Keynote Speakers and Seminar Leaders
Highly qualified Copeland Center educators are available to work with you to meet your specific needs for:
- a keynote speaker or presenter
- a training seminar or workshop
- a package of services to help you develop recovery and WRAP expertise
- consultation to help your organization more effectively focus on recovery
The Copeland Center welcomes all inquiries for providing workshops, seminars, speakers or consultations in your area. Please contact Katie Wilson, Director of Operations, 802-451-0140 to discuss options representing a variety of budgets.
Speaker Profiles
Jonathan P. Edwards is a public health professional and an adjunct instructor at Columbia School of Social Work. He also plays an integral role in advancing peer support workforce development and supervision in mental health and substance use treatment settings. He received his Ph.D. and M. Phil. in Social Welfare from CUNY Graduate Center, his Master’s in Social Work from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College; holds both Certified Peer Specialist and Certified Personal Medicine Coach credentials; and serves on the New York Peer Specialist Certification Board and Mental Health News Education Board. Jonathan identifies as a person in long-term recovery, which is the driving force that informs his worldview, scholarship, and practice.
Michael King is a leadership trainer and coach, the Director and Creator of The Communities Project, and the Managing Principal of Impact Leadership Training & Coaching, LLC. He spent over a decade in the political arena, working on Presidential, Gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and local campaigns, from county to state legislative efforts. He is a past Campaign Director, Field Director, Communications Director for the Washington State Democratic Party, and the former Executive Director of the Washington State Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. The former National Director of Outreach & Engagement for Facing Addiction with NCADD, he is an alumnus of JustLeadershipUSA’s Leading with Conviction program and a graduate of the Rockwood Leadership Institute’s online Art of Leadership program. Michael has studied solution-focused coaching and currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Peer Recovery Center of Excellence.
Matthew R. Federici, MS is the Executive Director of the Copeland Center for Wellness & Recovery. Matthew came to the Copeland Center in 2010 from the Institute for Recovery & Community Integration where he served as Program Director to create systems transformation through implementation of a certified peer specialist training program across Pennsylvania. Matthew is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer and consultant on recovery, wellness, community inclusion and peer support. He serves on the board of directors for the International Association of Peer Support and the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery.
Jane Winterling is Director of the Vermont Recovery Education Project for the Copeland Center. Previously, she served as Grant & Education Director for Vermont Psychiatric Survivors and as a consultant to Vermont Blueprint for Health Project. Jane is one of the original group of people responsible for the idea and development of WRAP. For this reason she has the ability to bring a unique knowledge of WRAP and the history of its development that is inspiring and allows others to share in the amazing journey of how WRAP began, the people who influenced it and helped to deepen our understanding of what it means to be well thus making WRAP what it is today.
Amey Dettmer is a Certified Peer Specialist and Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator, born and raised in rural Pennsylvania. Amey is currently the Program Manager of Doors to Wellbeing National Consumer Technical Assistance Center, a program of the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery. Previously, Amey has been employed as a CPS supervisor and CPS providing direct peer support in her community. As a mental health advocate in her local area, she has been filmed for public service announcements and featured on the front page of her local newspaper, giving voice to the importance of peer support and the possibilities of recovery and wellness. Amey is a person who credits her own wellness to the connection, mutual learning, and understanding that began in her life once she was introduced to like-minded peer supporters, wanting to impact changes within our mental health system.
BJ North is a Copeland Center Certified Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator and works exclusively with the Copeland Center to mentor and train new Advanced Level Facilitators through the Copeland Center. She is a key partner with the Copeland Center promoting high-quality WRAP® Facilitation in her community through her business Conscious Educators Inc. BJ North works to build bridges across uncommon grounds such as those from businesses to community, individuals to community resources, and agencies to consumers. She has assisted various community agencies to better serve those they work with by helping people to hear and speak to one another in the spirit of mutual respect.
After decades of service as a motivational force for peer support and recovery for individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, Jeanie Whitecraft was the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Psychiatric Rehabilitation presented by the Pennsylvania Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. But her story begins a little further back in time starting with the development of The Friends Connection Peer Support Program in 1989 in Philadelphia for individuals with co-occurring disorders. Under her guidance, The Friends Connection worked in partnership with the U Penn Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. These studies lead to national participation with the Consumer-Operated Service Program (COSP) Multi-site Research Initiative funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The resulting outcomes showed reductions in hospitalization, making The Friends Connection a national model in evidence-based practices for peer support.
Ryan Tempesco, CPS and Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator, is a transgender individual who has found peace and wellness through community support, connection and understanding. He is currently the Program Support Coordinator for Doors to Wellbeing National Consumer Technical Assistance Center. He is an advocate for wellness, as well as equal rights in his community, and always brings optimism with him wherever he goes. Ryan bring his experience as a board member of a consumer operated organization in VA, VOCAL, and in co-chairing the organizing committee of Alternatives 2018.
Gina Calhoun is a certified peer support specialist and Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator, and has had the opportunity to be part of 16 certified peer specialist trainings, 7 certified peer specialist supervisor trainings and 45 WRAP® trainings. Gina’s unique experience centers around Harrisburg State Hospital (HSH). She used the services at Harrisburg State Hospital for several years before escaping to live on the streets. Gina came back to offer peer support during the closing of HSH. She attributes her recovery journey to supportive relationships that choose to focus on ‘what’s strong’ instead of ‘what’s wrong’; and for the opportunity to work in a supportive environment where she is part of a team making a difference in PA.