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We are thrilled to have SAMHSA’s Paolo Del Vecchio as one of the keynote speakers at ����������’ 41st Annual Conference, ‘Promoting Rights Across the Nation, Recovery Across the Lifespan.’ 

Mr. del Vecchio is the Director of the Office of Recovery where he provides leadership for SAMHSA’s efforts to advance recovery across the nation. This includes expanding the availability of recovery support services – including peer services, housing, employment, and whole health care – to people with mental health and/or substance use conditions and their families.

Previously, Mr. del Vecchio served as SAMHSA’s Executive Officer and Director of the Office of Management, Technology and Operations and led improvements in the areas of human resources, information technology, ethics, and more. He also previously served as Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services, providing executive leadership for Federal efforts to improve the nation’s mental health service systems. This included management of the federal/state mental health block grant program and directing a range of programs and activities that address topics such as suicide prevention, children’s mental health, homelessness, disaster mental health, HIV/AIDS, and others. Mr. del Vecchio also previously served as the CMHS Associate Director for Consumer Affairs where he directed SAMHSA’s precedent-setting programs and activities that advanced consumer participation and education, a recovery orientation for the mental health system, peer support and the adoption of certified peer specialists, wellness and primary care integration, understanding of trauma histories and the social determinants of health and mental health, and led programs to reduce discrimination and prejudice associated with mental illnesses.

Prior to joining SAMHSA, Paolo worked for the Philadelphia Office of Mental Health in the areas of policy formulation and the planning of a comprehensive system of community-based mental health services addressing homelessness, HIV/AIDS, and many other issues.

A self-identified mental health consumer, trauma survivor, and person in recovery, Paolo has been involved in behavioral health for over 40 years as a consumer, family member, provider, advocate, and policy maker. He graduated summa cum laude with a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Temple University, has published widely, and is a highly sought after national leader and speaker. Paolo has been a leader in many Federal efforts including the Federal Advisory Planning Board for the Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, the HHS Multiple Chronic Conditions Initiative, the HHS Living Community Initiative and numerous others.

See below for more information about the conference, including registration information excerpts from the program.

YOU CAN REGISTER NOW! SEE SEPARATE REGISTRATION LINKS BELOW
for the CONFERENCE and the HOTEL

Note: the September 26-28th hotel fee includes lodging
(make clear whether you’re booking for 1 or 2 people),
7 meals starting with lunch on Tuesday and ending with lunch on Thursday,
nightly entertainment, and access to most hotel facilities.

���������� 2023 ANNUAL PROGRAM EXCERPTS
(see information about many other presentations later next week)

PUBLIC POLICY

• Federal Public Policy Panel       
  Jennifer Mathis, US Department of Justice; Dara Kass, US Department of Health and Human Services; HHS; Paolo del Vecchio, SAMHSA Office of Recovery

• Mental Health in the Schools     
  Kelly Davis, Mental Health America, Washington, DC and panel

• Updates on ����������’s Medicaid 1115 and IMD waivers
  Lauren Tobias, Brown & Weinraub

• The View from the States          
  Amy Brinkley, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors; Noah Abdenour, Texas Health and Human Services Commission; Amanda NYS Office of Mental Health

PEER SERVICES

• Listening to the Peer Workforce: Top Ten Recommendations    
  Jeremy Reuling, People USA; Jessica Wolf, Yale Group on Workforce Development; Rita Cronise, Rutgers University, Freehold, NJ

• Tokenism: The Path to Peer Drift               
  Joanne Forbes, Rutgers University, Morgantown, NJ; Elizabeth “Mya” Haley and Abaigel “Abbe” Duke, Center for Practice Innovation, ���������� City, ����������

• No, Nothing, None! Answers to Three Critical Questions about Supervision of Peer Supporters       
  Joanne Forbes, Rita Cronise, Amy Spagnolo, Rutgers University, Freehold, NJ; Gita Enders, Health + Hospitals and Jonathan Edwards, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC, ����������

• Strategies for Developing The Justice Peer Workforce        
  LaVerne Daisy Miller, Transitional Services for NY and Helen “Skip” Skipper, The NYC Justice Peer Initiative. Bronx, ����������

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Keeping the Movement Moving 
  Laura Van Tosh, Global Mental Health Peer Network, Washington; Gayle Bluebird, Independent Consultant, Gainesville, FL; Laura Prescott, Sister Witness International, Cornville, Arizona; Harvey Rosenthal, Albany, NY

• Fighting Forced Treatment From Coast to Coast
  Andrea Wagner, California Association of Mental Health Peer-Run Organizations (CAMHPRO,) Chico, CA; Cherene Caraco, Promise Resource Network, Charlotte, NC; Harvey Rosenthal, ����������, Albany, NY

HEALING

• Healing Through the Arts 
  Gayle Bluebird, Independent Consultant, Gainesville, FL

• A Springboard to My Higher Self        
  Emily Grossman, Pathway Home Training Institute, NY, ����������

RECOVERY ALONG THE LIFESPAN

• Empowering the next Generation of Disability Human Rights Leaders through Multigenerational Collaboration        
  Bianca Logan, Young Leaders and Advocates Network, Victor, NY; Kevin Smith, Mental Health Peer Connection and Stephanie Orlando, WNY Center for Independent Living, Buffalo, NY

• Addressing the Rising Mental Health Needs of an Aging Population
  Michael Friedman, Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of NY; Michelle Zechner, Rutgers University; Harvey Rosenthal, ����������, Albany, NY

DIVERSITY

• Trauma Informed Peer Support for Sexual and Gender Diverse Communities
  Elise Diamond MHA in Ulster, Kingston, NY; Em Wasserman, Mental Health Empowerment Project, Albany, NY

• Healing Black Women’s Ancestral & Intergenerational Trauma    
  Chiquita Williams, Consultant, Fountain House, NYC, ����������

• Did They Say That? Yes They Did!- Dealing with Microaggressions in Supervision       
  Jonathan Edwards, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC, ����������; Jessica Wolf, Yale Group on Workforce Development

EMPLOYMENT

• Racial (In)justice and Employment    
  Paul Margolies, Karen Broadway-Wilson, Raymond Gregory, Thomas Jewel, Gary Scannevin, Norman Kim; Center for Practice Innovation, ���������� City, NY

• Employment: Expanding Outcomes, Building Success
  Regina Kaiser Ruth Gonzales Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network, Fairfield, CA

TRAUMA

• Healing through Spiritual Practices with a Trauma Informed Lens
  Patty Blum, Crestwood Behavioral Health, Sacramento, CA; Lori Ashcraft, Nevada City, CA

• Trauma and the Workplace       
  Clarencetine (Teena) Brooks, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, LaVerne Miller, Transitional Services for NY, Patrice Peterson, Vibrant Emotional Health, Maryam Husamudeen, ����������, Albany, NY; Cathy Cave, Inspired Vision, LLC

PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION

• Approach Matters: What Is Psych Rehab and Why Should I Ask For It?
  Daniella Labate-Covelli, Steve Nawotniak, Brittany Higgins, ���������� Psychiatric Rehabilitation Training Academy, Albany, NY