Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

2012–2013 Voice Awards Fellowship Program

SAMHSA’s Voice Awards Fellowship Program is a pilot project designed to give consumer/peer leaders in the behavioral health community the skills they need to amplify their voices to promote important behavioral health messages through storytelling. By sharing stories about resilience and recovery from a unique personal perspective, together, the Voice Awards Fellows will shape public perceptions of behavioral health and promote social inclusion in the workplace, in schools, and in communities nationwide.

View the full Voice Awards Fellowship Program news bulletin.

Who are the Voice Awards Fellows?

The Voice Awards Fellows are consumer/peer leaders in the behavioral health community who demonstrate that recovery is not only possible, but commonplace. Through their advocacy, Fellows play a vital role in raising awareness and understanding of mental health and substance use disorders and in promoting the social inclusion of people with behavioral health problems.

The 2012–2013 Voice Awards Fellowship training in December, 2012. From left to right: Katherine Heart, Carlton Speight (SAMHSA), Kevin Hines, Eric Arauz, Karen Curlis, Stephen Puibello, Kranti Kripakaran, Jennifer Matesa, and Clarence Jordan.

The 2012–2013 class of Fellows includes the following individuals:

• Eric Arauz;
• Karen Curlis;
• Katherine Heart;
• Kevin Hines;
• Clarence Jordan;
• Kranti Kripakaran;
• Jennifer Matesa; and
• Stephen Puibello.

What is the Role of the Voice Awards Fellows?

The Voice Awards Fellows will share their stories of recovery and resilience using a variety of communications vehicles over a 12-month time frame. In particular, the Fellows will:

• Advocate for behavioral health;
• Demonstrate through communications that recovery is real, possible, and commonplace;
• Engage new audiences in conversations about behavioral health, recovery, and social inclusion; and
• Demonstrate leadership by engaging audiences in conversations about behavioral health being treatable, possible, commonplace, and necessary.

Have questions about the Fellowship Program? Contact Ryan Parks at rparks@vancomm.com or the Voice Awards team at voiceawards@vancomm.com.