Annie Powell shares her journey from working in peer supportto founding One World Recovery Network (OWRN) and serving as director of SAMHSA’s Center for Addiction Recovery Support (CARS). We talk about what it takes to step into executive leadership as a person with lived experience and why professional development must be a priority as the workforce grows. Annie discusses OWRN’s efforts to strengthen training, supervision, and career pathways for peers, as well as CARS’ broader national initiatives aimed atmoving the workforce forward.

Racquel Garcia joins me to share her journey from frontline peer work to testifying before Congress. In this powerful conversation, Racquel discusses how advocacy can grow organically from lived experience and why peers belong in decision-making spaces. We explore what it takes to step into leadership, how to navigate systems that weren’t built with peers in mind, and how recovery voices can influence funding and legislative change.

Recovery advocate and policy leader Bill Stauffer joins meto trace the evolution of peer support from its grassroots origins to one of the fastest-growing roles in behavioral health. Drawing on nearly four decades of experience across clinical practice, recovery support, workforce development, and systems reform, we explore what the profession must protect as it grows: lived experience, authenticity, and community roots. How do we professionalize without losing the soul of the movement?

As peer support workers are integrated into hospitals, courts, and other systems of care, new opportunities (and new tensions) emerge. In this episode, Karen Miller shares her experience working as a peer specialist in a hospital and justice system settings, often as the only peer on her team. Together, we explore what it means to maintain peer values within clinical environments, navigate supervision that may not be peer-informed, and advocate for the integrity of the role.