We are honored to announce this year’s awardees of the prestigious Collegiate Recovery Awards. These awards have been given out for nearly 10 years to individuals who help build the the collegiate recovery movement. We have had countless nominations and this year was our most competitive selection process yet.
The selection committee have awarded the following nominees:
Collegiate Recovery Student of The Year Award: Ali Clements
Ali Clements is a graduate student in the Masters of Business Administration program at St Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She received her Bachelors of Science in Marketing from the same University in December 2019 where she was awarded Outstanding Senior-College for Adults Marketing for the year 2019-2020. She works full-time as a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Supervisor and Certified Peer Recovery Specialist for an organization called JusticePoint working with her local treatment court in Ramsey County Minnesota, helping those effected by the criminal justice system as a result of their use. Ali is also an intern for ARHE and tries to help in any way that she can. Ali fell in love with Collegiate Recovery after being a part of the Inaugural Leadership Academy in 2019 and becoming an intern with ARHE. She believes anyone who wants to experience higher education should be empowered to try. Ali is also a 6-year Marine Corps Veteran and a PeaceLove CREATOR, bringing the use of expressive arts workshop to her toolbox for her job. When she’s not working or working on school she enjoys running, traveling, learning new things, Disney, arts and crafts, and all things coffee.
Collegiate Recovery Staff of the Year Award: Lilly Ettinger
Lilly Ettinger received her Bachelor’s Degree and Masters of Divinity in Leadership from Baylor University. She has been involved in collegiate recovery since 2011 and began working in the field as a graduate student. She has served as a founding student, graduate student, support specialist, and program coordinator for the recovery program at Baylor. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Wellness at Baylor and oversees the Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center, which includes a CRP serving 60-70 students each semester. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the Baylor School of Education in Educational Leadership. She is involved in local prevention and recovery organizations including Voices Against Substance Abuse (VASA) and the local Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC).
Collegiate Recovery Advocate of the Year Award: Shauntelle Hammonds
Shauntelle Hammonds is a Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist (PRSS), a Peer Recovery Coach and a person in long term recovery. Shauntelle recently attended J. Sargent Reynolds Community College where she received her Certification in Substance Abuse Counseling. She’s currently attending VCU to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work. She’s the Administrative Office Specialist for REVIVE! The opioid overdose and naloxone education program for The Commonwealth of Virginia. She’s a member of The Association of Recovery in Higher Education’s board of directors and a member of Rams in Recovery at VCU.
Collegiate Recovery Cornerstone Award for Student Support: Jonathan Lofgren
Jonathan Lofgren, a native Minnesotan, holds a Ph.D. in Education, specializing in Training & Performance Improvement from Capella University. Jonathan is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Co-occurring Disorders Professional – Diplomat. He is an active member of the AHRE and International Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), and a Lifetime Member of the NAACP Minneapolis Chapter.
Dr. Lofgren has 30+ years of long-term recovery, behavioral health and education experience, and is a faculty member at Minneapolis College and Metro State University. Jonathan is the founder of the Collegiate Recovery Program at Minneapolis College, the 1st CRP in a Community and Technical College in Minnesota. He also created the Adler Graduate School’s Co-occurring Disorders Master Degree specialization, and Minneapolis College’s Student African American Brotherhood Program (currently AAME).
Collegiate Recovery Lifetime Achievement Award: Meri Shadley
Meri Shadley, Ph.D., MFT, LCADC, LCS, has spent nearly 40 years as a clinician working with individuals and families dealing with relationship, trauma, and addictive disorder concerns. Besides providing therapy and clinical supervision in her private practice, for the last twenty-five years she has also taught, managed clinical practicums, and coordinated academic programs for the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (CASAT) at the University of Nevada, Reno. In 2011 she was introduced to collegiate recovery and has had the privilege to serve as the Director of NRAP (Nevada’s Recovery and Prevention Program). While Dr. Shadley has presented and published on various topics related to treating families and substance use disorders, she is most appreciative of the opportunity to learn from and grow with the many students and alumni of NRAP.
Collegiate Recovery Champion Award: Patrice Salmeri
Patrice Salmeri has just completed her tenure as the Executive Director for Recovery Advancement at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. Her primary mission is to take the successful collegiate recovery program model, serving students with substance use and mental health disorders, to all colleges and universities. Salmeri advocates for people in recovery, broadening the scope of recovery support from students out into the city state and national communities. She advises other institutions of higher education on how to initiate and improve collegiate recovery programs. She serves as President Emeritus of the Association of Recovery in Higher Education. For 15 years, Salmeri served as the Director of the StepUP program at Augsburg University.
Salmeri draws on her experience as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor to guide governmental agencies in promoting effective policy changes related to recovery support. She is a passionate advocate for students in recovery and a compassionate servant leader who is dedicated to decreasing the stigma and increasing resources for those who are in recovery from substance use and mental health disorders.
Patrice resides in Minnesota were she has a consultant practice, Salmeri and Associates.
Collegiate Recovery Community Member of the Year Award: Hannah Fitzpatrick
Hannah Fitzpatrick is the SAFE Campuses Associate Director for SAFE Project, which is a national nonprofit dedicated to contributing in a tangible way to overcoming the addiction epidemic in the United States. Hannah joined SAFE Project in 2018 and quickly learned of her passion for collegiate recovery, advocating for change, and providing support to students as they navigate life. In her role within the SAFE Campuses initiative, she oversees the Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy, which is a fellowship program for students in recovery and recovery allies. She also manages the internship program and provides operational support for all other SAFE Campuses programs and initiatives. Prior to coming to SAFE Project, Hannah worked in admissions at Grand Canyon University, which is where her enthusiasm for serving college students originated. Hannah received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations with an emphasis in Journalism from SUNY Oswego and her graduate degree in General Psychology from Grand Canyon University. When she’s not busy with work, she loves traveling internationally, writing on her blog, volunteering in her community, and spending time outdoors with her husband and pup.
Collegiate Recovery Philanthropist of the Year Award: Opiant Pharmaceuticals
At Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the company that developed NARCAN® Nasal Spray, we are building a leading franchise of new medicines to combat addictions and drug overdose. We envision a world where addictions are recognized as diseases of the brain and treated like other chronic conditions. Social distancing, shelter in place orders and quarantines make treatment for substance use disorders more difficult, putting those making progress in their recovery more vulnerable. We feel very fortunate to be able to donate to organizations seeking to help those uniquely vulnerable to the combined forces of the COVID-19 virus and substance use. So we are thrilled to support the Association of Recovery in Higher Education in its efforts to prevent recurrence of substance use and risk of overdose for countless students in recovery nationwide.