Caroline Beidler, MSW, is an author, speaker, recovery advocate, and Managing Editor of Recovery.com. Drawing from professional expertise and lived experience, she creates resources focused on addiction, trauma, family recovery, faith, and emotional well-being. Caroline has more than 20 years of experience across behavioral health, social work, research, ministry, and recovery advocacy. She is the author of four books, including When You Love Someone in Recovery, and the founder of the Women’s Recovery Leadership Foundation. Her work connects personal storytelling, clinical knowledge, community leadership, and systems-level change.

Honesty Liller is the Chief Executive Officer of The McShin Foundation, a nationally accredited, peer-to-peer Recovery Community Organization in Virginia. In recovery from a substance use disorder since May 27, 2007, she is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist and the best-selling author of Scattered Pink. Honesty has appeared on Face the Nation, CNN, FOX News, and PBS. She also founded Honesty Liller Coaching, where she helps women build confidence, pursue their purpose, and lead authentically. Her work centers on expanding peer-led support, reducing stigma, and creating inclusive recovery communities.

Racquel Garcia is the Executive Director of the HardBeauty Foundation and a nationally recognized recovery advocate, peer leader, and community builder. Drawing from her own lived experience in long-term recovery, she has dedicated her career to expanding peer support, strengthening recovery-focused systems, and ensuring people and families receive compassionate care during their most difficult moments. Racquel also serves as Chairwoman of Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration Advisory Council and is appointed by the Attorney General to the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council.

Evan Done is a person in long-term recovery from both a substance use and co-occurring mood disorder. He currently serves as the Associate Director at the Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) which he joined as a volunteer in 2015. Evan is on the Board of Directors for the national advocacy organization Faces & Voices of Recovery and locally for the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition. In June 2024, he was appointed by Governor Spencer Cox to serve as the representative of a person with lived experience of substance use disorder to serve on Utah's newly formed Behavioral Health Commission. As a proud queer man with extensive experience in the non-profit sector and over twenty years of experience in social justice advocacy, he is dedicated to creating a more equitable, just, and sustainable world.

Nicole Criss is a woman in long-term recovery, the co-founder and Executive Director of CARPS SC, a Recovery Community Organization serving rural South Carolina. Her experience with opioid use disorder inspired her commitment to advocacy, peer support, and systems change. Nicole holds a master’s degree in Addiction Studies and a Doctorate in Human Services. Her doctoral research examined barriers to medication treatment for opioid use disorder. Her experience includes behavioral health case management, rural recovery resource development, and service as a field reviewer for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Thomas Guerra is a person in long-term recovery, nonprofit leader, mental health professional, and advocate. While earning his master’s degree in mental health counseling at Florida International University, he founded Panthers for Recovery, a collegiate recovery community. He later founded the Miami Recovery Project to expand peer support, recovery education, community outreach, and connections to care. In 2023, Thomas launched F Fentanyl, now known as No More Dead Homies, to provide overdose prevention education, naloxone, and recovery support. His work reflects his belief that every life is worth saving and recovery is possible.

Laurisa Barthen, MPH, MBA, CPS-AD, serves as Executive Director of the Georgia Council for Recovery (GC4R), Georgia’s statewide recovery community organization. A public health and recovery leader, she has extensive experience developing and leading peer support initiatives, strengthening recovery-oriented systems of care, and building cross-sector partnerships. Laurisa serves on several statewide commissions and advisory bodies, including the Addiction Committee of Georgia’s Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission and the Georgia Behavioral Health Planning and Advisory Council. She earned her MPH from Emory University and MBA from Western Governors University, is a Certified Peer Specialist in Addictive Diseases, and is a mother living in long-term recovery.