Keith Johnston is the Founder and Executive Director of Running2bwell, a nonprofit organization that helps those struggling with mental health and/or addiction issues become more physically and socially active. He decided to start the effort after a friend lost his son to heroin addiction and he wanted to try and contribute something positive to society.

Keith turned to exercise, since it had always been helpful when he was attempting to manage his own meantal health and addictions, and now facilitates walking/running groups and SMART meetings.

In this podcast, he talks about research that links exercise to greater mental clarity and many other benefits. He also shares his belief that not only do we all have issues of some kind, we all have a responsibility to contribute what we can to make the world a better place.

Jonathan Hunt-Glassman struggled with drinking too much for years, and tried many ways of changing his relationship to alcohol. But it wasn't until a doctor suggested he try medication that things got better. Based on his experience, he decided to start a company, Oar Health, which offers a way for individuals to investigate whether medication might be useful in their own recovery.

In this podcast, Jonathan is joined by Oar Health's Chief Clinical Advisor Dr. Josh Lee, an addiction medicine specialist, researcher, and Professor of Population Health and Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Courtney Anderson insists on having plenty of fun in life. After she quit drinking, she wasn't quite sure what that really meant or how to make it happen. Now 11 years later, Courtney not only continues to have fun in life, she coaches others about how to make the most of their new sober lives.

Courtney's website, https://www.courtneyrecovered.com/, includes links to all kinds of resources. In this podcast, Courtney shares how she ended her "toxic relationship with alcohol" and the key role her rescue cat played. She also talks about her new book and the great satisfaction she gets from hosting her own podcast, Sober Vibes.

September is National Recovery Month and we welcome Keegan Wicks to the podcast. Keegan is the National Advocacy and Outreach Manager for Faces & Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington D.C.

Keegan has worked in the recovery field for 10 years as an advocate and counselor, and has been in long-term recovery since 2009. He works with policy makers and legislators at both state and federal levels and speaks regularly on recovery topics before a variety of organizations.

In this podcast Keegan shares some of his personal story of recovery and what keeps him motivated to work in the field. He also introduces FAVOR's new partner organization, International Recovery Day, and shares the exciting global fireworks planned for September 30th.

Besides being SRUSA's Executive Director, Pete Rubinas is a SMART Family & Friends meeting facilitator. He says he reaps many benefits by joining with others to share experiences and work on developing positive responses to challenging circumstances.

SMART Family and Friends meetings are available both in-person and online, and provide participants with the tools they need to effectively support their loved one, without supporting the addictive behavior.

In this podcast Pete talks about the healing that takes place in meetings and the practice of self-compassion, pointing to the work of Dr. Kristin Neff as a great resource.

For more information about SMART Family & Friends, visit here

Dr. Steven Proctor is the founder and principal consultant of PRO Health Group and a Senior Program Director for Thriving Mind South Florida. He is also a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who has studied and written about Contingency Management programs, most notably in his Annals of Medicine article, Rewarding recovery: the time is now for contingency management for opioid use disorder.

Contingency Management, simply put, is rewarding people, often with money, for achieving their recovery goals. While much research indicates that well-structured and adequately funded Contingency Management programs are successful, barriers persist to widespread adoption. These barriers include outdated attitudes, along with ethical and economic concerns. In this podcast, Dr. Proctor illuminates the issues surrounding Contingency Management and advocates for increased utilization of this important treatment strategy.

Tammah Watts is a licensed therapist, certified outdoor guide, and SMART Recovery facilitator in San Diego. Her active lifestyle came to a screeching halt after an unexpected health condition left her homebound. Discouraged and in despair, one day she was surprised by a moving encounter with a small bird. Now she's written a wonderful book that shares lessons from the new direction her life took as a result of embracing the world of birdwatching.

Tammah's book is titled, "Keep Looking Up, Your Guide to the Powerful Healing of Birdwatching." In this podcast she describes how paying attention to life in the skies can keep us firmly grounded in a positive life here on earth.

For more information about Tammah and her new book, visit HERE

Dr. Alison Beck is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Clinical Psychologist based in the School of Psychology, University of Wollongong in Australia. Her recent work includes research on the effects of online SMART Recovery meetings during the pandemic in Australia. It turns out that many individuals got great benefits from participating, and the Australian government's financial support made a difference.

In this podcast Alison talks about her love of research and belief that by finding things out, we can make things better.

Carolyn Straub moderates a thriving online community for those interested in SMART on the social media platform Reddit. She enjoys helping others engage around how much SMART's tools and resources help those seeking recovery from addiction.

In this podcast, Carolyn also shares her personal journey of recovery, which she wrote about in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in the essay Mind On Fire.

The Greater Cleveland Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI GC) has spent years providing education and advocacy on behalf of individuals and families affected by mental health conditions. Increasingly, substance use disorders co-occur in many persons, making treatment more complex.

In this podcast NAMI GC Executive Director Katie Jenkins and Hispanic Outreach and Education Coordinator Monica Olivera discuss their work to bring mental health issues to parity with other kinds of physical illnesses in terms of acceptance and treatment.