“Challenging Organizational Norms and Paving the Way for Equity”- August 2025 Supervisors Community of Practice
August 2025 CPS & CPPS Supervisor Community of Practice
“Challenging Organizational Norms and Paving the Way for Equity”
with Abigail Spanjers
Thursday, August 28th, 2025 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT
Facilitator:
- Abigail Spanjers
Abigail Spanjers (she/her) is the Executive Director at The La Crosse Lighthouse Inc, a small (501c3) non-profit organization in La Crosse, WI that operates The La Crosse Lighthouse Peer Run Respite and Warmline. The La Crosse Lighthouse offers phone support and respite stays for individuals who are experiencing mental health, substance use and other life interrupting challenges. Being a strong advocate for equity and social change, Abigail took the opportunity as Executive Director to reorganize the structure of The La Crosse Lighthouse to reflect grassroots peer-centered approaches, greater pay equity and shared responsibility. Abigail received her Wisconsin Peer Specialist Certification in 2021 and Intentional Peer Support Certificate in 2023. She was named the 2024 Shining Star recipient from the Mental Health Coalition of the Greater La Crosse Area and facilitated workshops at the 2024 Wisconsin Peer Recovery Conference and 2024 National Association of Peer Supporters Annual Conference. Her experiences include: navigating long term substance use and mental health challenges, incarceration and surviving domestic violence. She holds a strong knowing that personal experiences offer value that formal education cannot duplicate. Abigail believes in offering alternatives to clinical and medical model interventions to allow space for autonomy and exploring new ways to break cycles. Peer work gives us a voice and proves there are many pathways to wellness. In her personal time, Abigail gardens, plays video games and most importantly, loves her animal cohabitants.
Description:
This presentation will challenge what we have come to accept as normal organizational structure and explore using contracts and skillsets that already exist within our teams to trim the budget, provide opportunities for growth and lessen the wage gap between administrative and direct staff. Seeing all members as skilled contributors cultivates innovation and community. We will learn how respecting all positions as essential will create a strong organization, impacting staff turnover, job satisfaction and program security. Peers are a wealth of knowledge and recognizing those skills while providing an opportunity to use them builds the peer, builds the organization and builds confidence in peer work. Together we can find a better way.
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, September 11th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on September 18th, 2025. 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.
