Board Members
Deborah Garrett has played a significant role in the growth and development of peer services and recovery community organizations (RCOs) in her home state of Michigan. She has helped to develop curriculum for peer support services and delivered services as an inpatient clinician. She previously served as Director of Recovery Communication for REAL Michigan, a Detroit-based recovery community organization, and worked with other recovery community organizations across the state developing infrastructure and providing training. Her experience also includes training as a first responder for her local Emergency Sexual Assault Service Provider, giving her a unique perspective on delivering gender-specific and trauma informed services.
Deborah served as an appointee to the state's Behavioral Health Advisory Committee which oversees the block grant funding application process and is the current Board President of the Michigan Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors.
Deborah holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Administration. She is a Certified Peer Recovery Mentor and Prevention Specialist.
In addition to her personal and professional experience, her course work has included volunteer and human resource management, resource development, strategic planning and program implementation.
Deborah Garrett
Jimmy McGill
Overcoming a lifetime of incarceration and 23 years of substance use disorder, Jimmy McGill has beat all odds and is living his best life! His recently published book, “From Prison to Purpose,” is a detailed account of his journey to sustained recovery.
Jimmy is the Recovery Manager for the Arkansas Drug Director’s office and a certified Peer Recovery Peer Supervisor (PRPS). His lived experience has allowed him the chance to lead the development of the Peer Recovery Infrastructure throughout Arkansas. He has assisted in the training of over 330 Peer Recovery Specialists.
His dedicated efforts have allowed Arkansas to place peer recovery inside the Department of Human Services, the Division of Youth Services, the Department of Health, emergency rooms, drug courts, jails, reentry centers, law enforcement partnerships, Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) and community service centers.
He spearheaded the development of the Arkansas Model of Peer Recovery which has now gained national attention. He and his wife are the founders of Next Step Recovery Housing, a nonprofit recovery foundation that houses people in recovery.
Jimmy was the founding member of both the Arkansas Peers Advisory Committee (APAC) and the Arkansas Peers Achieving Recovery Together (A.P.A.R.T) coalition and is the current chair for the SAMHSA Region 6 Peer Support Advisory Committee.
Dan McCawley, ICPR, CIP, is a West Virginia native and a person in recovery. Dan is the director of operations for West Virginia Sober Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit specializing in peer-run recovery residences and community outreach. He is an internationally certified peer recovery support specialist and certified interventionist, giving him a well-rounded perspective on substance use disorder care.
Dan brings decades of operational management to the team and enjoys the challenges of a wide array of operations. He is a leader in the peer community in West Virginia and across the nation. His insight into best practices in peer recovery have led him to develop peer recovery trainings for continuing education in West Virginia and beyond.
Dan McCawley
Stefanie Robinson
Stefanie Robinson is the Executive Director of Hope Recovery Community, a Recovery Community Organization (RCO) in Medina County, Ohio serving those impacted by addiction. She is also the Medina County Coordinator of Recovery Peer Support Services at OhioGuidestone and the Director of Recovery Support Services for Ohio Citizen Advocates for Addiction Recovery (OCAAR).
Stefanie has over 13 years in recovery from drugs and alcohol, mental health and an eating disorder. She has served on the boards for the Ohio Citizen Advocates for Addiction Recovery and Eating Disorder Advocates of Ohio and currently serves on the board of directors for the National Peer Recovery Alliance.
She spent several years working in recovery peer support, and in 2016 worked alongside the Medina County Adult Probation Department and the Medina County Court of Common Pleas to launch the Recovery Center of Medina County. In 2018, she went on to organize and establish Medina’s first RCO, Hope Recovery Community.
Over the years, Stefanie has been acknowledged often for her work in recovery. In 2017, she was awarded the Cleveland Clinic Medina County Community Service Award for her leadership in the Medina County Recovery Community and in 2018 the Medina County ADAMH Board awarded Stefanie the Recovery Advocate of the Year Award for her work in tackling the opiate epidemic in Medina County. She was named OhioGuidestone Regional MVP in 2019 and that spring, she was named OneStep Peer Supporter of the Year. In the fall of 2020, Robinson was awarded the State of Ohio Cares Award by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities under the category Champion of Recovery.
Ken Brown
Ken Brown, CRPS, NCPS, works for the Florida Department of Children and Families and is the Recovery Oriented System of Care Quality Improvement Specialist for the state’s Suncoast Region.
Ken is a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (CRPS) through the Florida Certification Board (FCB), a National Certified Peer Specialist (NCPS) through Mental Health America (MHA) and a recognized/certified trainer for peer specialists seeking certification through the State of Florida. He is also an advanced level WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) Facilitator, providing courses throughout the Suncoast region as well as other trainings for peers.
Ken plays a role in developing Recovery Community Organizations within the Suncoast region and also works closely with mental health and substance use providers on prevention, education and harm reduction.
Brenda Schell
Brenda Schell is the Missouri Public Health Analyst for the Overdose Response Strategy, a national project dedicated to building partnerships between public health and public safety agencies and organizations in each individual state. The mission of the Overdose Response Strategy is to help communities reduce fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses by connecting public health and public safety agencies, sharing information, and supporting evidence-based interventions.
Previously, Brenda spent 10+ years as Executive Director of a statewide substance use recovery advocacy organization whose mission was to eliminate barriers to recovery for all affected by substance use disorders. While in this position, she wrote a grant to bring the first SUD peer training to Missouri. She also served as the Diversion Outreach Coordinator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Field Division, covering the states of Missouri, Kansas and Illinois.
Brenda has a tremendous amount of knowledge, skill and experience working in the substance use recovery field. She has served on multiple statewide and national committees to identify and provide recommendations for improving programs for the prevention, treatment and recovery from substance use disorders.
Peer support is critical to our comprehensive treatment model at Addiction Recovery Care.
Connecting our clients to peers has proven to be very effective and impactful.
ARC is proud to support NPRA's advocacy and educational efforts to elevate and empower the peer recovery workforce in Kentucky and across the country.
Addiction Recovery Care
Dave Sheridan
Dave Sheridan is a co-founder and now Executive Director of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences. He is a national speaker and writer with a primary focus on the development and operation of statewide recovery housing systems. In addition to his work at the national level, Dave advises state agencies on the establishment and growth of their recovery housing support and certification systems. He has been involved in policy development for recovery housing, including model state oversight and support legislation, on medication-assisted recovery, and on fair housing issues and related legislation.
He has been active in the addiction recovery field since 2005, initially as a board member of a Southern California recovery housing organization. His experience in the field includes management positions for a prominent addiction treatment provider and board positions for two nonprofit recovery residences. Dave’s professional background is in institutional investment management, where he held executive positions with nationally prominent financial institutions. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California Berkeley and an MBA from the University of California Berkeley’s Haas Graduate School of Business.
