Episode 3: From Peer Support to Policy- Racquel Garcia on How to Get Involved with Advocacy and Find Your Voice
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.
Raquel Garcia is Founder, Owner, and Chief Innovation Officer of HardBeauty, a Colorado-based recovery organization. She is a Nationally Certified Peer Support Specialist and member of Colorado’s State Opioid Abatement Council.
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Episode 2: Protecting the Soul of Peer Support – Lessons in History with Bill Stauffer
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?
Episode 1: Peer Support Integration: Working in Clinical Settings with Karen Miller
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.
