RECOVERY DAY 2026

Recovery Day is a celebration, a convening, and a call to action.

Each year we gather to honor the many pathways to recovery from substance use, mental health challenges, and co-occurring conditions — and to affirm a shared belief: recovery is real, recovery is possible, and recovery is stronger when we work together.

Recovery Day brings together people with lived and living experience, families, advocates, service providers, community leaders, and policymakers from across sectors. It is a space where stories are honored, systems are examined, and connections are built across disciplines that too often work in silos.

At its core, Recovery Day centers lived experience as essential expertise. It recognizes that healing does not happen in isolation — it happens in communities, in relationships, and in systems that are designed to listen, adapt, and collaborate.

This gathering is both a moment of recognition and a movement toward change. We celebrate resilience and courage, while also recommitting to the work of building a more responsive, inclusive, and coordinated continuum of care for all Vermonters.

Recovery Day is for anyone who believes that healing belongs to everyone — and that together, we can shape a future where recovery is supported, visible, and accessible across our state.

REGISTER to JOIN US

ASL interpretation will be provided throughout the event.

Recovery Day 2026 is committed to creating a welcoming and accessible experience for all participants.

Everyone belongs at Recovery Day, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support access and inclusion.

If you have additional access needs or questions about accommodations, please contact us at so we can support your participation.

REACH OUT

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Patty McCarthy

CEO at FACES & VOICES of RECOVERY

Patty is a nationally respected leader in the recovery movement with more than 25 years of experience advancing policies centered on dignity, access to care, and person-centered recovery support. A Vermont native, she previously led Friends of Recovery–VT and later served as CEO of Faces & Voices of Recovery, where she expanded peer recovery support nationwide, increased federal funding for recovery programs, and helped shape landmark legislation such as the SUPPORT Act while challenging stigma through policy and public education.

Featured Voices & Community Connection

  • Senator Bernie Sanders

    Senator Peter Welch

    Congresswoman Becca Balint

  • Dr. Rick Hildebrandt, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Health

    Monica Hutt, Chief Prevention Officer, on behalf of Governor Philip B. Scott

    John Rodgers, Lt. Governor of Vermont

    Mike Pieciak, State Treasurer of Vermont

  • Since 2014, Writers for Recovery has brought poetry workshops, public readings, trainings, and talks to communities from Newport in the Northeast Kingdom to Brattleboro on Vermont’s southern border.

    This work has helped people across Vermont gain new perspectives on addiction and recovery. And it’s helped reduce the stigma of addiction by showing that people in recovery can make valuable contributions to their communities and lead rich, fulfilling lives.

  • A screening of the short film “Recovering Loudly” by LUND - sharing stories of moms in recovery.

    Lund has been helping Vermonters since 1890, and is committed to being a welcoming, supportive, and helpful environment for children and families when most needed. Lund’s programs help approximately 5,400 people each year across Vermont.

  • more info to come

  • “recovery happens in relationship, not rows of chairs” - more info to come

  • Ed Baker (LICSW, LADC) will lead us through a moment of silence, where we collectively pause to honor the lives we have lost and to acknowledge the grief carried by our communities. In this shared moment, we hold one another with care and renew our shared commitment to connection, compassion, and recovery.

KIMBER KING

SafeSpot

Kimber King is the Operations Coordinator at SafeSpot, a phone-based overdose prevention hotline. She brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work, having once relied on a spotting hotline herself — a moment she credits with saving her life. Kimber has helped grow SafeSpot from a small volunteer pilot into a nationally recognized, fully staffed service, while continuing to answer calls and train new operators. A harm reduction advocate, mother, and community leader based in Vermont, Kimber is passionate about harm reduction, recovery, and proving that lived experience is not a barrier — it’s a strength.

AWARD RECIPIENTS

  • A woman with long, wavy blonde hair smiling, wearing a beige sleeveless top, sitting indoors near a window with wooden paneling in the background.

    Dr. Kimberly Blake

    LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

    Kim Blake is a Vermont-based OB-GYN and addiction medicine physician whose work is deeply informed by both clinical practice and lived experience. After the loss of her son Sean to a fentanyl overdose in 2017, she became a leading advocate for harm reduction and low-barrier treatment, helping launch Vermont’s low-threshold buprenorphine program and adding addiction medicine as a second board certification. Today, she continues her advocacy through national recovery efforts with Mobilize Recovery and as Vermont Ambassador for Team Sharing, supporting families impacted by substance use loss.

  • A middle-aged man with glasses and a beard, wearing a dark blazer and a striped dress shirt, standing in front of a wooden wall.

    Dr. Nels Kloster

    LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

    Nels Kloster is an addiction psychiatrist who has worked across Vermont at all levels of substance use disorder care. He played a key role in establishing the state’s Opioid Use Disorder treatment guidelines and expanding access to OUD treatment in Bennington, and currently serves as medical director for the Hub in Brattleboro, Serenity House residential treatment, and the Vermont Practitioner Health Program. Guided by the belief that addiction impacts individuals and communities alike, Nels is dedicated to long-term, comprehensive care supported by strong cross-agency collaboration.

  • A woman with curly brown hair smiling, wearing a black top, against a plain light-colored background.

    Sara Byers

    TAMMY BUSHELL RECOVERY FRIENDLY WORKPLACE AWARD

    Sara Byers is a CEO, inspirational speaker, and published poet who leads her family’s business, Leonardo’s Pizza, while serving as chair of multiple business and nonprofit boards, including Champlain College and the Vermont Business Roundtable. Appointed by multiple Governors to statewide initiatives such as the Governor’s Opioid Coordination Council, Sara is also the creator of the Psi framework and the author of two poetry collections, Heart and Moon and Wise Stars.

  • A man with short brown hair, glasses, and a beard, smiling, wearing a navy suit, white shirt, and a navy tie with small emblem, standing in front of a blurred window background.

    Isaac Dayno

    PETER MALLARY LEGISLATIVE CHAMPION AWARD

    Isaac Dayno, a native of Thetford, Vermont, began his career as a community health worker with the National Health Corps, supporting people with addiction as they reentered the community after incarceration. Appointed in 2022 by Governor Phil Scott to lead public policy for Vermont’s correctional system, Isaac championed recovery for justice-involved individuals—helping embed peer coaching statewide and securing millions in funding for Vermont’s recovery center network.

  • Close-up of a woman smiling with blue eyes, dark hair tied back, wearing a dark sweater and beaded necklace, against a brown background.

    Katy Leffel

    DR. MARK DEPMAN TRAILBLAZER AWARD

    Katy Leffel is a nurse and lactation consultant with the Vermont Department of Health’s Family and Child Health Division, where she focuses on perinatal quality improvement, maternal mortality, and perinatal substance use. Through her work with the Maternal Mortality Review Panel and the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of Vermont, Katy has helped lead statewide efforts to prevent overdose-related maternal deaths, reduce stigma and bias in care, and strengthen coordination between clinical, community, and child welfare partners supporting pregnant and postpartum individuals with substance use disorder.

  • A young man with long hair wearing a brown beanie, denim jacket, and a plaid shirt sitting next to a grand piano.

    Benjamin Lerner

    JACK BARRY COMMUNICATIONS AWARD

    Ben Lerner is a Vermont-based rapper, composer, and recovery advocate who uses music and storytelling to document his journey from addiction to long-term recovery. Sober since 2016, he blends classical piano and hip hop in his signature “piano-raps,” transforming lived experience into connection and hope. Through his music, radio work, and online platforms, Benjamin reaches hundreds of thousands of people worldwide - using art as a powerful tool for recovery, truth-telling, and resilience.

TUNE IN REMOTELY

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TUNE IN REMOTELY *

LIFESTREAM LINK

Grateful for our sponsors: