FREE Webinar - Crossroads: Learning and Development meets Lived Experience
Doors to Wellbeing invites you to join our monthly Peer Specialist Webinar Series. This FREE continuing education opportunity brings experts by experience to expand peer specialist skills, knowledge and best practices. The series is the last Tuesday of every month (except December) at 2pm ET/1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT.
Crossroads: Learning and Development meets Lived Experience
Participants will engage in reflection around integrating their own voice, storytelling, and lived experience into learning and development spaces while identifying practical strategies that can be applied within their organizations and communities. This Crossroads session explores the intersection of lived experience and learning and development, highlighting the value of personal narratives in shaping workforce practices
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify three ways lived experience can enhance learning and development practices by the end of the session.
2. Demonstrate one strategy for integrating storytelling or reflection into facilitation or training activities during the workshop.
3. Develop one actionable step for applying lived experience informed approaches within their workplace, organization, or community setting.
Presented by: Brissa Rubio, MBA, CPSS
Throughout her career in workforce development, behavioral health, wellness, and training, Brissa Rubio has dedicated herself to strengthening individuals, organizations, and communities through education, professional growth, and lived experience leadership. As Executive Director of Arizona Peer and Family Career Academy, Brissa works to expand and enhance the integrated healthcare workforce by creating meaningful pathways for peers, family members, and professionals to grow and thrive. Guided by her passion for wellness, lifelong learning, and living wholeheartedly, Brissa believes that investing in people creates stronger systems and healthier communities.
With more than 25 years of experience in developing and facilitating training, Brissa has supported professionals across a variety of settings through evidence-based and nationally recognized programs. She is a certified trainer in Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and has served as a national trainer for the Crisis Prevention Institute for more than 15 years, receiving the Meritorious Trainer Award for her contributions as a Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Trainer. She is also a Red Cross instructor for multiple CPR, First Aid, and safety courses for both pediatric and adult populations, in addition to serving as a certified trainer in several other nationally recognized curricula.
Brissa's commitment to wellness extends beyond training and into leadership and organizational culture. She is a certified Master Health and Wellness Coach through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute and expanded her expertise by becoming a certified Wellness Coordinator through the Chapman Institute. Throughout her career, she has received multiple wellness awards recognizing both her individual contributions and the successful workplace wellness initiatives she developed and implemented. Brissa earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona and is currently pursuing her MBA through Northern Arizona University. Based in Tucson, Arizona, she enjoys spending time with her husband and furbabies and continues to champion approaches that inspire growth, resilience, and whole-person wellbeing.
Presenter: Kassandra Figueroa
Kassandra Figueroa is a workforce development leader, trainer, and recovery advocate dedicated to advancing behavioral health, peer support, and community-based systems of care through education and lived experience. As the Workforce Development Champion at Arizona Peer and Family Career Academy, she leads the design and facilitation of evidence-based trainings that center trauma-informed practices, cultural humility, and recovery-oriented approaches.
Beginning her career in direct service roles supporting individuals through peer support, navigation, and reentry services, Kassandra developed a passion for systems transformation and workforce empowerment. Over the years, she has facilitated trainings across Arizona for behavioral health providers, peer professionals, community organizations, and justice-involved programs, delivering impactful learning experiences focused on ethics, advocacy, professionalism, integrated care, resilience, and person-centered support.
As a National Certified Peer Specialist (NCPS), Kassandra brings authenticity, compassion, and practical insight into every training environment, whether virtual or in-person. Her facilitation style has been described as engaging, relatable, and empowering, blending professional expertise with real-world lived experience to create meaningful and sustainable growth for individuals and organizations alike. An Arizona native and proud mother, Kassandra earned her Bachelor of Science in Counseling with an emphasis in Addiction, Chemical Dependency, and Substance Abuse from Grand Canyon University. She is deeply committed to healing with intention, strengthening communities through education, and inspiring others to lead with purpose and hope.
This is part of Doors to Wellbeing's Peer Specialist Webinar Series.
