You’re Invited!

Why attend ? Attendees will have access to a variety of high quality educational sessions provided by experts in their field. Whole day attendance will provide 5.0 CEU hours, nearly half of the 14 CEU hours that CRSs and CHWs need for certification renewal. The whole conference will focus on peer support and provide a perfect opportunity for peer support and mental health professionals to network! There will also be an award ceremony to recognize excellence in this field.

What will I learn about? You’ll have access to a wide range of sessions covering topics such as harm reduction, peer ethics, self care, and more! You can find the complete agenda on the conference webpage. Stay tuned for upcoming keynote speaker announcements!

How do I attend? You can complete registration online (see below). Please notice that registration is currently only open to individuals who are certified as a CHW, CHW/CRS, or CAPRC.

Meet the 2023 Keynote Speakers!

Morning Keynote – 9:00 – 9:50 AM EST

Dana Foglesong, MSW, NCPS, CRPS

Dana has held national leadership positions in the private and nonprofit sectors and within state government. In these roles, she utilizes her professional experience and lived/living experience of recovery to transform policy and practice, deliver data-driven innovation, and work for the meaningful inclusion of people served and their families in the design, delivery, and evaluation of systems and services. Dana has received peer support, has been a certified peer specialist for 13 years, and has supervised peer specialists and community health workers. For the last four years she has been in leadership at the National Association of Peer Supporters where her work has shaped policy and practice including leading the group that developed the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Supervisors and the proposed standard occupational classification definition for peer support specialists.

Afternoon Keynote – 1:00 – 2:00 PM EST

Amy Brinkley CAPRCII, CRS/CHW 

Recovery Support Systems Coordinator,

National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD)

Amy Brinkley is a person with 13 years of direct lived experience with Mental Health and Substance Use recovery. Her passion and expertise are driven from the loss of three brothers to suicide and her mother to an overdose. Her heart is to advocate for change across the country through effective recovery data collection and evaluation processes that drive recovery-oriented outcomes which will in turn improve the quality of life and sustained recovery for people with substance use disorders and mental illness.

Professionally, Amy Brinkley served for (5) five years as the Director of Recovery Support Services in the state of Indiana with the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction. She most recently served for 2 years as the Chairperson for NASMHPD’s National Division of Recovery Support Services advocating for the professionalization of recovery supports across the country. Amy has also been a contributing author on several American Psychiatric Association Journals related to peer support through her work on the APA Policy Advisory Board and continues to serve in this capacity today. Currently Amy serves as NASMHPD’s (National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors) Recovery Support Systems Coordinator, is also a wife and mother to 4 children and resides in Indiana.

Noah Abdenour, Certified Mental Health Peer Specialist

Noah is the Director of the Peer Support and Recovery (PRS) at Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). PRS oversees peer and recovery service delivery programs, supports the peer workforce, and acts as a consultive entity to agencies and organizations across the state and nation.

Prior to working for HHSC, Noah served as Director of Peer Support Services for Bluebonnet Trails, a community service provider for eight central Texas counties. He also worked as a peer specialist at Austin State Hospital for five years, ultimately serving as the peer support discipline director for the Texas State Hospital System.

Noah helped lead the advocacy effort to create a peer support Medicaid benefit during the 85^th legislative session (TXHB1486). He served as the presiding officer of the stakeholder workgroup that assisted with the creation of the benefit.

Noah currently lives in Austin, Texas with his dog Hazel. They love to cook, watch scary movies, and take walks.

2023 CHW/CRS Conference Agenda

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