< Back

Jacki Hillios

Deputy Executive Director

Keynote Speaker

The Phoenix

PATHWAY:

PRESENTATION:

Together We Rise

The modern recovery movement was set in motion with the founding of alcoholics anonymous in 1935 and has evolved over the years as members of the movement learned from science and experiences, and as political and social contexts changed. Today we are at a critical juncture. It is time to rethink our approach and to recruit new voices to the movement, amplifying our message beyond our base. With overdose and alcohol related deaths at an all-time high, the status quo is unacceptable as a go forward strategy. While funding more treatment beds, increasing access to overdose reversal medications and policy advocacy are critical, the magnitude of this crisis demands innovation. It requires a unified movement unwilling to compromise for anything less than societal transformation. No one should die because of how they cope with the traumas and unprecedented levels of stress inflicted upon them. What if together we could annihilate addiction?

During her keynote address, Dr. Hillios will talk about how community can and is transforming the way people live in recovery. As Deputy Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Phoenix, a free, inclusive, and supportive community for those impacted by substance use, Jacki and her team have developed and scaled The Phoenix’s Community Model to over 100 locations across 36 states. With the addition of virtual programming The Phoenix community is now able to reach those in need around the globe.

"If not us, then who? And if not now than when?"
John Lewis

Aligned around the core beliefs that everyone has value, no one is disposable, and we all have a role to play, Phoenix seeks to fuel and ignite the recovery movement. By uniting tens of thousands of individuals and family members impacted by substance use, organizations, and allies, The Phoenix is driving a bottom-up community solution that is committed to improving the lives of individuals and to advancing societal level transformation. During this presentation, Dr. Hillios will explore how we might apply learning from sucessful societal movements and from the scaling of The Phoenix to advance the next phase of the movement.

A new wave of recovery is coming. Together we will rise, recover, and live.

*Objective 1: Attendees will gain an understanding about what The Phoenix Community Model is, the underlying science and what makes it so sucessful.

*Objective 2: Attendees will learn about sucessful movements and how they can rally others to unite with us to bring about transformational change.

BIOGRAPHY:

Jacki Hillios, Ph.D., is Deputy Executive Director of The Phoenix, a successful peer-to-peer based addiction recovery program that embraces a physically active and supportive community. In her role, she focuses on oversight and leadership in program design, implementation, evaluation, and expansion.

As a former clinician who worked with youth and families struggling with mental illness and substance-use disorders, Jacki knew The Phoenix’s real-life solution to addiction would help change people’s lives. She has worked with The Phoenix in Colorado and Massachusetts since 2006 and has helped expand the model to 22 states and over 40 communities across the country.

Jacki is an active public speaker sharing what she has learned about the role of peer-to-peer sober active community engagement and in 2013 was chosen to do a TEDxBoulder presentation on “Transcending Addiction and Redefining Recovery.”