Mary Jo McMillen a licensed Substance Use Disorder Counselor who has worked with people in treatment and recovery since 1987. She has been in long-term recovery since 1985 and is passionate about empowering others to celebrate their own recovery.

Mary Jo is well recognized for her leadership and advocacy work with state and local governments, treatment agencies, healthcare entities, and community partners, promoting public awareness about substance use disorders and recovery through listening to people with lived experience.

In 2007 Mary Jo joined a group of colleagues and people in recovery to establish USARA as a non-profit advocacy organization. In 2010 she became the Executive Director and USARA became a statewide peer-run Recovery Community Organization (RCO). In 2011, with the support of community partners and the Board of Directors, she opened Utah’s first Recovery Community Center in Salt Lake County.

Mary Jo is most proud of USARA’s dedicated team of Peer Recovery Coaches, Family Recovery Coaches, volunteers, and administrative staff that have developed and implemented non-clinical Recovery Support Services and best practices for peer coaching and family support. USARA’s entire staff collaboratively works with local community leaders, government entities, treatment providers, healthcare clinics, hospitals, public health, courts, jails and probation services, homeless shelters, and others to help individuals and family members connect with resources they need to support recovery from addiction. There is a saying she learned in early recovery that holds true for her and others today, “What we can’t do alone, we can do together.”

“My recovery has blessed me with an amazing life. I have a loving family, a rock-solid marriage of 30+years, two beautiful grown daughters, dogs past and present, countless dear friendships, an amazing recovery community, and the best job ever!”

Becca is a woman in long-term recovery, beginning her Recovery journey in September 2008. Becca credits her successes in life to her Recovery journey and to the connection she was offered through Recovery Support Services. Now, she is determined to give those struggling with addiction that same investment that was offered to her.

Prior to joining USARA, Becca dedicated over 15 years in the Social Services sector, cultivating a specialty in Career & Life Coaching for individuals with significant disadvantages. In Early 2015 Becca joined USARA’s team and now serves as the Education & Training Director, working toward the vision of statewide Recovery Services that are accessible to all who desire.

In her free time, Becca loves to read and write. However, her greatest pride & joy in life is her family. She treasures the gift of watching her children thrive and loves going on adventures with her husband, children, and fur-son, Yoshi.

Lisa Walker holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Utah which she completed in 2014. She brings her experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to provide supervision and support to USARA’s Recovery Leadership Initiative and Addiction Recovery Management teams. Lisa has been in long-term recovery since December of 2005 and has passionately worked in various behavioral health settings over the last decade. She uniquely understands the barriers to becoming fully self-supportive after her personal battle of active addiction. She credits supportive services within the community to her long-term success. Lisa enthusiastically brings leadership and advocacy qualities to USARA that she has garnered through life experience and higher education. Lisa’s mission in life is to show others that recovery is possible by continuing to show support, advocate for and empower individuals seeking recovery. Lisa is most proud of her husband and two children who have thrived right alongside her and been her biggest cheerleaders.

Marcie Gray, a woman in long term recovery, is blessed with a clear passion for recovery and desire to help others get what she’s got. Beginning on May 4th, 2002 (May the 4th be with you) Marcie began her personal journey to wellness with spirituality as her anchor and cornerstone. Her number one job is being a mom, followed by by being a devoted wife, and an advocate for recovery. She enjoys boating on Lake Powell, where she gets her spiritual mojo replenished, and uses her passion and skills for understanding to be an empathetic ear for those starting to engage recovery.

Riley is a person in long-term recovery who began his journey in recovery on November 11, 2015, in Seattle, Washington at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center. Prior to working at USARA, he was employed at the Volunteers of America Adult Detox facility as the jail diversion program lead. One of the most important things in Riley’s life is giving back to people with substance use disorders as so many others did for him as he started his recovery journey. His favorite hobbies include snowboarding, fishing, and golfing.

Evan Done began as a volunteer at USARA in 2015 and has extensive experience in the non-profit sector. Originally a systems administrator and programmer by trade, he has used his wide array of information technology skills to assist non-profit, social service, and public policy organizations to further their mission and heighten their impact.

Evan is a person in long-term recovery from both a substance use and mood disorder and has been on USARA’s staff since April 2017. With over ten years of experience in social justice advocacy, he is dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable world.

Mark has been in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction since June of 2001. He maintains licensure as an Advanced Substance Use Disorder Counselor in Utah.

Mark has been working in the field of addiction since February of 2004, bringing his extensive experience in working with individuals and families to promote recovery in our community. Mark has been instrumental in program management with starting treatment programs in Orem, Taylorsville, and Salt Lake City. He has a proven record for successful community outcomes in the areas of education, outreach, marketing, and client satisfaction. He served five years on the Board of UATOD-Utah Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence and was able to bring awareness in the community to the growing national problem of substance use disorders. In addition to maintaining an ASUDC in good standing, Mark was appointed to the DOPL board as a Substance Use Disorder Board Member in October 2018.

Practicing a solution-focused style, Mark has demonstrated a passion for helping individuals get into recovery and treatment. By seeing the best in each individual, he helps them find inner strength and self-identification solutions that guide them toward their goal of recovery.

A successful graduate of SLC Drug Court, Mark has maintained involvement with alumni in Drug Court leadership.

Mark is a proud University of Utah alumnus with a degree in Organizational Communication. He enjoys sports, reading and black and white movies.

Teresa is a recent graduate from the University of Utah with a degree in Psychology and Human Development. Her interest in the non-profit sector with the goal of helping people in our communities and being a family member of a person in long term recovery led her to USARA. She is eager to be part of an organization dedicated to helping those with substance use disorders and their loved ones, and looks forward to expanding her knowledge on the function of non-profits and how to be an ally for those in recovery.

In her free time, Teresa enjoys spending time in the outdoors with family, friends, and of course, dogs.

Adriel Hanson is a person in long term recovery. What that means for him is that he hasn’t had to use any mind-altering substances since October 31st, 2018. Adriel had a 15 year battle with drugs and had finally decided he had enough. He was able to turn his life around with the help of an outpatient addiction counselor at UNI, USARA, and YPR.

Adriel has been volunteering with USARA and YPR since the beginning of his recovery journey. His experience is in executive management, recruiting, job placement, and more recently working at an inpatient and sober living facility. His long term goal is to start an inclusive adolescent treatment facility for those impacted by substance use disorder, trauma, and mental health issues. He is excited and passionate about using his lived experience to help others in long term recovery.

He is married with 3 boys, and has a passion for YPR, SMART, and sharing his lived experience with others seeking recovery. In his spare time, he loves to go on road trips with his family, as well as camp, hike, and watch movies.

Christina Smart is a person in long term recovery. Her journey started in March of 2018 shortly after she had suffered from losing her first child to a miscarriage, suffering from extreme health complications caused by that loss. Feeling hopeless and lost isn’t how she wanted to continue feeling so she put herself through treatment at The Phoenix Recovery Center in Sandy, Utah which she attended for 6 months. She successfully completed AP&P over 2 years early and inspires others daily by telling her story. Christina is proud of her lived experience as it led her to be able to live the life that she loves today. Her passion is helping others who struggle with similar things she has struggled with, making a positive difference in the world and inspiring her community to help each other.

In Christina’s free time she likes to spend time with her family, her fur baby Athena, exploring nature as well as painting. She lives a life full of happiness today and loves being involved in her recovery community.

Tiffany is a woman in long-term recovery. Her recovery journey got started in May 2017 and was initially supported by her engagement in felony drug court and as a USARA program participant. She ultimately began volunteering with USARA in December 2017 by helping at events, contributing to the Salt Lake Peer Advisory Council, and assisting with Recovery Day. She loves giving back to the community at large. She says that traveling keeps her life and recovery fresh and exciting.

Mitchel Staheli is a person in long term recovery. Mitchel’s recovery journey started back in 2009 and has included the opportunity to participate and graduate from Washington County Drug Court, The Horizon House, and 12 step meetings. He has been drug and alcohol-free since November 2016. Mitchel started volunteering with USARA in Southern Utah before moving to Salt Lake City and getting the opportunity to join the ARCHES team as a Peer Support Coach.

Mitchel believes that in recovery you should build a life worth living. He has learned how to be a father in recovery and someone people are able to rely on. This attitude has also given him the ability to graduate from Dixie State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Minor in Accounting and go on to pursue a Masters Degree in Business Administration at Western Governors University. He decided to find a route to help people realize that there is life after addiction and found USARA.

In his free time Mitchel enjoys riding dirt bikes and his street bike, snowboarding, repelling, going on trips, and always trying something new. He loves hanging out with his family and watching the kids grow up and grow into their own personalities.

Jesse’s recovery journey started when he was referred to treatment through Adult Probation and Parole. He believes in all path to recovery as he believes everyone’s recovery journey is different. He is passionate about being a person in recovery and is deeply committed to helping people find their road to recovery. Being of service and helping others is very important to him. Jesse enjoys being outdoors, loves to play basketball, and loves to spend time with friends and family.

Karissa is a person in long-term recovery. Her sobriety date is November 25, 2017. She is active in recovery and helps others to achieve sobriety. She has fought a long battle with addiction for over 13 years and hopes to continue to help others as it is her passion. Karissa has two kids that are her world, and never have to see her struggle or know what its like to have a parent in active addiction again.

Jareth is a person in long-term recovery. His journey in recovery began on January 1st, 2018 at The Haven in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to working at USARA, he was employed at the Volunteers of America Adult Detox Center as the facility coordinator as well as support staff at The Haven residential treatment center.

Jareth wants to be able to give back the same support to the recovery community that he received when he first began his journey.

Jareth has two beautiful daughters that are his world. Some of his hobbies include: D&D, Magic the Gathering, video games, reading fantasy books, and going on walks.

Darlene holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Utah and taught first grade for 35 years, yet her extensive knowledge of addiction and recovery came from lived experience of family members that struggled with substance misuse. She began her journey with USARA as a participant in the CRAFT family support group in 2010. Since then, she has been trained by the originator and author of the CRAFT model and now facilitates a weekly CRAFT group at USARA to educate families on motivational strategies for interacting with their loved ones who struggle with a substance use disorder. As a trainer herself, she holds workshops for those interested in facilitation of the CRAFT model for family support and is striving to develop CRAFT family groups in counties throughout Utah. Darlene works hard to help families find support, resources and recovery.

Darlene is a wife, mother, and a proud Grandma to two very special kids. She lost her son, Adam, to an overdose in 2012, yet continues to change the hearts and minds of people with negative perception toward substance use disorders. She has proven herself to USARA through her deep sense of purpose and commitment to the CRAFT Family Support Group.

After almost losing a loved one to a drug overdose in 2013 John was fortunate to find a CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) support group sponsored by USARA. After several years of attending CRAFT meetings, he became certified as a CRAFT clinician, one of only two in Utah. During this time, he also started facilitating 12 Step AA group meetings. Today, as a result of these experience he no longer feels overwhelmed and is beginning to understand his loved one’s substance abuse and mental health disorders. His relationship with his family is much healthier. Everyone is now able to speak more directly and honestly about how they feel. They are all continuing to make progress. This would not be possible without the help of all those John has met in halfway houses, community centers, churches, and recovery agencies while facilitating 100s of face-to-face and phone in meetings. Family members of those struggling with behavioral health disorders have been his mentors and become his heroes. In 2019 John completed the Advanced Substance Use Disorder Treatment Training Certificate (ASUDC) program and is licensed by the State of Utah. He helped create the groundbreaking “12 Steps to Change” addiction recovery video series and other behavioral health-related media for the LDS Church. He also worked for DreamWorks SKG, Warner Bros, Universal, Amblin Entertainment and Disney. Projects included “The Disney Sunday Movie”, “Father of the Bride”, “The Frighteners”, “The Matrix” and the Academy Award-winning “Shrek”. He produced the independent feature films, “The Other Side of Heaven” and “The Legend of Johnny Lingo”. John currently resides at the base of the Wasatch mountains in Salt Lake City Utah.

Leslie started as a participant in the CRAFT Family Support program in 2017. After such a successful experience with this program, she became trained as a Family Support Coach and began facilitating CRAFT. Her passion for educating continues each week by providing knowledge and tools in her family support group helping family members make positive life changes to help their loved ones that are struggling with addiction and learning how to best support them in their recovery. It wasn’t long before her experience as a retired teacher was noticed and she was hired by USARA as a trainer to walk others through the process of becoming a Family Support Coach. She not only trains in Utah but nationally as well.

Zach is a person in long term recovery. His recovery journey started in the Utah State Prison. When he was released he went to a treatment center in Eden, Utah where he graduated. He has helped other people work through the stigma of being institutionalized, and through helping others he has found the strength to achieve his own recovery and give back to people in need. He is an assistant manager at a sober living and attends AA and NA. His hobbies are working on classic cars and spending time with the people he loves.

Shirley Wayman is in long-term recovery from Substance Use Disorder. She has been a Certified Peer Support Specialist with USARA since December 2017. Shirley also co-started the My Life in Recovery Meetings and co-leads them on Thursday’s at Four Corners Behavioral Health. Shirley is passionate about recovery and enjoys helping others with her experience, strength, and hope. She is passionate about recovery language and enjoys working with her recoverees to find their path of recovery.
Shirley is enthusiastic to break down stigma and to discuss that everyone’s pathway to recovery is as individual as they are.

Mersades is a woman in long-term recovery, her recovery journey started in May 2016. She acknowledges the life she leads today wouldn’t be possible without her sobriety and recovery from her past addictions.

Mersades prides herself on her passion for helping others out of the hopelessness and depths of addiction. Prior to joining USARA, Mersades has experience working in an inpatient treatment facility where she was Head of Employee Experience and Lead Recovery Advocate working one-on-one with individuals. Mersades also facilitates a weekly Dharma Recovery group at USARA. Her goal is to advocate and empower those that have been affected by addiction. Mersades has a beautiful family of four that she cherishes and credits much of her success to their love and support.

Lanette is a woman in long term recovery since 2014. Her journey has brought her to a place where she is able to share her lived experience as a Peer Recovery Coach for USARA in the Southeastern Utah area.

Recovery is the most important thing in her life, it enables her to maintain her family and the things that are important to her. Lanette’s gratitude seems like a never ending stream and when she wakes up each day to the blessing of having her children with her, a safe home for them, and heading out to a job she loves that allows room for not only helping others; but a space where she can learn as an individual, a woman, and a mother.

She says, “I feel like I have everything that I have ever wanted. I will be celebrating another year in long term recovery in July of this year. I want to shout out to the world that recovery is possible and to never give up!”

Heidi Fuger is a person in long-term recovery. She started as a USARA participant in 2017. Her journey took a non-traditional route and shortly after being unsuccessfully terminated from the Grand County family drug court program, Heidi discovered multiple pathways to recovery and reconnected to USARA in June of 2018.
She not only found herself, but also purpose through volunteering to run recovery meetings, helping with recovery day and family fun nights, and being involved in USARA and other recovery community events, both in and out of town.
She is an active member in 12 step meetings, has 2 beautiful daughters and strives to be a positive role model for all those she comes in contact with. She has a passion for helping others find what she found through USARA and that is empowerment, support, and encouragement. And hope is what we create! We DO recover!!

Marcie Gray, a woman in long term recovery, is blessed with a clear passion for recovery and desire to help others get what she’s got. Beginning on May 4th, 2002 (May the 4th be with you) Marcie began her personal journey to wellness with spirituality as her anchor and cornerstone. Her number one job is being a mom, followed by by being a devoted wife, and an advocate for recovery. She enjoys boating on Lake Powell, where she gets her spiritual mojo replenished, and uses her passion and skills for understanding to be an empathetic ear for those starting to engage recovery.

Benjamin “Ben” Martinez is a person in long-term recovery and has been since Christmas day 2014. Ben has been a Recovery Coach with his Certified Peer Support Specialist certification since 2016, and came on board to USARA in July of 2018. Starting his Substance Use Disorder and his subsequent recovery relatively young in life, Ben hopes to inspire other young people (and people of all ages) to find the joys, excitement, and full life that recovery offers. Ben is passionate about recovery and uses his story to help others see the potential in themselves to overcome their own barriers in life.

A Saint George native, Ben enjoys all the wonder that Southern Utah has to offer. He enjoys hiking, climbing, and camping in the natural beauty that surrounds Saint George. He is also passionate about live music and comedy, and can be found at a live show from Vegas to SLC on any given weekend. Ben’s biggest joy in life would be his dog, if his landlord would let him have one.

Crystal began her recovery journey in February 2016. She is a proud graduate of Family and Adult Recovery Courts. She has overcome her legal issues as well as the different placements of her 7 children. She has a passion for women coming into recovery, especially mothers who are facing the barriers of getting their children back and for them to know that it is possible and that they don’t have to do it alone. She has been a peer mentor for the Southwest Behavioral Health Center and Recovery Courts for over 2 years before coming to USARA as a Peer Recovery Coach in July 2019. She enjoys spending time with her children and getting to rewrite her family’s future.