Rachel Shuster is a registered nurse and a person in recovery from opioid use disorder. As a high-achieving high schooler and college student, she never imagined that she would fall victim to having a substance use disorder.

Recognizing that secrets die in the light, she is passionate about sharing her story, but is also interested in advocacy, evidence-based practice, harm reduction, and policy change within the addiction treatment field.

Rachel graduated from Waynesburg University in 2012 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). After graduating, Rachel worked in critical care for over 4 years prior to her switching specialties to addictions nursing following her personal journey through addiction to recovery. Academic papers: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/inm.70024 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33647158/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nurserachelshuster Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrsrachelshuster/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@mrsrachelshuster Twitter / X: https://x.com/mynameisrachel

Kirsten - AKA Sobriety Bestie - last had an alcoholic drink in 2009, then spent over a decade in AA. She left AA in 2020 and began doing the work of unlearning and deconstructing AA dogma, told that she was powerless, "diseased" or forever broken. Now she is dedicated to telling the truth about recovery and about how to rebuild after leaving AA.

She created her YouTube channel and podcast to be the voice, support, and truth that she felt that she needed in her early recovery and when she was looking to leave AA.

Website = https://www.sobrietybestie.com/messages/15-years-of-addiction-recovery-advice-in-41-minutes

YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/sobrietybestie

Apple Podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sobriety-bestie-podcast/id1750328642

Spotify Podcast = https://open.spotify.com/show/48bBadXm0tgvgbGzr6pDuF

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/sobrietybestie/

Mary Beth O'Connor is the author of the book "From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction." She began her recovery from methamphetamine use disorder, abuse, trauma, and anxiety in 1994. She never found traditional recovery spaces such as step-based recovery programs helpful to her, and found alternative recovery spaces early on.

Six years into her recovery, Mary Beth attended UC Berkeley School of Law. She worked at a large firm, then litigated class action suits for the federal government. In 2014, she was appointed a federal Administrative Law Judge, a position from which she retired early in 2020.

Mary Beth is now a Director for She Recovers Foundation and for LifeRing Secular Recovery. She also is on the Advisory Council for The Hyer Calling Foundation. She regularly speaks on behalf of these organizations and about multiple paths to recovery..

She develops relationships with other organizations, such as Women for Sobriety and trains attorneys, judges, and medical professionals. Mary Beth regularly writes opinion pieces which have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Recovery Today, and other publications. Her memoir writings have been published in Memoir Magazine, Awakenings, and Ravens Perch, among others. Website: https://junkietojudge.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-beth-o-connor-8aaa4b121/

Bluesky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/marybethoconnor.bsky.social