Board of Directors and Regional Representatives
Kathleen Gibson
Member At Large
Kathleen Gibson is the Chief Executive Officer of Oxford House, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the development of Oxford Houses, providing peer-run, self-sustaining, and substance-free housing to individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorders. Ms. Gibson is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She has a deep and personal understanding of addiction and the recovery process. She began her journey in recovery in 1993, realizing quickly that the ability to obtain and sustain safe, affordable housing was and continues to be one of the most significant barriers facing persons in the early stages of recovery. After finding a home in Oxford House and seeing the success of the Oxford House Model firsthand, she devoted the last 30 years to the national expansion of the network of Oxford Houses, which now supports an international group of more than 3,800 Oxford Houses located in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ghana, and the United Kingdom.
Ms. Gibson currently serves on the Boards of Recovery Africa and the Association of Recovery in Higher Education and is an advisor to the NC Substance Use Federations Block Grant Advisory Committee. In 2004 she was the recipient of the “Oxford House Founders Award” and, in 2014, the Faces & Voices of Recovery “Joel Hernandez-Voice of the Recovery Community Award.” Kathleen often speaks publicly on a professional and personal basis about the power of recovery, including fair housing rights, collegiate recovery programs, and reentry initiatives. In particular, she fights fiercely to protect the peer-led recovery housing model and is a strong advocate for the value and necessity of research and data, often participating as an advisor to national research studies. When not in Silver Spring, Maryland, at the central office, Kathleen lives just outside Raleigh, North Carolina, with her daughter and husband.