Meet the Advisory Council: Chrissy Schayer

Chrissy Schayer is a mental health peer leader, educator, and workforce development specialist with more than 20 years of experience in peer-run community mental health organizations. Grounded in her own lived experience and a strong academic foundation, she has dedicated her career to advancing recovery-oriented practices, strengthening the peer support workforce, and expanding opportunities for people with lived experience to lead and shape behavioral health systems. She believes that the combination of lived experience, mutuality, and professional excellence is essential to building effective, person-centered systems of care. As the Director of Consumer Connections at the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Chrissy oversees statewide peer workforce development initiatives, including education, training, and systems development. She has trained thousands of individuals in recovery and peer support practices and has led the development and modernization of New Jersey's mental health peer support curriculum and certification processes. Her work is grounded in the belief that a strong, sustainable peer workforce must remain rooted in the values and principles that define peer support. Chrissy is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP), a Certified Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Facilitator, and a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Trainer. Her contributions to the field have been recognized through numerous honors, including the Johnson & Johnson–Dartmouth Community Mental Health Program Transformation Award, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's award for Outstanding Contributions in Psychiatric Rehabilitation Research, and the 2025 New Jersey Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association Educator Excellence Award and Educator of the Year Award.