Biography - Chris Christopher Laureano is a Certified Peer Specialist and Director of the Recovery Education and Learning (REAL) Program at Bay Cove Human Services. Christopher is an autistic person who has also experienced anxiety and trauma through various life situations due to having trouble with reading social cues and learning differently from others. He…

Biography - Vesper Moore Vesper Moore serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Kiva Centers. As an Indigenous activist and leader, Vesper is deeply committed to promoting mental health and disability rights through activism, leadership, organizing, public speaking, and education. Their work focuses on cultivating social movements and raising public awareness to foster lasting social…

The Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital’s Center of Excellence for Psychosocial and Systemic Research (COE) aims to enhance the lives of those with mental health challenges through community-based projects. The COE focuses on research, psychoeducation, and addressing healthcare disparities while implementing psychosocial interventions to improve individual and community well-being. In 2018, the Peer Specialist Team at…

The next National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Boston Peer Support and Advocacy Network (PSAN) monthly speaker series will feature several members of opening doors to the arts telling their recovery story and how opening doors works. We get free and reduced price tix to concerts, theatre and more!  see www.openingdoorstothearts.org Speakers: Hilary, Michael, Howard…

Bio Lawrence Harris is a 19-year-old Youth Empowerment Speaker who helps teens and young adults break through limiting beliefs and build lives rooted in confidence, resilience, and mental wellness. As someone who is autistic and a survivor of childhood abuse and C-PTSD, Lawrence brings a raw, relatable, and powerful presence to every stage he steps…