PATH ECHO

About PATH ECHO

PATH ECHO was designed for peer recovery specialists to aid in avoiding burnout, managing stress, and strengthening their overdose and disease prevention skills. Through lectures and case-based learning with subject-matter experts, peers gained the skills to tackle real-life challenges in overdose and disease prevention.

This ECHO program met weekly on Fridays from 12:30 - 2:00 pm ET between February 20 and April 17, 2026. Each session featured a didactic presentation and case-based learning.

Cohorts of local peer recovery organizations participated in the program, and we tailored the topics to their learning needs.

Partnership

PATH ECHO is a partnership with Chestnut Health Systems.

Curriculum Topics and Speakers

This ECHO program ran from February 20 to April 17, 2026.

Date	Topic	Presenter(s)
February 20, 2026	Relational Risk Mitigation	Dennis Watson, PhD \| Chestnut Health Systems
February 27, 2026	Managing Boundaries with Participants	Josh Colwell \| Brigher Day Recovery
March 6, 2026	Overdose Prevention and Legal Structure	Garland Gerber, PhD, MA, MFT, CADC-II \| Northeastern University School of Law
March 13, 2026	Risk Mitigation with Criminal-Legal System Involved Participants	Rhiannon Edwards, MS \| PACE, Inc.
March 20, 2026	Supporting Colleagues to Deliver Overdose Prevention Strategies: Developing Creative Solutions Together	Heather Ogden \| Heartistic Recovery
March 27, 2026	Risk Mitigation with Participants Experiencing Homelessness	Kshe Bernard \| Lula Peoria
April 10, 2026	Overdose Prevention in Low-Resource Areas	Luke Tosha \| The Perfectly Flawed Foundation
April 17, 2026	Low-Threshold Treatment and Medications	Sarah Messmer, MD \| University of Illinois Chicago

PATH ECHO Panel

The panel comprised a core group of subject matter experts (SMEs) who shared their expertise and delivered training to participating peer recovery specialists. Each SME brought deep knowledge and experience in their field, helping to demonopolize knowledge by sharing their expertise.

Rhiannon Edwards, MS

Executive Director | PACE, Inc.

Maggie Kaufmann, MA, MPH

Director of Harm Reduction Programs | School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago

Angela Phelps, MA, BBA, CSPR-PR, CADAC I, CCHW

MHAI Training Adjunct Facilitator for Peer Recovery Support Credentialing