2025 - 9th Annual
Utah Peer Conference
June 12-13, 2025
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Registration is now OPEN!
ABOUT
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"Peer support is a part of the human experience. Being able to share experiences, help heal, guide, and warn one another is what bonds us as families, friends, and communities. There is a long history of peer support that we need to strengthen and cement here at this conference and throughout the coming year. Peers have continued to exercise their voice in their own treatment and recovery process. Today, peers are an essential partner in supporting recovery through mutual support, education, and advocacy across the nation, in the fields of mental health and substance use disorders."
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Keynote Speaker 2025
Justin Volpe
Senior Peer Support Coordinator, NASMHPD
Justin is an international consultant, advocate, and peer specialist based out of Miami, FL. He has presented and trained mental health facilities and other organizations on trauma informed care practices and used his life experiences as lessons to what appropriate care should look like from a community level. Previously before his role with NASMHPD, Justin worked as a Jail Diversion Peer Liaison for the 11th Judicial Criminal Mental Health Project for 14 years. He has worked as a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist in Florida since 2008 and has extensive work experience in the community.
2025 UTAH PEER CONFERENCE AGENDA
June 12, 2025
12:00pm -1:00 pm- Registration
1:00pm - 1:30 pm- Welcome
1:30 - 1:50 pm- Networking Break
2:00pm - 3:00 pm- Session 1​
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Brian Neilson - Justice-Involved Peer Support: A Path to Recovery and Reintegration
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Kyler Palmer - Holding Hope Through Healing: Trauma-Informed Peer Support for Co-Occurring Recovery
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Amy Campbell - The History and Future of Peer Support in Utah
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Claudia Hernandez (Spanish) - Recognizing Our Inner Beauty and Our Best Self
3:10pm - 3:35 pm- Self Care Activity
3:45pm - 4:45 pm- Session 2
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Manuel Hernandez - BREAK the Mold & Suicide Prevention
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Sarah & Tiffany - Creative Play and Mantra Discovery
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Justin Volpe - Using Peers as Partners
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Carolina Barra (Spanish) - Supporting Spanish-Speaking Mothers Through Peer-Led Support Groups
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4:45pm - 5:00 pm- Closing Remarks
Awards Gala
7:00 PM- Doors Open
7:30pm - 8:15 pm- Dinner and Award Ceremony
8:20pm - 9:30 pm- Gala
9:30pm -10:00 pm - Closing
June 13, 2025
8:00 am - 9:00am- Registration​
9:00am - 9:15am- Welcome Message
9:15am -10:45am- Keynote Speaker
11:00 am - 11:20 am- Self Care Activity
11:30 am -12:30 pm- Session 1
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Channae Haller - Psychosis and the Criminal Justice System: Navigating Challenges and Solutions
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Carroll Ruddell - Professionalism in Peer Support
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Alicia Wilcox - From Broken to Beautiful, We Rise from the Ashes
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Eustolia Cordova (Spanish) - Supporting Families Navigate the School System
12:30-1:30 p.m.- Lunch
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm - Session 2​
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Danielle Davidson & Diego Briseno - Real Talk on Boundaries: Navigating Connection and Limits in Peer Support
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Kaden Mattinson - But Who Helps You: A Look at Self Care
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Heather Rydalch - Supervision Best Practices
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Maria C. Cala (Spanish) - "Transference and Countertransference During Motivational Interviewing
2:45pm - 3:45 pm - Session 3 - Plenary Session
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Amy Campbell & Brayden Robinson - Strengthening Our Workforce: Insights and Recommendations from Utah’s Statewide Workforce Wellness Survey
3:45pm - 4:00pm - Closing Remarks
Presenters
We are honored to introduce an extraordinary group of presenters who bring a powerful combination of lived experience, deep knowledge, and unwavering dedication to supporting others on their recovery journeys. These individuals are peer support specialists—people who have walked the path of mental health and/or substance use recovery and now use their experiences to inspire hope, share resources, and foster meaningful connection.
