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Peer Leadership and Education Convening

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is proud to host the 2025 Peer Leadership & Education Convening—an inspiring and collaborative gathering designed to empower, educate, and celebrate our peer leaders. This in-person event will bring together Chapter Leaders, Support Group Facilitators, Peer Specialist Training Graduates, and other key stakeholders from across the country for two days of connection, learning, and strategic visioning.

Event Objectives

  • Educate and Inspire: Engage with dynamic speakers and panel discussions tailored to the unique needs and experiences of peer leaders.
  • Connect and Collaborate: Build meaningful relationships with fellow peer leaders, DBSA partners, and sponsors through networking opportunities and shared experiences.
  • Shape the Future: Contribute your voice and insights to help shape DBSA’s next Strategic Plan during an interactive planning session.
  • Celebrate and recognize the incredible work and accomplishments of DBSA’s Peer Leaders—including Chapter Leaders, Support Group Facilitators, Professional Advisors, and Peer Specialist Training Course Graduates.
  • Reflect on the power of peer support, the growth of the peer workforce, and the essential role peer leaders play in supporting individuals living with mood disorders.
  • Honor DBSA’s journey—where we’ve been, what we’ve achieved, and where we’re headed as a community and organization.

Agenda

Day 1:

  • 8:30 AM: Optional Breakfast
  • 9:30 AM: Opening Remarks with Michael Pollock, CEO of DBSA
  • 9:40 AM: Keynote Speaker Dr. Kay Jamison, Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and co–director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center
  • 10:30 AM: Panel #1 – The Spectrum of Peer Support
  • 12:00 PM: Lunch
  • 1:00 PM: Panel #2 – Suicidality and The Role of The Peer Supporter
  • 2:45 PM: Strategic Planning Session
  • 4:00 PM: Close

Day 2:

  • 8:00 AM: Breakfast
  • 9:00 AM: Opening Remarks
  • 10:00 AM: Peer Leadership Awards Ceremony, emceed by Jimmy Gibbs, DBSA National Board Member and DBSA Triangle Comfort Zone Chapter President
  • 11:30 AM: Closing Remarks

Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison

Dr. Kay Jamison “The Consequences of Having Publicly Disclosed Bipolar Illness”

Keynote

Kay Redfield Jamison is the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and co–director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center. She is also Honorary Professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She is co–author of the standard medical text on manic–depressive (bipolar) illness, which was chosen as the most outstanding book in biomedical sciences by the American Association of Publishers, and author of Touched with Fire, An Unquiet Mind, Night Falls Fast, Exuberance, Nothing Was the Same, and Fires in the Dark. Dr. Jamison has written more than 125 scientific and clinical articles about mood disorders, suicide, creativity, and lithium. Her memoir, An Unquiet Mind, which chronicles her own experience with manic–depressive, or bipolar illness, was on The New York Times bestseller list for five months and translated into thirty languages. Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide was a national bestseller and selected by The New York Times as a Notable Book of 1999. Exuberance: The Passion for Life was selected by The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best books of the year and by Discover magazine as one of the best science books of the year. Dr. Jamison has been awarded numerous honorary degrees, including from the University of St. Andrews (Literature), Brown University (Medical Sciences), and the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (Divinity). She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the recipient of numerous literary and scientific awards, including the Lewis Thomas Prize, the Sarnat Prize from the National Academy of Medicine, and a MacArthur Fellowship. Her book about Robert Lowell, Robert Lowell: Setting the River on Fire, was a 2018 Pulitzer Prize Finalist.

Panels

Panel #1: The Spectrum of Peer Support

Speakers:

  • Jean Dukarski – DBSA Expert Peer Specialist Course Trainer
  • Travis McClain – DBSA Louisville Chapter President
  • Matt Rosenberg – DBSA Arlington Heights Veteran Support Group Facilitator and VHA Peer Specialist Course Trainer
  • Monica Severson – DBSA Senior Strength Program Peer Specialist

Moderated by: Douglas Hulst, DBSA Peer Workforce Development Senior Manager

Join panel speakers for an informal chat as they unpack the different types of peer support, the roles each plays in shaping the mental health landscape, and how individuals from different peer support positions can work together and collaborate.

DBSA believes in the power of peer support and the various ways that peer support can be delivered. There is value in the local Peer Support Facilitators providing group support to community members, in the trained and credentialed Peer Specialists providing 1-1 peer support to other peers and working in community organizations, and in the peers using their lived experience to train others and lead peer programs. Our speakers today come from all ends of the spectrum of peer support delivery.

Join us as we learn about their experiences, the value they bring to the mental health landscape, why ALL peer support is valuable and necessary, and how individuals can collaborate to move the needle of peer support forward.

Panel #2: Suicidality and The Role of The Peer Supporter

Speakers:

  • Rhonda C. Greder, PSP – DBSA Colorado Springs, Vice President
  • Jean Duncan – DBSA Portland, President, DBSA National Support Group Facilitator Trainer
  • Robert Dabney Jr., MDiv., CRSS – Executive Director, VetPark’s A.T.V.
  • Nina J. Hotkowski, LCSW – DBSA Professional Advisor for Parent and Caregiver Support Group Facilitators

Moderated by: Phoebe Snydersmith, DBSA Peer Support Services Coordinator

One of DBSA’s core values is that peer support is valuable at all stages of a person’s wellness journey. This includes when an individual is having thoughts of suicide. Support group facilitators and peer specialists may find themselves unsure how to respond in situations when suicidal ideation comes up. Join our panelists as we discuss the role of the peer supporter in these situations and how to have productive and meaningful conversations about this subject.

Registration

There is no ticket cost for peers to attend the event; however, attendees are required to book their own travel and lodging. Space is limited; therefore, each registration is pending until confirmed by DBSA staff.

To ensure you receive important registration emails, please add Smartsheet Automation (automation@app.smartsheet.com) to your contacts. 

If you don’t see a confirmation email after registering, be sure to check your spam or junk folder.
If it’s not there, please email us at community@dbsalliance.org so we can confirm your registration.

Please note the following registration restrictions:

  • Chapter Leaders, Support Group Facilitators, Professional Advisors, and Peer Specialist Course Graduates are invited to register.
  • To ensure fair representation across all chapters while accommodating our limited capacity, we are inviting one individual from each chapter to attend this event.

It’s crucial that the individual who registers is the one who will attend. Please don’t register unless you’re sure you can make it. If your plans change, please inform us immediately so we can release your spot to someone on the waitlist.

The deadline to register is August 31.

Register Here

Lodging

We have a limited number of hotel rooms blocked at a discounted rate of $239 per night. We cannot guarantee there will be space for every attendee. Once your registration has been confirmed, you will receive the hotel booking link if there is remaining availability at the time of your registration. You must book by September 5, 2025, to be guaranteed the room block discounted rate.

The hotel is fully accessible, and there are elevators and ramps to access every part of the meeting spaces and hotel.

We have also reserved a separate room, the Mediterranean Boardroom, for people looking for a quiet space to recharge during the event.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the DBSA Peer Support Services Team at community@dbsalliance.org.

Stipend Information

We’re committed to making the Peer Leadership & Education Convening accessible to all attendees, regardless of financial circumstances. We are able to offer partial travel and lodging stipends to help offset the cost of attending for those who need support.

Our average stipend amount is $250, but actual awards may vary based on need, travel distance, and available funds. Priority will be given to individuals who face greater financial barriers to attendance.

We invite anyone who needs support to apply. Please be as accurate and honest as you can in estimating your costs and sharing your financial situation — this will help us distribute funds as fairly as possible.

Key Info:

  • Deadline to apply: July 22, 2025
  • Maximum stipend: Up to $500
  • Reimbursements will be made after the event, 4-6 weeks after receipt submission

What expenses qualify for reimbursement?

  • Basic flight, train, or Uber expenses for getting to or from the event
  • Lodging for the event, such as hotel expenses

What does not qualify?

  • Food, beverage, alcohol, parking, gas, car rentals, or any other misc. expenses incurred while traveling

If you are awarded a stipend, we will notify you by Friday, August 8, 2025.

If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please contact us.

Apply Here

Sponsors

DBSA would like to give special thanks to the Daniel J. Edelman Family Foundation for sponsoring the Peer Leadership and Education Convening and championing peer-led support.

 
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