RECOVERY CAPITAL CONFERENCE - Key Persons

Best, D. Gow, J., Knox, T., Taylor, & White, W. (2011). Recovery from heroin or alcohol dependence: A qualitative account of the recovery experience in Glasgow. Journal of Drug Issues, 41(3), 359-377.

Professor of Criminology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Sheffield Hallam University. Dr. David Best is a global expert relating to the addiction recovery field and for the Recovery Movements in the UK and Australia.

Dawn Nickel (PhD) is a visionary in the recovery movement and over the past eight years has been working diligently to create social media spaces to support women who are in or seeking recovery. Along with her daughter Taryn Strong (also in recovery) Dawn is the creator of SHE RECOVERS - currently the largest online platform dedicated to supporting women in recovery from addiction and related life challenges. Dawn started her own journey of recovery from a substance use disorder and mental health issues in 1987. She is a strong advocate for the view that every woman in or seeking recovery must be supported to find the tools and pathways that will work best for her as an individual. In this engaging session, Dawn will describe the consumer-driven evolution and growth of SHE RECOVERS, an international movement of women that started out as a Facebook Page in the summer of 2011. Since that time, SHE RECOVERS has been creating welcoming spaces and transformative opportunities - on and offline - to connect, support and empower recovering women. As part of the presentation, Dawn will share the results of a cross-sectional survey designed with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and administered to the SHE RECOVERS community in the fall of 2018. In that survey, respondents shared their views about how they believed that social media engagement had enhanced their recovery journeys. Dawn Nickel is an accomplished and versatile leader and, along with her daughter Taryn Strong (also in recovery) the creator of SHE RECOVERS - currently the largest online platform dedicated to supporting women in recovery from substance use disorder and related mental health issues. Dawn started her journey of recovery from drug addiction in 1987. She is a strong advocate for the view that every woman in or seeking recovery must be supported to find the tools and pathways that will work best for her as an individual. In the summer of 2011, while recovering from a serious case of workaholism, Dawn decided to apply what she knew about recovery to that area of her life. On an extended leave from work, Dawn began to blog and created the SHE RECOVERS Facebook Page to share her journey and to reach out to other women wanting to recover their lives and their potential. Since 2011, she has dedicated herself to creating and holding space (online and off) for women in recovery to connect with themselves, and with other like-hearted women. The Verified Facebook page now has over 270,000 followers. Today, in addition to operating her health and social policy research consultancy, Dawn is determined to grow SHE RECOVERS and its offerings so that more women (and more women from diverse backgrounds) have the access, resources, support and freedoms necessary to cultivate individualized and holistic pathways in order to find health, sustain long-term recovery, achieve their potential, and help other women to do the same.

There is an ongoing need for Monitoring of individuals with substance use disorders in safety sensitive work settings in order to protect public safety. Dr. Melamed will explore the potential for monitoring of safety sensitive workers by family physicians and the logistical, legal and legislative framework in which medical monitoring is conducted.

Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier is a bilingual practicing psychologist and experienced senior leader with over 20 years of experience in clinical, counselling, and workplace psychology. Throughout her career as a leader and psychologist, Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier has spearheaded a national dialogue on the crucial issue of workplace mental health. Drawing on her extensive background in corporate, insurance, governance and public sectors, she bring national and international perspectives and expertise on resilience as a key pillar of overall health. She is a bilingual practicing psychologist with over 20 years of experience in clinical, counselling, and workplace psychology and holds a Ph.D. in counselling psychology from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the UBC Sauder School of Business. Marie-Helene is a Member of the Global Clinical Practice Network of the World Health Organization, Director on the board of International Association of Applied Psychology and past director on the board of the Canadian Psychological Association. She has presented and authored and co-authored a number of industry and academic publications and was won numerous academic and industry awards, including the Industry Leadership Award from Benefits Canada. www.drmhpelletier.com

Dr. Farnan has worked in the field of occupational medicine and addiction medicine for more than twenty years. As well as being a member of the Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada, he holds additional certification in Addiction Medicine and Family Practice, and he is a Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia. His consulting with employers and unions has involved developing and delivering programs to assist employees whose work is impacted by addiction and mental health problems. He has assessed and provided treatment recommendations for thousands of individuals with addictive disorders, especially those involved in safety sensitive work. He has a particular interest in the interface between workplace safety and impairment at work as a result of prescription medication use, as well as illicit drug use.

Dr. Sobey completed his medical training at the University of Alberta in 1986, and a fellowship in Addictions at University of Cleveland Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University in 1989. He received Board Certification from the American Board of Addiction Medicine in 2010 and became a certificate of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine in 2012, and is a Clinical Instructor at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Practice. Dr. Sobey was formerly the Regional Divisional Lead for Addictions in Fraser Health Authority from April 2011 to May 2013. He was on the Member Advisory Committee on Opiate Dependence - College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) from 2002 to 2013 and was Chair of the committee from 2011 until 2013. He is also the former chair of CPSBC Methadone Maintenance Committee. Dr. Sobey is a full-time addiction medicine physician and is currently the lead physician and an addiction medicine consultant for the Royal Columbian Hospital Addiction Medicine Service in New Westminster, BC. He also acts as an Occupational Addiction Medicine consultant to both public and private organizations. He has an active methadone practice in New Westminster and also works in abstinence-based care.

Job Titles:

• Co - Founder and Principal of Health Upwardly Mobile Inc

Raju is a co-founder and principal of Health Upwardly Mobile Inc. He received his MD from Dalhousie University in 1982 and his Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1988. He has practiced Transcendental Meditation since 1986, completing his training in Maharishi Ayurveda in 1994 and has provided continuing medical education programs for physicians regarding the benefits of this form of meditation.

Specializes in occupational addiction medicine. Dr. Baker has assessed and provided treatment recommendations for several thousand individuals with addictive disorders many suffering from concurrent medical psychiatric and pain conditions. He consults with organizations in policy development and management of issues related to workplace mental health and addictions. He has testified in many labour arbitrations, human rights tribunals and court proceedings as an expert in Addiction Medicine. At the UBC Medical School he developed and taught the nationally acclaimed Addiction Medicine curriculum for 5 years. He wrote a chapter on Alcoholism in Conn's Current Therapy, a medical textbook. As occupational addiction medicine consultant to the Railway Association of Canada he developed the medical rules for safety critical Canadian railway workers with substance use disorders. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Addictive Diseases.

Job Titles:

• Founding Member of the Barenaked Ladies

In his funny and self-deprecating keynotes he offers insightful tips on how to feel better, live well, express ourselves every day, and how music helps to heal us. Through moving anecdotes, Page shares his creative processes, how it helped him through his issues. Page talks about overcoming embarrassment, and learning to appreciate, love, and harness his voice. Late in the talk, he picks up an acoustic guitar and starts to strum, reminding us why he's counted among Canada's premiere musicians.

Job Titles:

• Consultant
• Instructor
• Supervisor