Earn 2 CEUs for Recovery Support Specialists and Recovery Coaches through CCB!

JOE POWELL, President & CEO of Association of Persons Affected by Addiction (APAA) 

Joe Powell, is a highly respected figure in the field of peer recovery support services. With over 33 years of personal recovery experience, he is recognized nationally as an expert provider in Peer Recovery Coaching. In fact, Joe Powell was chosen by Faces and Voices of Recovery and the Hazelden Center to receive the prestigious Vernon Johnson Award in 2010. This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to promoting sustained recovery and advocating for its accessibility to all Americans. Mr. Powell's dedication and commitment have truly set him apart as a standard-bearer for the recovery community. "The recipients of the Vernon Johnson award have exemplified the immense impact that one individual can have on advancing a movement," stated William Moyers, Vice President of Foundation Relations at Hazelden. Joe Powell's reputation extends far beyond the streets of Dallas, where he has personally assisted individuals in their recovery journeys. Mr. Powell's expertise is recognized within state and federal government corridors as well. With over 25 years of experience as an LCDC (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor), he has worked across various substance abuse and mental health treatment settings before joining the Dallas Helps' Board and subsequently establishing APAA. Serving as the founding President in 1998 and later assuming the role of Executive Director in 2001, Mr. Powell's contributions have garnered numerous accolades, including the Vernon Johnson award from Hazelden Center and Faces and Voices of Recovery, a Faces and Voices of Recovery Founding Board Member Award, a Mental Health Association "Prism" award, and a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Community Recognition award. In 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed Mr. Powell to serve on the Rehabilitation Council of Texas, further underscoring his stature within his field. He is also recognized as a distinguished fellow by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Leadership Fellows Academy.

Haner Hernández, PhD, CPS, CADCII, LADCI

Dr. Hernández is from Borikén (Puerto Rico), fluent in Spanish and English, and lives in Massachusetts.  With more than 39 years of experience in planning, implementing, and evaluating Substance Use Disorder, Mental Health, HIV/AIDS, HCV, Problem Gambling, and related services, Dr. Hernandez leads with a social justice lens and approach grounded eliminating disparities, and building equity.  As a public health professional, with experience across the continuum, he embraces and promotes a greater understanding of the Structural Determinants of Health (SDOH), coupled with implementing multiple strategies over multiple domains.  Dr. Hernandez believes that quality public health work can only be accomplished by establishing true partnerships and engagement with people with lived and living experiences and their families, and through formal and meaningful relationships with policy makers and community-based organizations and institutions.

Dr. Hernandez has served as a consultant to a wide range of organizations and institutions funded by federal, state, and local sources, including the Prevention, Addiction, and Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers, the Opioid Response Network, and other National Technical Assistance Centers located through the US. In this capacity he has delivered tailored technical assistance, capacity building, and training to people in the front lines of service delivery, as well as to policy makers and those in leadership and senior management roles.  Dr. Hernandez also teaches at the New England Schools of Prevention and Addiction Studies and the Best Practices School and is President of the Massachusetts Addiction Counselor Certification Board.

Dr. Hernandez earned a PhD in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts, Amhurst and holds a GED (high school equivalence), which he earned in prison. As a person in long-terms recovery, Haner is committed to uplifting the voices of people in wellness and recovery processes and works tirelessly creating equitable and meaningful access to the entire Public Health Continuum, which includes Prevention, Intervention, the Multiple Pathways of Recovery (including Treatment), and Recovery Supports.