As the Director of Recovery and Peer Services at Riverside Community Care, Amie provides consultation, training, and development across Riverside’s divisions. Her background includes staff and supervisory roles in both residential and community-based services, where she supported those living with substance use challenges, mental health differences, and co-occurring disorders. She is a Certified Peer Specialist and is also on the Massachusetts Certified Peer Specialist training team. Amie serves on numerous councils and boards across the Commonwealth, focused on amplifying support in areas from community policing and behavioral health, substance use, and mental wellness. Amie is passionate about collaborating across roles to support individuals seeking services, promoting harm reduction and recovery-based principles, and training others on the importance and implementation of person-centered care.

As the Assistant Director of Recovery and Peer Support at Advocates, Billy has worked in the addiction recovery and peer support field for the past 15 years. He is a person who has lived experience with addiction and mental health recovery. Billy uses that experience to help expand peer support services throughout Massachusetts while educating on the importance of self-determination and equity in treatment services.

Catrina, a Boston native, attended Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware where she studied Criminal Justice and Sociology. She returned to Boston and worked as a correctional officer at MCI Framingham and at Hillside Pre-release providing case management to state felons. It was during this time that Catrina found her passion for working with the disenfranchised population. She then studied Psychology at the University of Massachusetts and worked as the Director of Short-Term Treatment program for the Suffolk County House of Correction. Catrina then shifted her focus to drugs, alcohol, HIV and AIDS by studying with Francis Brisbane receiving a certificate in Drug and Alcohol Counseling from the National Black Alcohol Institute. For 8 years, Catrina worked on the AIDS Action Committee where she provided client and prevention services. She then worked as the Program Coordinator at the Multicultural AIDS Coalition tearing down barriers in the community around the AIDS virus. For over 15 years, Catrina has mobilized communities of color to end the epidemic of HIV and AIDS. She is now the Program Manager of Community Affairs Recovery Services at the Boston Public Health Commission. She worked closely with Nubian Square and Mass and Cass decreasing harm around drug use and homelessness. Catrina has also worked with the Voter Corps initiative lead by Kevin Peterson and Danny Glover advocating for voters rights specifically in communities of color. Personally, Catrina has a passion for music, and created Behind the ScenZeZ Health UpBeat, which brings health education to music entertainment venues. In her free time, Catrina sings gospel music, is on Freda Battle and The Temple Worshippers CD, Serious Praise. Catrina believes her interests and accomplishments have come together because of her belief in God, hoping that one day HIV is eradicated.

Edwin Suarez was born in Bronx, NY and moved to Worcester in 1988 and has been a resident of Massachusetts since. Edwin is a person in long term recovery and became a Recovery Coach in 2018. Edwin is a Certified Addictions Recovery Coach and is a graduate of the Latinx American Substance Abuse Counselor Education Program. Edwin was a member of the Springfield Public Health Council for the City of Springfield from 2019-2023 before he moved to Central Massachusetts in 2023. Edwin was selected to be part of the LEAP 8 for the Board of Governors Stepping Up Initiative and has been part of the Opiate Task Force for Western and Central Massachusetts. Edwin is currently an Advocate Case Manager to 2 transitional homes in Chicopee. Edwin is a Recovery Coach for a PATH team in Worcester and a bilingual facilitator for the CCAR Recovery Coach Academy, fluent in both English and Spanish. Edwin is an Advocate and continues to be a role model in his community.

Erica is the Assistant Director of the statewide FIRST Steps Together Training and Technical Assistance Team housed at Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Boston. She began her work 15 years ago as a Family Support Specialist and MAT Advocate with the FRESH Start Program after successfully completing the program herself, as a client. Through her work with FRESH Start and later, Project NESST, she began speaking publicly and training providers and medical professionals in Massachusetts and across the country on the benefits of peer support, recovery coaching, using parenting as a catalyst to recovery and the importance of trauma-informed practices for individuals and families with substance use disorder. Today, she provides training and technical assistance to the organizations implementing the FIRST Steps Together Program as well as collaborating with other agencies and programs across the state of Massachusetts to promote the development and use of the peer workforce to support parents affected by substance use.

Jacquie, the Director of the Peer 2 Peer Recovery Coach Project in New Bedford, is a woman in long term recovery. As a certified coach and AREAS facilitator for MOAR, Jacquie has been working in the field since 2017. She overcame her addiction by utilizing a strong support group that showed her the way to realize that recovery is real and is a strong believer in multiple pathways and holistic healing. Jacquie’s goal is to advocate for justice and educate those in the community that she serves, that recovery is possible.

John Michael is a Massachusetts native from the Worcester area, and grateful to be currently serving the recovery community as a Coordinator at the Turning Point Recovery Center in Walpole. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Worcester State University and has worked in the pharmaceutical manufacturing field over the course of his career. John loves working with others to come up with creative ideas and solutions to problems in the interest of continuous growth and improvement. He has a passion for developing training and educational content and believes that learning is an invaluable wellness journey tool. “I am thrilled and grateful to be a voice on this committee and hope to lend my passion and experience to aid in furthering the REC mission."

Mandy began working in the field of recovery at Hope for Holyoke Peer Recovery Center as a volunteer in the summer of 2019 and in 2021 became Peer Outreach Coordinator. With spirituality at the core of her recovery, she utilizes multiple pathways in recovery. She has found that the more structured groups (such as Celebrate Recovery, Refuge Recovery and other 12 step programs) have a similar same model, which she implements into her life. Mandy also enjoys the freedom of expression in more holistic pathways, such as art, writing, and yoga. Mandy has been learning a lot about herself in her recovery journey and is excited to learn more about the recovery field, while giving back to the communities she serves. Mandy strongly believes in the peer model, which she credits for her success and thrives on collaboration in teamwork. She is excited to use her skills as a part of the peer steering committee on the Recovery Education Collaborative.

Paul, a native Bostonian, has been in long-term recovery since 1988, after 22 years of active addiction. During Paul’s recovery he has worked for the City of Boston in maintenance at the John Shelburne Community Center, while simultaneously employed part-time as a live-in case manager at Second Home, a transitional housing program. Paul was given the opportunity to become employed as a housing advocate at the Boston based program, HomeStart. Following his time working at HomeStart he aided in the development of the Richardson House, a post detox temporary housing program, as the program director. During his time there, he supervised staff and provided support for homeless women and men transitioning from detox programs to personal residences and/or recovery homes. During this period Paul was also a residential counselor for the AIDS Action Committee. Presently, Paul works part-time for the Pine Street Inn as a residential counselor in their housing department.

Richard is a person in long term recovery and has worked in the recovery field for over a decade as a Recovery Coach, Supervisor, and Program Manager. Richard created and curates the RecoveryBinder.com website and hosts the Buds with Suds podcast. In his past life, he was a nationally published journalist and blogger and worked in the tech industry. He continues to write and advocate for people in recovery, the recovery curious, and those working in the field.