Richard Mason
Chair
Richard is the Chief Operations Officer at House of Hope for Recovery, Columbus, Ohio. Richard became the house manager of House of Hope’s first Recovery Residence in 2009 and stepped into the role of the Employment Specialist in June 2011. Mason came to the House of Hope with extensive experience in employment services and has worked with diverse populations, from actors to homeless families and at-risk youth. He has supervised the increase of recovery housing beds at the House of Hope from 11 to 47 beds with great outcomes of residents achieving long-term recovery. Richard is an active board member and founding member of Ohio Recovery Housing, the new state affiliate of NARR (National Association of Recovery Residences). Richard became one of the first people to be a certified peer supporter in the State of Ohio. Richard Mason is a person in long-term recovery.
Joey Supina
Vice Chair
Joey Supina is the Co-Founder and the Executive Director of Sandusky Artisans Recovery Community Center, a 501(c)3 established in 1996. He is a Board member of the Ohio Peer Recovery Organization(OhioPRO), Vice-Chair of the Ohio Mental Health Addiction Services(OhioMHAS) Planning Council, Vice-President of the Board for Sandusky's Safe Harbor Domestic Violence Shelter, Board member of Erie County Health Department, Director of State Wide Advocacy Network(SWAN) for the 23 counties in the catchment area for the Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital, past Board member of the Ohio Citizens Advocates for Addiction Recovery and former Board member of the Very Special Arts Ohio. He is a certified Ohio Peer Recovery Supporter, Supervisor and former Trainer for the State of Ohio’s Mental Health Addiction Services and a person in long term Recovery for over 49 years. He is the artist in residence for the Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Services Board of Erie County, Ohio.
Juliet C. Dorris-Williams
Treasurer
Juliet C. Dorris-Williams is the Executive Director of The P.E.E.R. Center, a peer recovery organization, in Columbus, Ohio. The P.E.E.R. Center is a nonprofit drop-in, wellness, recovery, and support center, operating in two locations, including a daily WarmLine for phone support, with a staff of 30, currently in its 16th year of operations. Like each of the staff members and most of the agency’s board of directors, she is a person living in long-term mental health and trauma recovery. Juliet has been honored with multiple awards: the Nicholas A. Rango, M.D. Leadership Award from the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, the Larry Burkett Peer Support Award, and the Norman Guitry Leadership Award from Mental Health America Ohio, the Art Lynn Consumer & Family Advocate Award from the Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (Ohio), and the NYAPRS Celia Brown UNSUNG Champions of Advocacy Award. She spent more than two decades working in state government (TN, IN, and OH) providing administrative oversight for HIV/STD prevention, Minority Health, Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Prevention programs, as well as direct client services in multiple social service settings. Juliet has served on multiple boards and is the current Board treasurer of OhioPRO – Ohio Peer Recovery Organizations, a statewide organization dedicated to advocating for peer recovery organizations and those they serve, and since 2019, is a member of the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council, appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine. Juliet has a BS in Psychology from Indiana State University, an MSW from the Indiana University School of Social Work at Indianapolis, is an independently licensed social worker supervisor, and an Ohio Peer Supporter. Juliet is also a published author and a podcast host.
Ginger Schmalenberg
Secretary
Ginger Schmalenberg, B.S.S., MPA, is the Executive Director for Athens Mental Health Inc., which operates The Gathering Place, a drop-in peer recovery organization and Mike’s Bridge House, a sober living house for men who identify with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. The Gathering Place has been in operation since 1976, providing mental health and other wellness services in the Athens County, Ohio community. Ginger's background is in Nonprofit Management and Public Administration and she has worked with various arts and social service nonprofit organizations in the Athens area and Appalachian region for the past 20 years on issues of board and organizational development, communications, program management, grant writing and fundraising. Her current work at The Gathering Place focuses on working with peer members, staff and the board on furthering the mission and bringing awareness of mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders across the state and promoting advocacy for mental health recovery. AMHINC., serves as a fiscal agent for two other recovery organizations, Athens Hope and Southeast Ohio Trauma Informed Collaborative. Ginger enjoys mentoring Ohio University students from various departments who serve as interns at The Gathering Place. She also loves to mushroom hunt and hike in the woods of Southeast Ohio.
Cindy Heitman
Cindy identifies as a person in long term recovery. Cindy has 30 years of continuous recovery with mental illness, trauma and addiction. She has 15 years’ experience in the mental health / addiction field as a Certified Peer Recovery Supporter. Cindy is the Peer Recovery Support Manager for Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley. She supervises a team of 10 certified peers. Cindy is a master facilitator for the Ohio Peer Recovery Supporter Certification program. She is also a trainer for WHAM, Trauma Informed Care, Seeking Safety, Smart Recovery, and Mental Health First Aid. Cindy is actively involved in the recovery community. Cindy is the Board Chair for OhioPRO. She has served on several mental health boards and initiatives. Working in the recovery field became a passion for her. Her personal recovery has allowed her to become the person she always wanted to be. When she found her voice and began advocating for herself, she then found that she could help others also. Her passions are her daughter and spreading hope to the Peer’s in our community.
Matt Bower
Matthew Bower serves on the Ohio Peer Recovery Organization’s general Board of Directors as well as on the Finance Committee. He has served on the board since 2023 and has been involved in therecovery field for several years. Matthew has a passion for aiding individuals in recovery as well as those working towards it. Along with serving as a board member, Matthew is a certified yoga instructor and teaches a class called C.A.R.E (Compassionate Addiction Recovery Experience). He has found that yoga has been an instrumental tool in supporting his personal journey and greatly enjoys sharing his practice with others. The class offers a safe space for individuals in recovery as well as for those in need of support. Matthew holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Miami University and currently works
in finance.
Mike Dennis
After graduating from Marietta College in 1980 with a degree in Psychology/Communications, I took a job opportunity to work at a group home for people with developmental disabilities. I found that I enjoyed the work and later was given the opportunity to become the Director of Morgan Resi- dential in Malta Ohio. Unfortunately, I found that the State of Ohio was about to revoke the license, I convinced the State to give me three months to fix the problems. After some hard work from me and the staff we went from 31 license violations to 1 violation and a contractor was hired to fix those problems. When I left, I was hired as the Executive Director of RHDD Inc, an agency that provided services to over 100 people with developmental disabilities. I spent 22 years at RHDD. When I left RHDD I spent five years running the Wood County Senior service agency in Wood County West Vir- ginia. At this point in life, I was looking for a job that would allow me to work less and utilize the skills I had learned in my 40 years of working with Nonprofits. In 2018 I accepted the position of part-time Director of the House of Hope. My plan was to work two more years and retire, the House of Hope had other plans for me. I found a warm and inviting place that made me feel at home. Five years later I am still here, enjoying the value we provide to our members. My best friend and partner Heike and I enjoy traveling in Europe. I have a passion for cars and restoring old Mopars. I currently own a 1971 Dodge Dart Demon and a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda. I have two wonderful adults daughters, Sarah and Shandra one grandson Preston and two rescue cats, Lucy and Red.
About OhioPro
Ohio Peer Recovery Organizations serves as the unifying force for Ohio peer-recovery organizations and programs to speak with one voice in all aspects of the mental health and substance use disorder systems.
2023 Ohio Peer Recovery Organizations.