get there.
5. Wellness, Recovery and Resilience Story Circles Part I WEST I
Dr. Deborah Wilcox, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Confluency Consultants and Associates and Theresa Hall, member, Board of Directors, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
The Story Circle is a Peer-Centered approach that engages participants in a trauma- informed and social determinants of health awareness process. The Story Circle opens a space for participants to get actively involved in sharing their lived experiences and provides opportunities for building authentic Peer Support relationships through the art of storytelling. Participants share recovery challenges, healing and wellness journeys, and the multiple ways personal self-care goals and challenges can be developed and achieved, and used as a process to heal human hurt, and unlearn stigma, and learn how to build a healthy multicultural Peer Support community across human and cultural differences.
6. Racial and Ethnic Inequities, Discrimination and Stigma in the Workplace NORTH
Paul Margolies PhD, Associate Director for Practice Innovation and Implementation; Karen Broadway-Wilson, Raymond Gregory, Gary Scannevin, Philip Thomas, Chanel Weathers, Implementation Specialists; Thomas Jewel, Project Manager and Norman Kim, DEI Officer, Center for Practice Innovations (CPI)
This workshop is designed to examine current realities and explore ways in which we all can work towards equity and inclusion in employment. Focused discussion will examine the impact of injustice on employment highlighting the experiences of the workshop leaders and participants. We’ll facilitate an engaging and interactive journal club-style discussion exploring a current article addressing racial/ethnic inequities, discrimination and stigma in the workplace, and include a scenario based on the article. Participants will be encouraged to share personal experiences, exchange ideas, and collaborate on actionable strategies to drive meaningful change.
7. Message from the Movement FORUM
Laura Van Tosh, Board Chair, aves-Mental Health (formerly Global Mental Health Peer Network); Cherene Caraco, CEO, of Promise Resource Network, Chacku Mathai, Director, CRESTNY Institute at the Center for Practice Innovations, Vesper Moore, COO, Kiva Centers; Gayle Bluebird, Independent Consultant; Moderator: Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
What we frequently term ‘the movement’ grew out of the human, disability and psychiatric survivor rights movements of the 1970’s, as both a political and practical response to the experience of oppression within both mental health and broader social systems. Since then, advocates and innovators have built upon those principles to foster peer support, self-determination and self-direction, wellness and recovery, independent living, social, racial and criminal justice reform, and employment and rehabilitation. The panel will take a multi-generational look at how far we’ve come and what steps we must take today to promote and protect our people and our principles during threatening times like these.
4:00-5:15 pm WORKSHOPS ROUND 2
8. Growing Peer Support Authentically: Opportunities and Challenges in Workforce Development NORTH
Matthew Federici, CEO, Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery; Mark Salzer, PhD, Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences at Temple University College of Public Health
Join us for a session centered on strengthening the effectiveness of peer support services and the workforce. We will explore the variety of settings and position descriptions involving the peer support workforce. The results highlight the breadth of areas where people work, but also the various ways in which positions are constructed, some of which may not be consistent with a peer support ethos. This will be followed by a discussion of recent findings about the peer support workforce and efforts to develop and evaluate effective peer support intervention models that could be disseminated. Participants will then engage in a forward-looking dialogue about scaling up peer-led services and addressing barriers such as training, supervision, and role clarity.
9. Trauma-Informed Community(ies) Engagement- What Is It? What Does It Take? Where Do I Start?? EAST II
Clarencetine Brooks, Assistant Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; James Rodriguez , Director for Trauma-Informed Services, McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research
This interactive workshop will explore how principles of trauma-informed care (TIC) and peer support can be applied to strengthen community healing. Peer support workers already possess many of the skills needed to be powerful change agents, and this session will highlight how those skills can help foster safe, resilient environments. Through lecture, case examples, and small group exercises, participants will examine the impact of trauma on individuals and communities and consider how TIC and peer support practices can be used to address these challenges. This workshop provides practical, actionable strategies that service providers, peers, and advocates can immediately use to enhance their work. Participants will walk away with a stronger understanding of how to integrate trauma- informed principles into community engagement, creating environments that promote healing, empowerment, and sustainable recovery.
10. Recovery Centers, Drop-ins and Psychosocial Programs Learning Collaborative FORUM
Matthew Petitte, Statewide Advocacy Specialist, and Jason Erwin, Regional Advocacy Specialist, NYS Office of Mental Health; Robert Statham, Employment Training and Technical Assistance Facilitator, Alliance for Rights and Recovery; Kimberly DeSantis- Johns, Program Manager, and Tracey Svenson-Gates, Catholic Charities of Broome County; Jennifer Chandler, Manager, Access-CNY; Karen Boliver, Associate Director, Northern Regional Center for Independent Living (NRCIL)
Join this interactive session with representatives from NYS OMH, the Alliance, and three standout providers (CC Broome, ACCESS CNY, and NRCIL), each operating a Recovery Center, Drop-In Center, or Psychosocial Program. We’ll explore shared ingredients for success, discuss lessons learned, and reflect on what these providers wish they’d known at the start. Most importantly, this session is a space for you to join the conversation— sharing your own insights, challenges, and ideas for improvement.
11. Centering Humanity in Supervision: A Peer Support Approach to Trauma- Informed Leadership EAST I
Bryant Pugh, Director of Statewide Training and Shamona Kirkland, Statewide Trainer, Mental Health Empowerment Project; Ellen Healion, Director for Peer Bridger Services and Technical Assistance, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This interactive workshop, Centering Humanity in Supervision, explores how trauma- informed principles can transform supervision within peer support settings. Participants will examine how trauma impacts both staff and workplace dynamics and learn to recognize trauma responses in themselves and others. Through discussion, reflection, and practical tools, supervisors will discover how to foster safety, trust, collaboration, and empowerment in their relationships with peer staff. Grounded in mutuality, compassion, and respect, this session supports supervisors in leading with care while honoring lived experience at every level of leadership.
Portions of the materials in this presentation are borrowed and used with permission from Liz Breier and Regina Shoen.
Developed by the Mental Health Empowerment Project (MHEP), this workshop reflects MHEP’s decades-long mission to advance empowerment, voice, and peer connection. By centering trauma-informed supervision around mutuality, choice, and respect, the training equips leaders to foster environments where peer staff feel valued, heard, and supported, extending MHEP’s vision of recovery and wellness into the heart of leadership and workplace culture.
12. Strategies to Promote Successful Re-Entries MARTY’S LOUNGE
Helen Skip Skipper, Executive Director, NYC Justice Peer Initiative; Amy Brinkley, Executive Director/Founder, Paul’s Plan Ministries; Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This panel will highlight innovative approaches to supporting people as they transition from incarceration back into the community. Panelists will share examples of successful re-entry programs in New York and across the country, with a focus on models that integrate housing, employment, peer support, and wraparound services. A key theme of the discussion will be the role of mental health peers with lived justice involvement, who bring unique insight and credibility to re-entry efforts and must be recognized as leaders in this work. The session will also explore new training initiatives for justice peers in New York, along with the skills, tools, and resources needed to expand their impact. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of both the systemic challenges and the practical strategies that can foster stability, reduce recidivism, and promote recovery and resilience for people returning home.
13. Considering Recovery Farms as Part of the Recovery Ecosystem I: A Discussion EAST III
Livia Davis, Chief Learning Officer C4, Project Director, SAMHSA Program to Advance Recovery Knowledge (SPARK); Cherene Caraco, CEO, Promise Resource Network
The landscape of recovery farms is still emerging, and there is significant interest in expanding these programs across the country, including from federal health and human service agencies. When implemented effectively, recovery farms are transformative spaces where people living with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, trauma- and other challenges such as social isolation, homelessness, or histories of institutional involvement – can heal in a hands-on, nature-based, residential recovery community. However, without a working definition and a unified set of standards and guiding principles developed by people who will benefit from the model, it will be difficult to scale this model effectively and safely, and to address critical concerns from stakeholders
This workshop will be an opportunity for participants to learn more about common elements identified via a review of 50 US-based recovery farms, overview of evidence and best practices used by various recovery farms, a possible framework to organize the various types of recovery farms, top concerns and options to address them.
14. Building Recovery Together: Core Skills in Partnering and Active Listening
Kirk Cooper-Johnson, Britt Higgins, Steve Nawotniak, Hannah Taber, New York Psychiatric Rehabilitation Training Academy WEST I
One of the stronger influences on the success of mental health services is a practitioner’s ability to connect, or to foster relationships built on trust, collaboration, and authenticity. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the foundational skills of partnering and active listening. Drawing on psychiatric rehabilitation principles, we’ll examine how to engage others with empathy, curiosity, and respect. Through reflective discussion, skill- building exercises, and real-world scenarios, participants will practice listening beyond words, sharing power, and co-creating pathways that lead to success and satisfaction. Whether you’re new to this work or seeking to refresh your approach, this session offers practical tools and insights for building stronger, more authentic relationships.
5:30pm CULTURAL DIVERSITY BASH AND FASHION SHOW
6:15pm DINNER
EVENING PROGRAM
7:15pm HEALING THROUGH HIP HOP Luis Lopez, Conference Co-Chair
7:15 PM National Peer Voice Listening Session: Where Do We Go from Here? Moderated by Matt Federici, CEO, Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery
A quiet, focused hour to listen across the peer community. We’ll surface what people are seeing on the ground, name the themes that matter now, and capture what’s missing, so we can decide together what comes next.
7:15 pm Wellness, Recovery and Resilience Story Circles Part II, III
Deborah Wilcox, Founder/ Chief Executive Officer, Confluency Consultants and Associates and Theresa Hall, member, Board of Directors, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
8:15pm Peer Support Meetings
- Open Peer Support
- Dual Recovery Anonymous
- NA Meeting
- LGBTQIA+
9:00pm Open Mic with Michael Skinner
9:00 pm Chess, Checkers, and Dominoes Club
9:30pm Dancing with DJ Kareem
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
7:30 am BREAKFAST
8:30-9:45am WORKSHOPS ROUND 3
15. From Division to Dialogue: Bridging Clinical and Peer Perspectives FORUM
Jeremy Reuling, Senior Director for Special Projects, Hands Across Long Island; Jennifer Levesque, CEO, Recovery Options Made Easy; Liz Breier, Chief Advocacy Office, NYS Office of Mental Health; Dana Foglesong, National Senior Director Recovery and Resiliency Services Magellan Health; Dan Roman, Program and Training Manager, People USA; Moderator: Shannon Higbee, Chief Strategy Officer, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
As the peer support field matures and diversifies, a quiet but persistent tension has surfaced—between those with lived experience who have pursued clinical training and those who view clinical training as antithetical to the values of peer support. These tensions are rooted in questions of identity, authenticity, power, and fidelity to peer values. But they also present an opportunity.
This panel brings together peer leaders with both lived experience and diverse career trajectories to unpack the complexity of this conversation and to model the kind of unity, acceptance, mutual respect, and collective purpose that our movement needs now more than ever. Together, we’ll explore:
- Can peers with clinical credentials still hold true to the core values of peer support?
- What are the risks—and opportunities—of blending perspectives and disciplines?
- How can we move forward as one community, united by shared experience and diverse visions for healing?
This interactive discussion invites attendees to reflect on their own journeys and assumptions, and challenges us all to build a broader, more inclusive movement, one that makes room for multiple ways of being, working, and contributing to recovery.
16. Unspoken Truths: Confronting Stigma in BIPOC Communities
Sara Taylor, Founder, BIPOC PEEEEEEEK NORTH
Stigma shows up differently across BIPOC communities, shaped by history, faith, family expectations, immigration concerns, and justified mistrust of systems. This session names those realities and offers practical ways to open doors to help without shame. We’ll translate common myths into strengths-based messages, model culturally responsive conversation starters, and share outreach approaches that partner with trusted messengers (faith leaders, barbershops, cultural organizations, peer networks). This workshop will equip you to have the hard conversations your work requires with cultural humility and care.
17. Reclaiming Research: Lived Experience Leadership for Justice, Healing, and System Transformation WEST 1
Nev Jones, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh; Oscar Jimenez-Solomon, PhD New York State Psychiatric Institute; Todd Wittenberg, Research Analyst, University of Pittsburgh
In an era when recovery, rights, and community-driven mental health approaches are increasingly under threat, lived experience leadership in research is not optional it’s essential. This dynamic roundtable brings together leading lived experience researchers to explore how lived experience can be centered not just as data, but as direction.
Drawing on work across universities, peer-run organizations, and service systems, panelists will share real-world strategies for embedding lived expertise into every stage of the research process from design to dissemination while navigating institutional resistance, epistemic injustice, and the devaluation of experiential knowledge. Together, we’ll unpack how co-production can move beyond tokenism and into true transformation.
This session invites participants into bold, liberatory dialogue:
- What would research look like if it were accountable to our communities?
- How can we navigate power and privilege while staying rooted in our values?
- What does it mean to be in community as researchers?
Whether you’re a peer support worker, academic, policymaker, or advocate, you’ll leave with new questions, shared strategies, and renewed commitment to reimagining research as a tool for justice, healing, and collective liberation.
18. Best Practices in Engaging and Supporting Unhoused Individuals EAST I
Jihoon Kim, CEO, InUnity Alliance; Nadjete Natchaba, Chief Program Officer, Services for the Underserved; Troy J. Boyle, Chief Operating Officer; Rosita Marinez, Senior Vice President of Supported Housing; Sharon Sorrentino, Senior Vice President, Residential Treatment Division, Institute of Community Living; Laura Savino, Senior Vice President, Care Management, Institute for Community Living
Successfully engaging and supporting unhoused people with major mental health and substance use-related challenges and unmet social needs has become one of the most pressing personal, programmatic and policy challenges of our time! The presenters will describe a number of innovative approaches that are showing great promise, including a continuum of ICL Housing Options, Intensive Mobile Treatment, Pathway Home and STEPS as well as SUS Prevention, Homebase, Crisis Respite, Forensic Enhancement and Reentry programs.
19.Strengthening Peer Support Through Meaningful Collaboration EAST II
Rebecca Evansky Executive Director, Wellness Collaborative of New York Independent Practice Association
This workshop will introduce participants to the Wellness Collaborative of New York Independent Practice Association (WCNY IPA) and its shared success in coming together as an all peer-led provider network. The WCNY IPA’s mission is to eliminate the disparities and marginalization of care in NYS communities through the development and implementation of best practices for peer support that are innovative, authentic, holistic, and trauma-informed. Since its inception, WCNY has maintained its grassroots practices while advancing to meet the needs of the region. The member organizations share their unique experiences in leadership, workforce challenges, shifting demands of care collaboration and key drivers of success.
20. Litigation, Legislation and Representation MARTY’S LOUNGE
Ruth Lowenkron, Director of the Disability Justice Program, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; Heather Simms, Deputy Director, and Anne Thieling, Chief Operating Officer, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey; Elena Kravitz, Senior Advocate/Investigator Disability Rights New Jersey; Vanessa Ramos, Senior Advisor, Disability Rights California. Moderator: Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This panel will explore the vital role that protection and advocacy organizations play in defending and advancing the rights of people with disabilities, including those with mental health and substance use challenges, through the PAIMI (Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness) program. Panelists will review how PAIMI operates, its importance in ensuring people have a way to fight back when their rights are violated, and the current threats posed by federal proposals that would weaken or eliminate this critical safeguard. The discussion will also highlight how legal rights organizations support advocacy efforts through litigation, legislation, and representation. Finally, the panel will stress the urgent need for more legal advocacy groups to step up during this period of mounting federal and state threats to civil rights, and will provide strategies for how communities, advocates, and allies can strengthen the protection of rights for people living with disabilities.
21. Breaking the Silence: Building a Progressive Mental Health Care Coalition in New York for Systemic Change EAST II
Caleb Scott, Clinical Psychologist, Woodhull Medical Center; Christina Sparrock, Founder, NYC Mental Health Collective; and Kirshjah Martin, Psychologist
The U.S. mental health system faces a compounding crisis of underfunding, over-medicalization, systemic racism, and inequity, leaving care inaccessible and insufficient for many. This workshop explores the failures of the privatized biomedical model—including siloed services, criminalization of mental illness, and neglect of holistic, community-informed care—alongside the structural and political barriers that block reform. Participants will be invited to envision a grassroots, community-rooted coalition to push for transformative policy, hold institutions accountable, and build alternative models of care. Grounded in principles of mutual aid, abolitionist health justice, trauma-informed practice, and universal access, this coalition will center historically excluded groups—BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, poor, and incarcerated individuals. Together, we will imagine strategies for organizing, campaigning, and reimagining mental health care beyond institutional limits.
22. Rhythms for Community Wellness: The Power of Drumming OUTSIDE
Chrys Ballerano, Founder/Owner, Chrys Ballerano Consulting Services
This interactive workshop offers participants an opportunity to connect with their own innate sense of play and the healing and gentle power of rhythm. Participants are invited to bring their own drum or percussive instrument if they’d like though instruments will be provided by the presenter (enough for 30- 40 people to share). An atmosphere of gentle safety will be maintained and modeled. Participants will be invited to connect with their own heartbeats, develop their abilities to play in community, and find ways to respond to the rhythms of the natural world. We’ll explore some basic drumming techniques and enjoy a circle of rhythm that is fun for people of all levels of drumming experience.
10:00-11:15 am KEYNOTE PANEL FORUM
FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS AS IF OUR LIVES DEPENDED ON IT!
Leah Harris, Independent Journalist; Laura Van Tosh, Board Chair, aves-Mental Health (formerly Global Mental Health Peer Network); Vesper Moore, COO, Kiva Centers; Vanessa Ramos, Senior Advisor, Disability Rights California; Ruth Lowenkron, Director of the Disability Justice Program, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Moderator: Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
11:30-12:45pm WORKSHOPS ROUND 4
23. Failure to Engage: Addressing Racial Bias and Inequity EAST II
Sakeena Trice, Senior Staff Attorney, NY Lawyers for the Public Interest; Taina Lang, CEO, Baltic Wellness Solutions; Daniela Maldonado, Housing Case Manager, Hands Across Long Island
This panel will explore the racial disparities in New York’s court-ordered outpatient commitment law, Kendra’s Law, and how systemic failures to engage communities of color have fueled inequity. Panelists will examine how bias and structural barriers leave people of color more likely to be subjected to coercion instead of voluntary, supportive services. They will also share strategies to promote effective engagement including cultural competence training, person-centered planning, and expanded access to housing and community-based services that can reduce disparities and strengthen engagement with communities of color.
24. Ethical Decision Making for Peer Specialists EAST I
Jessi Davis, Senior Administrative Program Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin, TIEMH; Ellen Healion, Director for Peer Bridger Services and Technical Assistance, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This presentation will cover a process for ethical decision making and will utilize a tool that attendees can take with them. Come join this interactive session and practice your skills! We will review different ethical “gray” areas and discuss multiple points of consideration. You will walk away with a more solid understanding of important factors of ethical decision making, the need for you to know your own boundaries, and different resources you may utilize in these situations.
25. Crisis Respite 101: A Peer-led Crisis Alternative FORUM
Rose Osorio, Community Access, Inc; Jeff McQueen, Executive Director, Mental Health Association of Nassau County; Dominick Marino, Assistant Executive Director of Respite Services, People USA; Jennifer Levesque, CEO, ROME (Recovery Options Made Easy)
Imagine a crisis response that feels like coming home. A private room. A home-cooked meal. A place where no one takes your belongings, and no one takes your power. Welcome to respite: a peer-operated, voluntary alternative to hospitalization for people experiencing emotional or psychiatric distress. In this session, leaders from across New York State will open the door to Crisis Respite Centers and walk you through what makes them work. From staffing exclusively with trained peer supporters to creating trauma- informed, anti-oppressive environments, these programs offer short-term stays that center dignity, autonomy, and connection. Learn how respite provides a healing space where people from all walks of life can de-escalate, stabilize, and leave with their integrity intact. Presenters will share models from across the state, offering a compelling vision for what crisis care can and should look like.
26. Peer Support at the Crossroads NORTH
Dana Foglesong, National Senior Director Recovery and Resiliency Services Magellan Health; Cherene Caraco, CEO, of Promise Resource Network; Melissa Wettengel, CEO, Hands Across Long Island; Moderator: Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
Peer support was developed as an outgrowth of the human, disability and psychiatric survivor rights movements of the 1970’s movement, as both a political and practical response to the experience of oppression within both mental health and broader social systems. Over time, peer support naturally grew to a sense of health, wellness and recovery Over the ensuing decades, states and systems began funding peer specialists and developing training and certification programs were developed to professionalize the peer role while maintaining its grounding in mutuality and recovery values. Today, peer support can be seen as having grown into an industry that must face the ongoing challenges of medicalization, role dilution and co-optation.
This discussion will key off the challenges raised by Intentional Support’s founder Shery Mead: “As peer support in mental health proliferates, we must be mindful of our intention: social change. It is not about developing more effective services, but rather about creating dialogues that have influence on all our understandings, conversations, and relationships.”
Join us as we explore how we can reconcile, if not harness, the forces of human rights, social change and the demands of funders and regulators to best uplift us all.
27. Criminal Justice Reform Initiatives in NYS MARTY’S LOUNGE
Ismael Diaz Jr., Community Organizer, Center for Community Alternatives; Jayette Lansbury, Family Peer Advocate, NAMI Huntington; Victor Pate, Co-Director, Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement; Moderator: Scott Paltrowitz, HALT Solitary Campaign & Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement.
This panel will explore the intersection of criminal justice and mental health reform in New York State, highlighting both progress and persistent challenges. Panelists will provide updates on the implementation of the HALT Solitary Confinement Law, examine the Communities Not Cages legislative package, and discuss the recently introduced Forensic Rehabilitation Act. Together, they will analyze the impact of these proposed and passed reforms, identify barriers to meaningful change, and share strategies for advancing a more just and recovery-oriented system. Attendees will gain insights into current advocacy efforts, opportunities to get involved, and the critical role of mental health and recovery advocates in shaping the future of New York’s criminal justice policies.
28.Disruption, Discovery, Balance: Recovery as Discovery; Finding Balance Through Lived Experience and Peer Support EAST III
Greg Parnell, Director, Recovery Education Advocacy and Leadership, Crestwood Behavioral Health
In this interactive and inspiring workshop, participants will journey alongside facilitators who share their personal recovery experiences with addiction and mental health challenges. Through a colorful PowerPoint presentation and guided worksheets, attendees will explore key areas of personal wellness: Self-Discovery, Health & Nutrition, Education & Employment, Spirituality, Recreation/Re-Creation, and Relationships. The workshop will promote real-time reflection on these life domains; what’s working, what needs change, and what may need to be released. Participants will identify practical ways to enhance balance, joy, and purpose in their lives, all within a safe, peer-led space. Attendees will also develop personalized wellness strategies, increase emotional resilience, and deepen their understanding of the connection between intentional living and mental well-being. This session emphasizes the power of shared learning, reframing challenges, and the ongoing nature of recovery as a process of discovery.
29. Innovative Peer Services: How We Do What We Do and Why We Are Successful WEST I
Steve Miccio, CEO and Kim Wing, COO, People USA
The workshop will explore the components, values, practices, and training that lead to improved quality of life outcomes for those served. It will be based on a perspective of lived expertise. What does it take to build peer services that are not only effective but revolutionary? Join nationally recognized leader Steve Miccio, CEO of People USA, for an inside look at the innovative peer-led models that are transforming crisis response, community care, and systems-level change. Grounded in dignity, choice, and lived experience, People USA’s peer services have redefined what support can look like whether in hospitals, jails, or on the streets. In this engaging workshop, Steve will share the values, strategies, and practical tools that drive success, from hiring and supervision to accountability and impact. Attendees will walk away with inspiration and actionable insights for building peer programs that are visionary, effective, and deeply rooted in human connection.
1:00pm LUNCH
1:00pm ALLIANCE MEMBERSHIP LUNCH (INVITATION ONLY)
2:00pm TOWN HALL OMH COMMISSIONER ANN SULLIVAN
Moderator: Harvey Rosenthal
3:30-4:45 pm WORKSHOPS ROUND 5
30. Building the Future: Training, Developing, and Sustaining a Resilient Peer Workforce EAST II
AnnMarie Wilhelm, Peer Specialist Training Coordinator, Greater Mental Health of New York; Jim Ball and Kirsten Muth, Peer Services Administrator, MHA of Dutchess County
As demand for peer support continues to grow across behavioral health systems, so does the urgency to train, develop, and retain a skilled and sustainable peer workforce. This interactive workshop brings together leaders in peer workforce development to explore emerging trends, practical challenges, and proven strategies for building resilient peer teams. Learn how innovative, in-person, and experiential training models can better prepare prospective peer professionals to meet today’s workplace demands. Explore regionally coordinated efforts like the Mid-Hudson Family and Youth Peer Advocate initiative and how they are helping to build capacity across systems of care. Presenters will share insights on funding, recruitment, training, and retention strategies that are rooted in peer values and responsive to workforce and community needs.
31. Psychiatric Advance Directives: A Tool for Advocacy and Empowerment EAST I
Kaely Whittington, CPRS Training Coordinator, On Our Own of Maryland; Ian Rodgers, Implementation Director for the Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services, NYS Office of Mental Health, Matthew Federici, CEO and Ryan Tempesco, Program Manager, Doors to Wellbeing, Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery; Moderator: Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This session will provide a comprehensive overview of Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs)—legally binding documents that allow people to express their preferences and desired supports in advance of a mental health crisis or hospitalization. Panelists will explain what PADs are, how they can serve as powerful tools for self-advocacy and empowerment, and practical steps for completing one. The workshop will highlight strategies to ensure that providers, emergency personnel, and hospitals actually see and honor PADs, and explore the critical role of peers in supporting others to complete and store them. Presenters will also share training approaches for peers and providers who assist with PADs. In addition, the panel will review the current PAD process in New York State, outlining how people can access, complete, and benefit from this essential recovery tool. Attendees will leave with knowledge, resources, and inspiration to make PADs a part of their advocacy and service work.
32. From Surviving to Shining: Peer Innovations and Recovery Across Every Season of Life WEST I
Mona Lisa McEachin, Assistant Program Director, Recovery Community, BestSelf Behavioral Health
This 75-minute, interactive session highlights real-life peer innovations across the lifespan, from youth to elders grounded in cultural responsiveness, professional ethics, and authentic partnership. Using storytelling, ethical reflection, and systems collaboration, presenters will share how peer support transforms lives, teams, and outcomes when lived experience is seen as leadership. Through real-world examples and dialogue, attendees will leave inspired and better equipped to co-create inclusive, ethical, and recovery- oriented programs that reflect the communities they serve.
33. Recovery Through Group Process EAST III
Larry Hochwald, Program Manager, David Ferencz, Enrica Paladino and Rob Statham, Training and Technical Assistance Facilitators, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
Group Work is on the rise. It can facilitate recovery by setting up a safe environment for sharing. As a result, many peers find themselves facilitating groups without much grounding in Group Work. This training will provide a useful review of facilitating a group, looking at the process and skills necessary to facilitate meaningful groups that assist people in achieving their goals.
34. Leaning Into Language: Confronting Discomfort in Everyday Interactions NORTH
Jonathan P. Edwards, Faculty and Consultant, Columbia University School of Social Work; Liz Breier, Chief Advocacy Office, NYS Office of Mental Health
The presenters will discuss the critical role that language plays in everyday life, and more specifically in public-facing and practice settings where people’s experiences are shaped by the nuances of word choices and engagement approaches.
Using first-hand observations and formal frameworks, the presenters draw on years of experience as educators, researchers, clinicians, coaches, and peer supporters to illustrate important concepts such as intent versus impact, stigma, microaggressions, stereotypes, and race and gender-based inequities. Additionally, they share important strategies for healing and remediation using accountability, allyship, humility, introspection, as well as recognition and dismantling of privilege. This format provides several opportunities for attendee interaction as well actionable recommendations to foster healing through mindful, person- centered, and affirming communication.
35. Resilience: Bathing in the Joy of Life MARTY’S LOUNGE
Neville Morris, Director, PASS Youth Mentoring Program
The road through recovery is different for each of us. We often get help along the way; however, the role we play will have the most direct effect on the outcome. It is not enough to sit and wait for the joy to return after a traumatic experience, we got to help navigate the course. In this workshop we will cover some of the resilience preparations needed before the trip, during the ride, and life thereafter. The Recovering Art of Resilience is rightfully ours, come join us and get a few gems for the journey life presents us.
36. Meeting People Where They Are: Lessons from the INSET Peer-Led Engagement Model FORUM
Modupe Mujota, Chief Strategy Officer, Baltic Street Wellness Solutions; Ruthanne Becker, Chief Program Officer, Greater Mental Health of New York; Melissa Wettengel, CEO, Hands Across Long Island (HALI); Jennifer Levesque, CEO, Recovery Options Made Easy; Moderator: Shannon Higbee, Chief Strategy Officer, The Alliance for Rights and Recovery
The Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team (INSET) model represents a bold and compassionate shift in how peer support can reach individuals often excluded from traditional systems of care. Just over a year into statewide implementation, INSET teams across New York are demonstrating the transformative power of peer-led outreach meeting people in the community, building trust over time, and supporting recovery on each person’s terms. This panel brings together leaders from all four flagship INSET programs to share what they’ve learned, what’s working, and what’s next. Panelists will explore the values behind the model, real-world strategies for sustained engagement, and how peer leadership is redefining success for individuals who’ve experienced long-term disconnection. Come learn how INSET is changing lives and reshaping the system from the outside in.
5:00pm ALLIANCE ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY FORUM
6:00pm ALLIANCE ANNUAL MEETING FORUM
EVENING PROGRAM
6:45pm Annual BBQ Under the Stars, Music by DJ Kareem
7:45pm Stand Up for Mental Health with David Granirer
8:30pm Peer Support Meetings
- Open Peer Support
- Dual Recovery Anonymous
- NA Meeting
- LGBTQIA+
9:00pm Open Mic with Michael Skinner
9:00 pm Chess, Checkers, and Dominoes Club
9:30pm Dancing with DJ Kareem
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1, 2025
8:30-9:45am WORKSHOPS ROUND 6
37. How Peer Support Builds Healthy Relationships Across Human and Cultural Differences EAST II
Deborah Wilcox, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Confluency Consultants and Associates
This workshop will engage participants in dialogue focused on the various ways that mental health peer support builds healthy relationships across cultural and human differences. The dialogue will include voices and lived experiences of participants from culturally diverse communities, inclusive of faith-based, ethnicity, language, geographical, LGBTQI, ability more.
38. Inside Supportive Housing: Data, Stories, and Lived Experiences MARTY’S LOUNGE
Joelle Ballam-Schwan, Director of Programs and Engagement, Rachel Barth, Senior Data Analyst, The Supportive Housing Network of New York; Oscar Gamble, Medication Counselor, Concern Housing; Doug Cooper, Associate Executive Director, Association for Community Living
A recent report from the Supportive Housing Network of New York offers a detailed look at tenant demographics across New York State, including race, ethnicity, age, and gender. Another report captures powerful insights from roundtable conversations with over 100 tenants about their experiences, challenges, and needs. Together, the findings send a clear message: supportive housing must provide culturally responsive services, and peers “individuals with lived experience” are essential to creating safe, effective, and empowering environments. This session will feature a brief overview of the research, a discussion on how government agencies and providers can act on these findings, and a conversation with tenants who live and work in supportive housing about their trajectories and the importance of their work. The session will also include an open dialogue, inviting lived experts in the audience to share their perspectives and provide feedback on the findings
39. Spirituality in Recovery: Creating Space for All Paths NORTH
Katheryn Manglos, Jawonio; Amy Brinkley, Executive Director/Founder, Paul’s Plan Ministries and Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
Across our community, religious and spiritual beliefs and practices are fundamental components of our recovery. The presenters will explore the impact of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths in their lives. They will also look at how one agency incorporates spirituality in their program and services.
40. New York Needs Mental Health Self Direction! EAST I
Keith Aguiar, Program Manager, Community Access, Jennifer Sutton, Director of Employment & Family Services, Independent Living; Participants TBA
Self-Direction is all about self-determined utilization of community resources to drive unique wellness plans that would be otherwise inaccessible. This workshop will provide the most up to date findings about mental health Self Direction and its outcomes in New York, as well as to describe current efforts to expand the model across New York state. Attendees will learn about how Self Direction functions, and how it supports wellness through increasing self-determination and addressing the social determinants of health directly. Attendees will also learn about advocacy in NY state to expand the program statewide, and how they can get involved.
41. The Power of Peers: What Ohio’s Research Can Teach Us About Strengthening Peer Support in New York EAST III
Michael Krause, Executive Director, Ohio Peer Recovery Organizations (OhioPRO)
Ohio is among the leaders in elevating the voices of individuals with lived experience through a statewide research initiative aimed at understanding and strengthening Peer Support throughout the state. This session will explore findings from The Power of Peers report, which offers a comprehensive look at peer-run organizations, service gaps, and the impact of peer-delivered recovery supports. OhioPRO’s executive director, Michael Krause, will share how Ohio’s collaborative, data-driven approach is shaping policy, funding decisions, and discuss how similar strategies can be adapted to support New York’s peer movement. Participants will leave with insights, tools, and inspiration to help advance data-driven Peer advocacy in their own communities.
42. When Calling for Help Turns Bad: Community Led Alternatives to Police Crisis Response FORUM
Susan Musante, Owner, Rehabilitation and Recovery Resources; Chacku Mathai, Director, CRESTNY Institute at the Center for Practice Innovations; Earl Miller, Director of Community Supports and Liz Mombourquette, Wildflower Alliance; Nze Okoronta, Co- Executive Director, Supporting Opportunities for Advocacy and Resilience; Moderator: Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This panel will explore innovative, community-based alternatives to law enforcement in responding to mental health and substance use crises. Panelists will share lessons learned from efforts across the nation to reduce police involvement, highlighting both the best practice models and the challenges of integrating new systems within local communities—such as navigating relationships with police and other public safety agencies. The discussion will also focus on New York’s proposed Daniel’s Law legislation to create a statewide non-police response system, along with new funding for Daniel’s Law pilot programs and the launch of the state’s Behavioral Health Crisis Technical Assistance Center. Participants will walk away with insights on building compassionate, health-led crisis response systems that prioritize safety, dignity, and recovery over force.
43. Interrupting Oppression EAST III
Shamona Kirkland, Statewide Trainer and Bryant Pugh, Director of Statewide Training, Mental Health Empowerment Project
This dynamic and interactive workshop is designed for peer specialists, community leaders, and service providers committed to advancing equity and justice in their work and relationships. Through real-world scenarios, reflective dialogue, and collaborative exercises, participants will explore the roots and impact of oppression, both systemic and interpersonal. Grounded in trauma-informed and peer support values, this session will help participants recognize everyday forms of oppression and build confidence in using respectful, person- centered strategies to interrupt harmful dynamics. Whether navigating bias in the workplace, confronting internalized oppression, or responding to microaggressions in peer spaces, this workshop offers tools for advocacy, accountability, and connection.
10:00-11:15 am KEYNOTE PANEL FORUM
TAKING UP THE FIGHT TO ADDRESS FEDERAL POLICY THREATS!
Congressman Paul Tonko; Paolo del Vecchio, Independent Consultant; Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Director Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Rob Kent, President, Kent Strategic Advisors; Angelia Smith-Wilson, Executive Director, FOR-NY, representative for Faces and Voices of Recovery. Moderator: Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
11:30am-12:15 pm WORKSHOPS ROUND 7
44. We Know What We Need: On Crisis, Resistance & Survival MARTY’S LOUNGE
Nze Okoronta, Co-Executive Director, Supporting Opportunities for Advocacy and Resilience
Nze will explore how survivors and peer supporters navigate crisis—individually, interpersonally, and collectively. Together, we’ll reflect on the wisdom born from lived experience, examine the tensions of co-optation and burnout, and reconnect with the radical roots of our movement. Grounded in resistance and resilience, this session serves as a call to action to affirm our inherent power to survive, support one another, and shape responses to distress that honor dignity, autonomy, and community care.
45. Pathways to Trauma Recovery EAST III
Michael Skinner, Director, Surviving Spirit; Chrys Ballerano, Founder/Owner, Chrys Ballerano Consulting Services
Longtime favorites of our Alliance Conference, Michael and Chrys will share what has helped them in their own personal trauma healing, including the use of music and drumming, and what they have learned as advocates and educators of trauma, abuse and mental health. Workshop participants will come away with a better understanding, enhanced knowledge and skills to help others and themselves.
46. Social Stigma and Shame in the LGBTQ+ Community EAST II
Beth Bloom, Peer Outreach Coordinator, Recovery Options Made Easy
Living authentically is the goal all people. To be free to live where you want, to love who you love and to feel safe in pursuing life goals. The LGBTQ+ community doesn’t always have the luxury to be living authentically. This workshop with discuss how shame and stigma impacts the lives of the LGBTQ+ community as well as provide understanding of how to be an ally and best to support LGBTQ+ people you are providing peer support.
47. Increasing Access to Housing, Food and Transportation: How the 1115 Medicaid Waiver Affects You FORUM
Brett Scudder, Scudder Intervention Services Foundation, Jeffrey McQueen, Executive Director, Mental Health Association of Nassau County, Board Member, Health Equity Alliance of Long Island (HEALI),Luke Sikinyi, Vice President for Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the New York Health Equity Reform (NYHER) 1115 Medicaid Waiver and the transformative services it brings to communities. Panelists will explain how Social Care Networks (SCNs) are contracting with community-based organizations to connect Medicaid members to essential supports, including housing, food, and transportation. The session will also walk through what the process looks like for Medicaid recipients—how people are screened, how services are delivered, and the steps individuals can take to access these supports right away. Attendees will gain practical knowledge on how to connect to these services, and how the waiver can help address health-related social needs that are critical to recovery and long-term wellness.
48. From Burnout to Belonging: Using the SWAP Tool to Cultivate Trauma- Responsive Teams EAST I
Luis Lopez, Director of I CONECT, Nandini Chakravarty, Coaching & Training Specialist Marissa Messiah, and Samantha Headley, Trainer & Implementation Specialists, Center for Practice Innovation
How do we create work cultures where providers not only survive but feel seen, supported, and well? This interactive session introduces the Safety and Wellness Action Plan (SWAP) — a simple, powerful team tool designed to foster psychological safety, wellness, and strategic alignment. Originally developed to support direct service teams working in high-stress, trauma-impacted environments, SWAP offers a structured, replicable process for team inquiry, repair, and transformation.
Participants will explore the seven components of the SWAP and learn how it supports teams in:
- Naming what wellness looks and feels like in their specific context,
- Identifying signs of team distress before it escalates to crisis,
- Co-developing proactive and reparative practices for collective resilience.
Through guided reflection, real-world examples, and small group discussion, attendees will walk away with a clear framework they can bring back to their organizations. Whether your team is newly forming, deeply struggling, or somewhere in between, the SWAP can serve as a living map for staying grounded, connected, and aligned.
This session centers trauma-informed values such as voice, collaboration, cultural humility, and sustainability, and is especially relevant for leaders, supervisors, and teams committed to shifting organizational culture from reactive to responsive.
49. From Presence to Power: Advancing Peer Roles in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics WEST I
Nev Jones, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburg Social of Social Work; Liz Breier, Chief Advocacy Officer, NYS Office of Mental Health; Chacku Mathai, Director, CRESTNY Institute at the Center for Practice; Moderator: Shannon Higbee, Chief Strategy Officer, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
CCBHCs are transforming the behavioral health landscape, but what does meaningful peer integration look like within these expansive systems of care? This powerful panel brings together policy leaders, national researchers, and peer advocates to explore how Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers can advance recovery-oriented practice through authentic peer workforce development and structural inclusion. Drawing on state policy insights, participatory research, and on-the-ground experience, panelists will examine opportunities and challenges in building equitable roles for peer support staff inside CCBHCs. Topics include co-supervision strategies, fidelity and role clarity, and how peer voice is shaping clinical culture and system reform. Whether you’re a provider, policymaker, or peer, this session offers tools and inspiration to ensure peers are not just present but powerful within the future of behavioral healthcare.
50. Breath-Body-Mind (BBM): A Breath . . . Our Power, Our Resilience NORTH
Denise Quamina, Senior Consultant, NYS Trauma Informed Network and Resource Center; Barbara Tedesco, Recovery & Resiliency Market Lead, NY, NJ, RI, United Healthcare; Myeesha Taylor, Campus Staff Development & Training Coordinator, Jewish Child Care Association of NY (JCCANY)
This workshop is equally valuable to any individual, in any walk of life, who aspires to learn practical tools to build a mindfulness/breathing practice into their life. The Breath- Body-Mind program includes simple breathing and gentle movement derived from yoga, qigong, martial arts, meditation, and modern neuroscience that are easy and fun to learn. The learning goals are to provide a basic understanding of the science and how slow breathing practices are particularly effective in building self-regulation, stress resilience, and wellness. In addition, individuals will learn how to follow up and continue study and skill-building, if desired.