March 2024 Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“Generational Differences in Supervision”
with April Luderus
Thursday, March 28th, 2024 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • April Luderus
    April is a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) in Wisconsin and serves as Wraparound Advocacy and Engagement Program Director for Peer Specialists Limited (PSL), a peer-run, peer-led agency that provides Parent Peer Specialist services to the families under the Wraparound umbrella in Milwaukee. April is passionate and committed to using her lived experience to walk alongside those desiring a self-led life of recovery.Before beginning work as a Certified Peer Specialist and Recovery Navigator with Wisconsin Community Services in April of 2022, April was a teacher of high/middle school students with special needs and Library Media Specialist for grades K-8 in Milwaukee Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications specializing in Multi-Cultural Communication from UW-Milwaukee. She is a mother of 5, grandmother of 10 and a member of a cultivated support system in the community.
Description:

“Generational Differences in Supervision” highlights how supervisors and teams from different generations can mutually benefit by sharing their unique insights and experiences. This approach enhances leadership and teamwork by fostering growth and adaptation across all ages. Encouraging such exchange creates a more collaborative, innovative, and inclusive work environment where everyone’s contributions are valued.

 

 

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, April 11th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on April 18th, 2024. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

February 2024 Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“Grief is a Backpack: Carrying What Can’t Be Fixed”
with Lisa Marie Auter

Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • Lisa Marie Auter
    Lisa Marie Auter is a Peer Support Team Lead and Peer Support Group Coordinator at SOAR Case Management in Madison, WI. Lisa Marie is also a Poetry Therapy Practitioner interested in combining creative writing with mental health support. Her poetry and non-fiction have been widely published and she is currently working on a book that combines peer support ethics and values with training in expressive arts. Lisa Marie is passionate about grief work and offering space to normalize this human experience.
Description:

Let’s get real about grief support. In this Community of Practice, we will look at how society has trained us to approach grief as opposed to the enormous possibilities and potential in normalizing grief as part of the human experience. We will explore how our peer support values align with this alternate perspective on grief: one of resiliency, empowerment, and community.

Participants will be offered a chance to examine their own grief experiences and consider a more inclusive way to provide support to themselves and others. Presenter Lisa Marie Auter will be taking many thoughts and quotes from Megan Devine’s groundbreaking book, “It’s Ok to Not Be Ok.” Lisa Marie also offers a wellness group of the same name, “Grief is a Backpack” for Dane County CCS participants in search of skills and support in managing their grief.

 

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, March 7th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on March 14th, 2024. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

January 2024 Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“Language Matters”
with Paula Buege

Thursday, January 25th, 2024 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • Paula Buege
    Paula Buege is a WI CPS and CPPS, and a facilitator of both curriculums too. In addition to providing direct support to individuals, children/youth and their families, Paula trains and consults nationally influencing systems change to align with lived experience.
Description:

Join us in this gathering for an interactive conversation about how the labels and language used in systems drive how people with lived experiences are impacted.

 

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, February 8th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on February 15th, 2024. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

December 2023 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“An Exercise in Grief”
with Heleema Berg & Debra Mejchar

December 21st, 2023 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • Debra Mejchar
    Deb Mejchar has been a Certified Peer Specialist for six years. She has learned from the Peer Community and presented and shared in the CPS community for many years. Deb has lived experience of incarceration and recently retired as a WI Department of Corrections. Deb studied and became a grief counselor through University of Wisconsin, Madison 2014. Throughout her career she has facilitated individual and group grief counseling sessions
  • Heleema Berg
    Heleema has overcome many struggles in her lifetime. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo. Heleema came to Wisconsin as a teenager. Her lived experience includes poverty, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, substance, and sexual abuse in her younger years that spilled over into her adult life causing her to be confined 6.5 years of overall incarceration in both prisons and county jails. Heleema received her HSED while at John Burke Center in 2010. Released in 2010 Heleema faced many battles to turn her life around to become an upstanding citizen in her community. Heleema began to unofficially meet with recently released and formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as individuals still incarcerated to offer support and insight on troubleshooting life after incarceration.Heleema began a Human Services program at Northeastern Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, WI. In hopes of gaining a more professional aspect to giving back. Heleema began to volunteer at local shelters, and pantries, and continue to attend trainings geared towards multiple community issues, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, trauma-informed care, child maltreatment, and substance abuse issues. In 2020 in the mist of The Corona virus pandemic Heleema was an intern at a peer-support ran community center, where she facilitated and co-facilitated SMART Recovery, grief, forgiveness focused, self-improvement, and motivational groups. This internship drove Heleema to become more involved in substance abuse issues and fueled a fire inside of Heleema to walk with others in their journey of becoming sober and living a better quality of life. Heleema changed her focus in college to mental health and substance abuse.In 2021 Heleema Began as an intern at We All Rise African American Resource Center, where she was hired on as BYA (Black Youth Alliance) Wisconsin Community Coordinator, in this role Heleema would visit local schools in attempts to reach out to youth, offering after school preventative programs. While her passion to assist formerly incarcerated individuals grew, she switched roles to Crime Victim Advocate, a role in which she provided case management for individuals in the community both formerly incarcerated and not. While in this role Heleema never stopped learning and growing, she continued to attend multiple trainings every month to provide self-enrichment. During this time, she graduated the Gener8tor program, a course geared towards tech, and customer service learning. In her role at We All Rise AARC Heleema also facilitated workshops geared towards Sex Trafficking with an emphasis on women of color.In December 2021 Heleema graduated with an associate degree in Human Services, as well as a Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate. In January of 2022 Heleema began a new journey at a mental health, substance abuse correctional facility in Wisconsin, as a Recovery Support Specialist, where she offers her life experience to others in their own journey, offering hope, insight and motivation, sending a message that anything is possible with change and determination. Heleema became a Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist in 2022, and a trainer for Wisconsin Certified Specialist in 2023.

    Heleema brings her own personal motto: Do not let anyone put you in a box, including yourself, as you can do anything you want if you work hard for it and never give up, change is possible.

Description:

The exercise that we will be participating in is a chance for you as individuals to examine your own personal feelings on dying. This is a personal exercise, and we won’t be examining your responses nor will the other participants. This is a quiet exercise that will require you to consider your own feelings and thoughts throughout the exercise. Talking should be limited.

 

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, January 4th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on January 11th, 2024. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

November 2023 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“Supporting Peer Providers using Technology-based Solutions to Deliver Seamless Services”
with Tanya Kraege and Kristina Vaccaro

November 27th, 2023 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • Tanya Kraege
    Tanya Kraege is the Drug Poisoning Prevention Team Manager at Safe Communities MDC. She works alongside people experiencing substance use challenges, birthing folx using substances during pregnancy, trauma, relationships, formerly incarcerated, and mental health experiences. Tanya has been a part of mental health and substance use work for 14 years. Currently, she oversees programs that use Recovery Coaches and Certified Peer Specialists who work in various environments in Dane County, Rock County and Jefferson County in Wisconsin to support people with substance use, and mental health experiences and their loved ones. Over the past few years in this role, Tanya has secured grant funding to design and implement a Salesforce-based recovery practice management solution that has increased productivity by 40% in peer provider management and has given the flexibility to serve over 1600 people in her community. Tanya also works around the Country regarding anti-stigma work and peer provider programs. Tanya played a role in the Health Care Task Force on Safe Opioid Prescribing by participating in the academic detailing program for working with clinicians on co-prescribing Naloxone with opioid prescription medications, in addition to being a Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor, and community advocate. Tanya is also a Recovery Coach, Recovery Coach Trainer, and Certified Peer Specialist, using her story of addiction and recovery to help others gain hope and insight into new ways of living.

    Tanya Kraege APSW, CSAC, MSW, CCAR Coach, CCAR Trainer, WICPS

  • Kristina VaccaroKristina Vaccaro is the Drug Poisoning Prevention Peer Provider Team Supervisor at Safe Communities of Madison and Dane County, WI. Kristina has worked with the substance use and recovery community for nearly six years, using her experience in recovery to inspire and support those currently struggling with substances or mental health challenges. She started providing peer support to those struggling with substance use in 2017 and eventually moved into a leadership position with Safe Communities. She has worked alongside the program manager to implement programs and supervise a team of 18-20 Recovery Coaches/Certified Peer Specialists providing direct services. Kristina works closely with the program manager, funders, and developers to bring to life a recovery practice management solution to ease the daily burden of program management and supervision. Kristina is a recovery coach, recovery coach trainer, and a WI Certified Peer Specialist. She also serves on the board and volunteers at a Dane County-based recreational BMX track and, most recently, on the board of directors for her family foundation working with Wisconsin-based nonprofits to enhance their work. Kristina would tell you she loves her job and the people she gets the honor to work alongside. Kristina’s children and husband mean the work to her outside of work and spends her time outside of work with them.

    Kristina Vaccaro BS, CCAR Coach, CCAR Trainer, CPS

Description:

This community of practice focuses on how peer-providing organizations can get organized and incorporate data-based approaches and tools to track their peer work and improve their outcomes. Facilitators will discuss their experience in overcoming supervisory and data challenges as they pertain to supporting peer providers in their work. A solution for managing data tracking for multiple programs and the approaches they are now using to scale programs and manage growth will be explored.

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn how to manage the daily activities of peer providers they’re supporting.
  • How to organize roles and responsibilities of those supporting peers in their work.
  • Utilize data-based approaches to peer work (and the challenges with that)
Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Monday, December 11th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on December 18th, 2023. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.