Peer Power 2026 | ZeroHourLifeCenter

Peer Power 2026
Rise & Restore

Where Self-Care Meets Professional Growth

A statewide professional development and wellness retreat created exclusively for Certified Recovery Peer Specialists and Peer Supporters.

November 5th-8th, 2026
St. Pete, Florida

$300 Registration Includes:

Two days of professional development and peer focused training
Breakfast and lunch provided (on session days)
Guest speakers and interactive learning
Opportunities to connect and network with fellow peer professionals
Dedicated time for self-care, reflection, and restoration
A welcoming retreat experience designed specifically for the peer workforce

Hotel accommodations are separate

Event Registration

Sponsorship Opportunities Available

Sponsor Info

HOTEL GROUP RATE: SOLD OUT

Our Peer Power 2026 group-rate room block is now full.

Thank you for the incredible response!

Attendees may still book directly with the Hilton St. Petersburg, subject to availability, or choose another hotel that best fits their needs.

We look forward to seeing you at Peer Power 2026!

Registration Information

Hotel: $189.00 per person/night plus tax

**Limited number of rooms available at this rate

HILTON ST. PETERSBURG CARILLON PARK

950 Lake Carillon Drive

St. Petersburg, FL 33716

**Event ticket purchase will not reserve your hotel room. You are responsible for room rates/fees and payment upon check in at the hotel.

**The hotel charges $75 per night hold for incidentals

**The hotel charges $10 per night/per vehicle for parking

**Hotel reservations do not include event ticket registration

Contact HIlton

Lodging Scholarship Info

Payment Plan Info

Peer Retreat:

$300.00 per person (Regular Registration ends 10/3/2026)

Space is limited, get your tickets while they last!

**Event ticket includes all sessions both days.

**Event ticket does not include hotel accommodations

**If you live locally or prefer to stay at another location, hotel reservations are not required to attend event

Event Registration

Registration closes 10/3/2026

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Super Star Sponsor

Florida Department of Children and Families

DCF works in partnership with local communities
to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and
economically self-sufficient families, and advance
personal and family recovery and resiliency.

Rock Star Sponsor

Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce

Commissioned by the Florida Legislature, the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce (FCBHW) is dedicated to strengthening the state’s behavioral health system through workforce development. FCBHW's mission is clear: ensure all Floridians have access to high-quality behavioral health care — when they need it, where they need it.

Our Speakers & Presenters

Senator Darryl Rouson, Florida Senate, District 16

Senator Darryl Rouson is a long-standing champion for recovery, criminal justice reform, and behavioral health. A fierce advocate for the peer support movement, Senator Rouson has proudly sponsored legislation in Florida to recognize and expand the role of Certified Recovery Peer Specialists. His lived experience, legislative leadership, and unwavering support for peer-led solutions make him an inspiring voice at this year’s Peer Power: Rise & Restore retreat.

Senator Rosalind Osgood, Florida Senate, District 32

Senator Rosalind Osgood is a transformative leader, visionary public servant, and faith-rooted community advocate whose life work has been devoted to advancing justice, uplifting underserved communities, and shaping policy with compassion and conviction. A proud native of Broward County, Florida, Dr. Osgood has become one of the most respected voices in education, public administration, faith-based service, and state governance.

In 2022, Dr. Osgood was elected to the Florida Senate to represent District 32, where she currently serves with distinction. In her role as State Senator, she has emerged as a leading voice on education, maternal health, women’s empowerment, and economic justice. As the Democratic Caucus Whip, she plays a pivotal role in legislative strategy and party leadership, while also serving as Chaplain of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus blending her spiritual calling with her policy leadership to bring integrity, compassion, and moral clarity to the legislature.

She lives by a simple yet profound truth: Leadership is not about power it’s about purpose. And through every role she inhabits—senator, CEO, minister, professor, and community mother, Dr. Osgood continues to model what it means to lead with both head and heart.

Patty McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer of Faces & Voices of Recovery

Patty McCarthy, M.S., is the Chief Executive Officer of Faces & Voices of Recovery, the nation's leading recovery advocacy organization. A nationally recognized leader in recovery policy, peer support, and organizational development, Patty has spent more than 30 years advancing recovery support services and strengthening the recovery community movement.
Before joining Faces & Voices, she served as Deputy Director of SAMHSA's BRSS TACS initiative at the Center for Social Innovation and previously spent a decade leading Friends of Recovery-Vermont, where she helped build one of the country's leading statewide recovery community organizations.
Patty has been instrumental in advancing national accreditation standards for recovery community organizations and peer support standards, helping strengthen quality and accountability across the recovery field. She is a frequent speaker on recovery advocacy, peer workforce development, recovery-oriented systems, and public policy.
Patty holds a Master of Science degree in Community Counseling and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She has been in long-term recovery since 1989 and brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work. Her leadership is grounded in the conviction that people with lived experience are essential partners in creating more responsive, equitable, and effective systems of care.

Courtney Whitt, PhD

Courtney Whitt serves as the inaugural executive director of the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce. She brings a strong foundation in clinical psychology, integrated health and systems of care, and workforce development. With deep experience working in integrated behavioral health care and strategic community initiatives, Whitt is committed to expanding access to high-quality, accessible behavioral health services and supports.

Brock Birtolo, Executive Director of Flagler OARS and Discover & Recover

Brock Birtolo serves as the Executive Director of Flagler OARS and Discover & Recover, leading initiatives to expand peer-supported care and community health resources across Flagler and St. Johns Counties. Backed by over 15 years of executive experience scaling large-scale operations, he brings a data-driven approach to non-profit growth and community partnership. Grounded in his own long-term recovery journey since 2016, Brock is a passionate speaker and advocate for all recovery pathways, including accessible health initiatives across Florida’s 7th Circuit.

Laura Vogel-Holley, Training & Education Director Community Coalition Alliance

Laura Holley is the Director of Training and Education for the Community Coalition Alliance and has nearly 20 years of experience working in the areas of Prevention and Mental Health in the nonprofit sector. Laura has a master's in Counseling & Executive Leadership, over 17 certifications in evidence-based curricula, and became a United States Army Master Resilience Trainer during her time working in deployment cycle support with the Department of Defense. Laura spent a decade working with youth and families in the rural South Carolina lowcountry before relocating to Florida in 2013, where she now lives in Palm Coast with her teenage daughter.

Susan Hall, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, ECMH-E of Susan Hall Consulting

Susan Hall is a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, Endorsed Early Childhood Mental Health professional, & dedicated community partner who brings both professional experience & lived experience to her work with families & communities across Florida. As a mother with lived experience in the child welfare system & long-term recovery, Susan understands firsthand the power of hope, connection, & having someone believe in you when you may not yet believe in yourself. Through Susan Hall Consulting, she collaborates with agencies, courts, & community organizations & serves on the statewide Dependency Court Improvement Panel, supporting early childhood courts, foster & biological families, & parent-led initiatives. She provides in-home coaching using the Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) model & serves as a Peer Coordinator supporting a Parent Advisory Council, helping elevate parent voice & strengthen peer support networks. Susan is passionate about breaking generational cycles, reducing stigma, & helping people recognize the strengths & possibilities within themselves. Her commitment to this work has been recognized through the Florida Institute for Child Welfare 2026 Community Partner of the Year Award & the Florida Coalition for Children 2026 Parent with Lived Experience Leadership Award. Susan believes that recovery is about more than simply making it through the day, it is about discovering who we can become, envisioning the life we want, & intentionally building it one decision at a time.

Anthony Davis, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, Zero Hour Life Center

Anthony Davis is passionate about recovery and dedicated to serving others as a Peer Recovery Coach. He is also a storyteller and rootworker who values the power of spirituality, and community in helping people heal and find meaning. He recognizes that ritual has played an important role in human connection across cultures, beliefs, and generations.

For him, recovery is more than abstinence. It is a journey of healing, growth, and reconnection with self, others, and purpose. Through storytelling, peer support, and spiritual practice, he encourages individuals to discover resilience, embrace transformation, and build lives rooted in hope and recovery.

Jonathan Pouliot, Guide, Healer, Teacher, & Life Activation Practitioner of Gateway Healing

Jonathan Pouliot is a professional spiritual Guide, Healer, and Teacher in the Lineage of King Salomon, certified by the Modern Mystery School. He is the owner of Gateway Healing, located in north Pinellas County.

Jonathan is passionate about helping you remember your inner divinity and release the outdated patterns that keep you small so that you truly live a life of Joy, Purpose, and Empowerment.

Learn more at www.GatewayHealingFL.com, and follow @GatewayHealingFL on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Jessica McCrosky, MS, CMHC, Here Tomorrow

Director of Training and Education

Jessica “Jess” McCrosky, MS, is the Director of Training and Education at Here Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention and peer support. She specializes in behavioral health workforce development, peer support training, and recovery-oriented systems of care, and developed the P.E.O.P.L.E Project Certified Recovery Peer Specialist training program approved by the Florida Certification Board. Jess is a certified facilitator in Wellness Recovery Action Planning, Question Persuade Refer suicide prevention training, and Mental Health First Aid, and is also a DBT Peer Skills Facilitator through the Peer Support Coalition. She currently serves as a Subject Matter Expert with the Florida Certification Board, contributing to the development of the Peer Specialist Supervisor Competency Framework.

Rev. Anna Racicot, CEI, LMT, Mindful Moments

Anna Racicot is a Spiritual Director, Mental Wellness Advisor, Creative Expression Life Coach, and co-founder of Mindful Moments. With a personal connection to recovery spanning more than 25 years, Anna brings both lived experience and a passion for helping people explore growth, connection, and what it means to live more intentionally.

Through Mindful Moments, Anna creates experiences that blend reflection, creativity, self-expression, and meaningful conversation, giving those who spend their lives supporting others an opportunity to reconnect with themselves.

At the Peer Power: Rise & Restore Retreat, Anna joins Crystal Medley and the Mindful Moments team to facilitate an interactive workshop inviting participants to move, reflect, connect, and experience familiar ideas about recovery and wellness in a new way.

Crystal Medley, CRPS, CEI, Recovery Unplugged

Crystal Medley is a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, recovery advocate, and National Business Development Representative with Recovery Unplugged. In recovery since 2012, Crystal brings lived experience and a passion for helping others find hope, connection, and support.

Through Mindful Moments, Crystal helps create space for those who care for others to pause, recharge, and reconnect with themselves. Her approach blends honest conversation, creative activities, and practical tools that encourage connection and intentional living.

At the Peer Power: Rise & Restore retreat, Crystal joins her Mindful Moments team to facilitate an interactive workshop centered on renewal and the reminder that those who support others deserve support, too.

Itinerary

Thursday 11/5

Check in 3:00 PM
Meet and Greet Poolside 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Friday 11/6 - Professional Development & Connection

Continental Breakfast (provided)
Session 1
- Courtney Whitt & Emilie Ellenberg, Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce at USF
- Patty McCarthy, Faces & Voices of Recovery
- Keynote Speaker - Senator Darryl Rouson, Florida Senate District 16
- Rosalind Osgood, Florida Senate District 32

Saturday 11/7

Breakfast (provided)
Session 2
- Energetic Self Care - Jonathan Pouliot, Gateway Healing
- See It. Believe It. Build It. - Susan Hall, CRPS, Family Wellness Consultant
- Work & Life Balance - Jessica McCrosky, Here Tomorrow & Opioid Response Network
Lunch (provided)
Session 3
- Step Into Recovery - Anna Racicot & Crystal Medley from Mindful Moments
- Discovering Your Strengths - Laura Vogel-Holley, Community Coalition Alliance
- Navigating Growth - Brock Birtolo, Flagler OARS and Discover & Recover
- Calling the Directions - Anthony Davis, CRPS, Zero Hour Life Center