2022 Award Winners

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Award 

Honors an individual who has aided in the advancement of equity, inclusion, and social justice in the field of collegiate recovery for BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ student or has displayed a strong commitment to these populations in the wider recovery communities.

Dharmakrishna Mirza

ARHE Lifetime Achievement Award 

Honors a faculty member or professional staff member who has displayed excellence in service and leadership and has made significant contributions to the field above and beyond designated work responsibilities. The nominee’s contributions to ARHE and the field of recovery in higher education should reflect a high degree of commitment and service to the Association and should extend well beyond regular involvement.

Sandy Valentine

Sandy Valentine is Health Promotion Manager for the University of Connecticut. In her role, she leads UConn’s collegiate recovery program, and provides project management support to the campuses’ Wellness Coalition. A person in long term recovery, Sandy is passionate about bringing recovery tools and practices to those seeking or maintaining their recovery pathway. Sandy is a certified Recovery Coach Professional, CCAR Recovery Coach Academy Facilitator, co-chair of the Recovery and Health Management sub-committee of the CT Alcohol and Drug Policy Council, and co-host of the Recovery Matters podcast. Sandy brings over three decades of experience leading learning and professional development teams at a large corporation. A graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at UConn’s School of Social Work.

Collegiate Recovery Students of the Year 

Honors an undergraduate or graduate student who has displayed excellence in academics and leadership to the field above and beyond designated work/study responsibilities.

Jodi Link

Jodi Link is a West Virginia native, a first-generation college graduate, and is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work degree at West Virginia University. In 2021, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Social Work and a minor in addiction studies. Currently, she’s a Graduate Assistant at the West Virginia University Collegiate Recovery Program where she provides peer support and facilitates outreach efforts and wellness-oriented programming. She enjoys being outdoors with her Golden Retriever, Millie, and traveling to new places. Upon graduation, she hopes to continue the work of advocating for vulnerable populations and work toward the betterment of West Virginia so that it may be a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and well-being for future generations.

Like many children in West Virginia, she experienced addiction from an early age. This remained constant through her teenage years into adulthood. It wasn’t until she took an Introduction to Addiction Studies course in the Fall 2019 semester, as the first course in her addiction studies minor, that she truly began to understand addiction as a family disease and became inspired to work toward reducing the stigma and advocate for all who become affected. It was through her addiction studies that she was able to build meaningful connections with people in the recovery community and develop a sense of purpose in the field. The recovery community is nothing short of authentic, inspiring, and composed of truly beautiful human beings. Jodi is a strong believer that where there is life, there is hope.

Shawn Rostker

A graduating senior at the University of California, San Diego majoring in Political Science-International Relations, and an active member of the recovery community for multiple years, Shawn is both honored and humbled to be named the Collegiate Recovery Student of the Year. Shawn accepts this distinction with the heart-felt understanding that it was only made possible through the efforts and service of others who showed him the way. It has been his greatest personal honor to be a part of the amazing group of fellow students and faculty at UCSD who have persevered to build a Collegiate Recovery resource available to all students, and founded upon the spiritual principles of love, forgiveness, and acceptance that saved his life and showed him a new way to live.

Collegiate Recovery Staff Member of the Year 

Honors a college or university staff member who has displayed support and commitment to a collegiate recovery program beyond the designated level of expectation.

Morgan Humberger

Morgan Humberger is the Collegiate Recovery Coordinator for University of California San Diego’s Tritons in Recovery. As an undergraduate, they were an active member of Baylor University’s collegiate recovery program having founded the Peer Ally Coalition while advocating for recovery support and stigma reduction on campus. Morgan was the 2019 recipient of the Collegiate Recovery Student of the Year award. That same year, they graduated from Baylor University with a B.A. in Professional Writing and Rhetoric. This August Morgan will complete their Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in Community and Administrative Practice from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Morgan took on the role of Collegiate Recovery Coordinator for Tritons in Recovery in 2021 where they were met with an amazing group of ambitious, intelligent, and caring students who helped grow the collegiate recovery community on UC San Diego’s campus. Morgan is forever grateful for Tritons in Recovery and all of the students who work tirelessly to make recovery happen in San Diego. In life off campus, they sit on multiple boards at the national level that promote the voices of those with lived experience with substance use disorders in order to decrease stigma and create evidence-based support for those seeking to live a recovery lifestyle. Morgan’s mission in life is to create recovery friendly environments that foster empowerment, connectedness, and growth for people in recovery.

ARHE Community Member of the Year 

Honors an individual who has aided in the advancement of the field and/or to the specific development of a community, area, resource or topic related to recovery in higher education.

The Phoenix – Doug Levy

Doug Levy is a National Partnerships Manager with The Phoenix. As a person in long term recovery, Doug has been drawn to finding ways to use his own experiences in recovery to help others. He is a volunteer outpatient peer counselor with the Community Service Board (CSB) of Fairfax, Virginia. He serves on the Board of the Unity Club in Falls Church, Virginia and is a Certified Peer Recovery Coach. Doug’s journey towards recovery has not been a completely smooth ride. He has spent time in jail, worn an ankle bracelet and lost his driving privileges for nearly five years. He was on probation for 3 plus years and spent that time in outpatient therapy in addition to becoming a regular member of the recovery community.

In 2017 as the result of a serious health scare, Doug got a new clarity and perspective for his life. Following his passion for recovery and finding pathways to make recovery happy, joyous and free for all, Doug started and served as the Executive Director of the R1 Foundation – whose mission was to provide tools, training, and resources to underserved recovery communities.

The bulk of Doug’s career was spent in the private club industry. Doug graduatied from James Madison University with a BBA in Business Management and Hospitality, and throughout his career has been recognized as an accomplished and energetic director and a motivated leader with strong organizational and prioritization abilities. His areas of expertise include people, processes and communication. Doug serves on the advisory board for his alma mater, the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management at James Madison University. In 2015, he was recognized with the Dolley Madison Award by the Hart School for his contributions to the program.

Doug is a native of Los Angeles and now resides in Falls Church, Virginia – just outside of Washington D.C.

Collegiate Recovery Advocate of the Year 

Honors an individual who has tirelessly advocated for the implementation, advancement, and sustainability of collegiate recovery at a local or national level.

Nathan Payne

ARHE Cornerstone Award for Student Support 

Honors an individual or organization who has gone above and beyond to support students in recovery. The Cornerstone Award recognizes and celebrates the core of what the field is about: supporting students in recovery.

Monica Piercy

Monica Piercy is the Virginia Tech Recovery Community Coordinator and is passionate about helping students begin and maintain their recovery journey. She hopes that by being able to be vulnerable and sharing her lived experience, she can help others to know that they are not alone, they are understood and be and feel welcomed. Originally from London, she received her BA in Contemporary East European Studies from University of London and her Masters in Nations, Ethnicity and Identity Politics from University College London. She used to be a keen cyclist when living in London where everything was flat, since moving to the New River Valley she has taken up goats as a past time instead.

Collegiate Recovery Champion Award

Honors an individual or organization who has championed collegiate recovery in a transformative and astounding manner. The Collegiate Recovery Champion Award is the highest annual honor recognized by ARHE.

Dominiquie “CJ” Clemmons-James