Featured Content

Writer, blogger, nutrition and recovery advocate, Olivia Pennelle (Liv), is in long-term recovery from addiction.

Liv passionately believes in a fluid and holistic approach to sobriety. Her popular site, Liv’s Recovery Kitchen, is a resource for the journey toward health and wellness in recovery. For Liv, the kitchen represents the heart of the home: to eat, share, and love.

You will find Liv featured amongst top recovery bloggers and published on websites such as: The Fix, Sanford House, Winward Way & Casa Capri, Intervene, Workit, Sapling, Addiction Unscripted and Transformation is Real.

Linda Hatch has had a long career in clinical psychology including teaching, research, student counseling, child psychology and crisis intervention. In addition she worked for many years through the court system evaluating sex offenders, sexually violent predators and mentally ill offenders. In recent years her work has been in the field of trauma and addiction. Linda is the author of the books Living with a Sex Addict: The Basics from Crisis to Recovery and Relationships in Recovery: A Guide for Sex Addicts who are Starting Over. She devotes considerable time to her writing which includes blogging on her regular column on PsychCentral.com as well as on her own website. Linda lives in Santa Barbara, California with her husband David, their border collie Perry and their cat Clara.

Jo has a deep-rooted passion for identifying alternative approaches to healing from trauma and addiction. While her own struggle with substance abuse was certainly the catalyst to identifying non-traditional approaches to treatment, it was her personal experience of healing which truly cultivated the desire to assist others on their journey to wellness.

As the Prevention Coordinator for the University of Nevada Reno, Jo’s primary role is to develop and implement drug/alcohol and sexual assault prevention programs on campus. In addition, she has taught an Overview of Addiction course for the past several years for the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies. Jo is currently pursuing her PhD in Educational Leadership and has her MS in Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in Addiction Treatment and Prevention Services.

When Jo isn’t working or studying, you can find her training towards her Black Belt in mixed martial arts.

You can watch Jo’s TEDxUniversityofNevada ‘Rewriting the Story of My Addiction’ video here.

Founder of Music 4 Life® Center, Judith Pinkerton’s hospital experience in the 1980’s activated her passion when her solo violin music replaced routine post-surgical medication.

Judith works weekly with over 100 clients at American Addiction Centers in Las Vegas, Nevada, receiving the first music therapy license in the USA.

As TEDx speaker, author, trainer, radio show host, and recording artist for accredited workshops, books and healing CDs, Judith’s Music Medicine Protocol is published in the Music and Medicine Journal (Wellman & Pinkerton, 2015).

Everything she does supports healthy lifestyles, practicing healing heart, mind, body and spirit. She believes in thinking differently to save lives and transform lifestyles. The way she practices healing is by using music from all genres in a simple formula that regulates moods. She makes music work through therapy like medicine.

Judith’s leadership has resulted in significant funding to support teams of music therapists, wellness and rhythm facilitators, including her previous role during 20 years as nonprofit music therapy clinic and internship director serving all ages.

As violinist, she has performed with symphonies from Switzerland to Alaska including dozens of stars on the Las Vegas strip, such as Andrea Bocelli and Metallica. Judith inspires clients and audiences to practice healthy life skills infusing music experiences differently.

Connect with Judith by visiting www.judithpinkerton.com.

Dr. Joy Jacobs is a clinical psychologist, certified life coach and author specializing in issues related to eating, weight management, and body image. Her interest in the intersection between health, beauty, fashion, and popular culture led her to this specialty and serve as an endless source of inspiration. More information on Dr. Jacobs and her services can be found at drjoyjacobs.com.

Tori Utley is an entrepreneur working jointly in technology innovation and addiction recovery, holding an M.B.A. and an addictions counseling license in Minnesota. By day, she works as a mobile Product Manager at Mayo Clinic and is working with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology on a new mobile application for mood monitoring and mental health.

Outside of Mayo Clinic, she is the Founder and CEO of an early‐stage tech and social venture startup company, Tinua, with the goal of reducing monetary waste by reallocating for social impact. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of More Than An Addict, an organization committed to the reduction of addiction stigma through promoting education, employment, and entrepreneurship for individuals in long‐term recovery, as well as the Co‐Founder of an upcoming innovation to addiction treatment and sober housing, with the goal of keeping recovering individuals “safe, sober, now.”

In addition to her work with addiction recovery, she is a Contributing Writer with Forbes, maintains participation with the Forbes Under 30 Network, and serves as the Director of Strategic Engagement at Mission 21, an anti‐trafficking organization in Minnesota.