Adam Martin
Keynote Speaker
Adam Martin is the CEO and Founder of F5 Project, a nonprofit that aims to eliminate overdose, crime, and suicide through empowering recovery, reducing recidivism, and fighting poverty. Adam isn't your typical entrepreneur and often had the odds stacked against him. After receiving five felonies, he thought there must be more to life than this. Often described as ambitious, Adam always had a desire to serve those who often get overlooked. He made the decision to become a resource for individuals coming out of jail by providing personalized support to individuals to deter repeat offenses. With a passion for justice reform, he left his private-sector job and decided to be the catalyst his local community needed. In 2016, Adam started F5 Project. What began as a way of improving the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals in Fargo, ND, the nonprofit has evolved into a statewide initiative to bridge resources and provide full-spectrum services to people struggling with incarceration, mental health, and addiction. F5 Project offices in seven cities across North Dakota and serves 520+ participants each month.
Joel Whiteside
Keynote Speaker
Joel Whiteside, MS, LPC, CBCC, CAMS, BHP, is a visionary leader in behavioral health whose life's work is rooted in transformation, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of healing. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Human Development from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon, and his Master’s in Professional Counseling from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Driven by purpose and fueled by lived experience, Joel has built a career that goes beyond traditional counseling—creating pathways for individuals to reclaim their lives. In 2012, he launched “Been There, Done That,” a groundbreaking, peer-driven re-entry program in Washington State, empowering individuals to rise above their past and step into meaningful, productive futures. After relocating to Arizona in 2016, Joel rapidly became a force in the behavioral health community, earning independent licensure and leading high-impact programs across the MAT/DRT, SUD, GMH, and SMI sectors. As the founder of Whiteside Healing & Wellness, he now dedicates his work to individual counseling, consulting, and mentoring the next generation of therapists and behavioral health professionals. Over the past two years he has entered into the adolescent behavioral health residential arena through his partnership with Camelback Kids Residential, where he provides guidance, structure, and hope to youth who have been caught in the crossfire of mental health and addiction. A self-published author of Producing Positivity: 31 Days to a New Positive You, Joel’s mission is clear—to ignite a ripple effect of positivity, purpose, and transformation across the world that impacts lives far beyond the therapy space.
Alisha Barrows
Alisha Barrows is the Program Coordinator at the Lincoln County Recovery First Drop-In Center in Libby, Montana. She provides peer-informed support to individuals navigating substance use and mental health challenges. Her work is grounded in lived experience, recovery, and community connection. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Montana and an Associate of Arts in Substance Abuse Counseling from Flathead Valley Community College. Alisha is a member of the Montana Crisis Intervention Team, participates in Lincoln County Treatment Court staffing, and identifies as a person in long-term recovery.
Beth Carter
Beth Ann is the Assistant Director of Behavioral Health & Community Health Worker Programs at the Montana Office of Rural Health/State AHEC. Working for Montana AHEC since 2010 and with the Program Office since 2015, she has worked on several projects related to healthcare workforce training in rural and underserved communities within the state. MORH/AHEC’s behavioral health programs have trained almost 7,000 Montanans across the state since 2017. Beth Ann is a champion for Montana’s Community Health Support Workforce, which includes CHWs, Peer Support Specialists, Community Paramedics, and Doulas. She oversees the state’s first Community Health Worker training, which rolled out in May 2018. She worked to establish Montana’s Community Health Worker Association in 2022 and has managed the planning of the state’s annual Community Health Worker Summit. She oversaw the development of Montana’s first culturally competent CHW course for tribal communities and organizations – Pathway of a Messenger.
Sara A. Clement
Sara A. Clement, MA, C-IAYT, is the Mind-Body Wellness Coordinator for AWARE, working with clients in need throughout Western Montana. She has a BA in Psychology, an MA in Happiness and Organizational Leadership, is the owner of Sufficiently Twisted Yoga and Inner Shift Consulting, offering guidance and education as a skilled Yoga Therapist working with groups in the corporate world and 1:1 with clients both locally and across the globe. Certified in Yoga Therapy, Eco-therapeutics, Breath-work, Somatic healing, Meditation & Mindfulness Skills, DEI and Indigenous Vision, Sound-bathing and Trauma Informed yoga, Sara has spent her life honing resilience skills aimed at providing healing containers for her clients experiencing anxiety, depression, PTSD, grief, trauma, chronic pain, strength building, and end of life. Sara is the momma bear of six wonderful children, has earned a red belt in Taekwondo, and personally uses the skills she teaches on a daily basis—because everyone learns better from someone who walks the walk.
Bill Deavel
Bill Deavel, CBHPSS, is the Program Director and Co-Founder of Beautiful Minds Recovery Montana, where he helps oversee the Risk Reduction Navigator Program in Butte and the Emergency Room Peer Support Response Program in Missoula. He is also an advanced-level WRAP facilitator, Mental Health First Aid trainer, and serves as the Behavioral Health Coordinator for the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department. In his role with Butte-Silver Bow, Bill supports regional behavioral health coordination and helps lead several key initiatives, including the Crisis Now Coalition, bi-annual Overdose Spike Response Team meetings, the Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council, the BHAC Crisis Subcommittee, the ESAA leadership team, and implementation of the Angel Initiative in Butte-Silver Bow. Bill’s work is deeply shaped by both his professional experience and his personal recovery journey. After navigating substance use, mental health challenges, homelessness, and other hardships, he has been in recovery for 18 years. That lived experience continues to guide his commitment to peer-led services, behavioral health collaboration, and community-based efforts that create hope, reduce barriers, and show that recovery is possible for everyone.
Megkian Doyle
Megkian Doyle is the Executive Director of Mountain Shadow Association. Many of you have known her as a former Lodge Grass High School teacher or MSU professor, or in her role as Director of the Regional Community Action Teams at One Health. Dr. Doyle previously served as MSA’s Director of the Raising Places initiative, a 9-month family-centered design project that brought community members from Lodge Grass together to focus on child-centered strategies for key community challenges. As the team’s work has progressed, they have formed a non-profit, Mountain Shadow and opened the Lodge Grass Family Community Center, home to a recovery drop in center, and the Little Chickadee Learning Lodge, a preschool for kids in kinship care. Alongside these direct services, Mountain Shadow is also building a family healing center, called Kaala’s Village, grounded in an ecosystems model of whole family health.
Calvin P. Gone III
Calvin P. Gone III currently works as a Youth Development Specialist with Great Falls Public Schools, where he provides culturally grounded education to students in grades 7–8. While earning his associate’s degree in Substance Abuse and Addiction Counseling at Great Falls College-MSU, he served as a Native American Student Ambassador, supporting student engagement, mentorship, and access to resources. Licensed as a Peer Support Specialist since 2022, Calvin remains active in the recovery community and serves on the Sober Life Leadership Council. His professional background also includes serving as a Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Little Shell Tribe and working as a Visit Coach with RE: Family Services, assisting parents with reunification and promoting healthy family transitions. He has additional experience supporting men in sober living environments such as Blue Thunder Lodge, as well as nearly four years working in recovery-focused settings as a Treatment Assistant at Rocky Mountain Treatment Center. Raised on the Fort Belknap Reservation, Calvin’s recovery and service are deeply rooted in culture. He is Gros Ventre and Umoⁿhoⁿ, a fourth-generation head singer of the Hays Singers, a drum keeper, and a Red Road mentor. He is a respected speaker on recovery, sobriety, and culturally grounded healing.
Jim Hajny
Jim Hajny has served as Montana’s Peer Network’s Executive Director since its inception in June 2011. He has taken the organization from a fledgling grassroots startup to a statewide recovery network with more than 1700 members statewide. He is an advocate for recovery oriented behavioral health services and driving force behind the behavioral health peer support specialist workforce development and certification training in Montana. Mr. Hajny is a trained Peer Support Specialist, and a recovery trainer, a past chair of the Montana Peer Support Task Force and was appointed by Governor Steve Bullock to the Mental Disability Board of Visitors. He is also a consultant to behavioral health agencies on peer support services and recovery programming both statewide and nationally. On social media he hosts a podcast called Recovery Talks. He is a past member and chair of the Montana Behavioral Health Advisory Council, the Park County Local Advisory Council on Mental Health and a member of the Central Service Area Authority. MPN launched a sister company Family Peers for Hope in 2025 to develop the Family Peer Support Specialist workforce and certification training. Jim has been in recovery from a mental health and substance abuse diagnosis for over 30 years
Rosalie Kuska
Rosalie Kuska is an outgoing and compassionate Peer Recovery Coach and Care Coordinator with a heart for service. Her personal journey through addiction fuels her passion to meet others where they are and help them rediscover their worth. Grounded in her faith and love for Jesus, Rosalie is committed to loving and serving others with grace and empathy. Outside of work, she enjoys time with her husband, family, and friends, being active in her church, and curling up with a good book.
George M. Meadors
George M. Meadors, LAC, was born and raised in a small town in Central Montana. He joined the Army at the age of 18 and has lived in multiple places around the world. George started struggling with addiction at a young age and continued that struggle for much of his life. Wherever he went, he took his addiction along with him. He came back to Great Falls, Montana in mid-2010, got sober/clean and went back to school . He has been working in the field of addictions since 2011 and has been a licensed counselor since 2017. George is currently the clinical director of Dynamic Recovery in Great Falls, Montana and has a bachelor's degree in addiction counseling and a bachelor's degree in psychology. He has been supervising peer support specialists for the last 5 years and typically supervises multiple peer support specialists in multiple locations.
Tony Meyers
Tony Meyers is a person in long-term recovery with more than 17 years of lived recovery experience, including a strong foundation in the 12-Step process. He has been an active participant in the WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) program for the past two years and has completed WRAP Seminar II and ALF Seminar III trainings. Tony serves as the Co-Director of Never Alone Recovery Support Services (NARSS) and is the Director of the NARSS HUB Recovery-Oriented Drop-In Center, where he works to support individuals struggling with substance use disorder. He is a certified BHCPSS and a dedicated advocate for recovery, peer support, and community wellness. A family man, Tony is married and proudly called “Dad” by 12 children. He is also a grandfather to 11 grandchildren. His home is filled with life, including 4 dogs, 3 cats, 8 chickens, and a ball python named Lusi. In his free time, Tony enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson and spending time with family. He is currently attending Salish Kootenai College in the Social Work Program, working toward a degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling to continue expanding his ability to serve others in recovery.
Lynn Patrone
Lynn Patrone is the Executive Director for the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, (WRAP,) Inc. a national non-profit agency. WRAP Inc. is the Intellectual Property owner of the evidence-based curricula of WRAP, including 2 levels of certification training. WRAP has been instrumental in transforming the lives of individuals around the world. Lynn began her work with WRAP 20 years ago and has led WRAP initiatives in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Department of Health & Human Services and consults with state’s correctional and community correctional systems. Lynn’s career spans over 2 decades in training and administration. Lynn was appointed as the Department of Correction’s Mental Health Advocate providing consultation to Pennsylvania’s state prisons. Lynn administered programs overseeing over 800 certified peer specialists and 200 WRAP facilitators, including staff. Lynn is a certified peer specialist and family member and proudly contributes WRAP to her ability to not only maintain her personal recovery journey but as the roadmap to fulfilling her career goals and personal goals of ensuring that people worldwide continue to benefit from WRAP. Lynn’s passion continues to be rooted in implementing innovation in justice services to reduce violence, reduce recidivism and help system leaders maintain safe prisons and communities.
Don Roberts
Don Roberts, BSW, LAC, founded the Never Alone Recovery Hall in 2017 which evolved into a 501c3 called Never Alone Recovery Support Services (NARSS). Today NARSS operates a Recovery Community Center and a Recovery Residence program that includes several homes and a Recovery Village. Don is the executive director of NARSS, but he also provides training for Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialists across Montana. Additionally, Don sits on the Board of Directors for Recovery Access Montana (RAM), and in that capacity works to help develop a Recovery-Oriented System of Care in Montana that supports Recovery Residence programs, Peer Support programs, Recovery Community Centers, Re-entry programs, and other statewide Recovery Community efforts. Don also identifies as a person in long-term recovery from addiction and mental health issues. Don is a Licensed Addiction Counselor and holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work from Salish Kootenai College.
Dean Snow
Dean Snow is a dynamic community leader in Great Falls, Montana. He excels at building relationships and leveraging experience to instill hope and drive systemic change in the recovery landscape. As a previous Program Director at The Sober Life, programming surrounding family friendly events, volunteer opportunities, culturally relevant activities and physical fitness were integrated into a monthly calendar. The Sober Life increased membership from 300 to over 1,500, and expanded social media outreach to 25,000+ followers. Crucially, the annual budget uncertainty was eliminated by securing a seven-year renewable state contract. Deeply committed to public service, The Sober Life established vital peer support partnerships with the Veterans Treatment Court, Adult Drug Court and Child & Family Services. This built on their impact as a Peer Support Specialist at The Sober Life, where the recovery client roster was scaled from zero to 225 individuals and executed a federal SAMHSA grant ranking in the top 30% nationwide strengthening critical gaps to strengthen community networks. Dean is currently Program Coordinator at the Dynamic Recovery Drop In Center where much needed addiction and recovery support is provided to the community. He participates on Family Support Team with CPS, the Local Advisory Council, Substance Abuse Prevention Alliance and the Continuity of Care Coalition, in addition to several subcommittees on the Behavioral Health Advisory Council.