Guests

Aaron has over 30 years of experience in leadership development, holds an MA in Leadership, and is the owner of Story of Self recovery programs. He is an international speaker, trainer, and coach working with leaders, athletes, and people in recovery.

As Community Development Executive at Great Oaks Recovery Center in Houston, Andy is dedicated to serving others. In long-term recovery herself, her personal experience has enhanced her compassion for individuals suffering with substance use disorders.

Austin York rebuilt his life after years of addiction, homelessness, and time in juvenile rehab and prison. Today, he works in event production for major music festivals and runs a fishing charter business in Texas with his friend. Austin is dedicated to recovery, family, and helping others find hope and stability after hardship.

Brandon is a dedicated recovery advocate and mentor who has been sober since March 2021, working at the Arise Recovery Center and managing several sober living homes in Texas. His passion for helping others stems from his own transformative journey, and he is known for openly sharing his story to inspire hope.

Candice is a Business Development Representative at The Last Resort, where she brings deep empathy and real-world experience to helping others find their path to recovery. Having overcome her own struggles with addiction and homelessness, she’s turned her past into purpose—connecting individuals and families to treatment with compassion, honesty, and hope.

Chris Hopper is a pastor, speaker, and founder of The Hopper House, a faith-based recovery community dedicated to helping men rebuild their lives through structure, service, and spiritual growth. After overcoming incarceration and personal loss, he turned his life toward ministry and mentorship, inspiring others with a message of redemption and purpose. Through The Hopper House, Chris continues to guide people toward healing, responsibility, and lasting transformation.

Craig “Bubba” Norton is a nationally certified interventionist, sober companion, and sober coach. He has also been trained and certified as a sober transport.Bubba has been an active member of the recovery community since 1987. For the past twelve years, Bubba has spent his free time relentlessly sharing his experience, strength, and hope with addicts and alcoholics who found themselves in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system.

Curtiss is a sober father, counselor, and Story of Self facilitator who helps people struggling with addiction, chronic relapse, and unresolved trauma. After years of arrests, prison time, and failed treatment attempts, he rebuilt his life through recovery work and now co‑leads workshops and extended‑care programming with his wife Nikki. Today, he focuses on treatment‑resistant clients and young people few others want to work with, offering direct guidance grounded in his own lived experience.

Cynthia is a functional nutrition and lifestyle practitioner who helps people uncover the root causes of their physical and emotional health challenges. She specializes in gut health, hormone balance, and detoxification from environmental toxins like mold and heavy metals. Through her practice and podcast “Crazy Gutsy,” she educates others on restoring the body’s natural ability to heal and thrive.

Daniel Dalton is a Business Development Representative at Monarch Diagnostics with over five years of experience in the healthcare and treatment space. He has a strong background in managing intensive outpatient (IOP) programs and is dedicated to connecting providers with Monarch’s diagnostic services to better support patient care. Beyond his professional path, Daniel has over seven years of personal experience in addiction recovery, giving him a unique perspective and deep commitment to the communities he serves. A former professional golfer, he brings discipline and focus into every aspect of his work.

David Ludlow is the executive director of Promises Brazos Valley, where he leads outcomes‑driven, skills‑based addiction treatment with a patient‑first approach. After decades of alcoholism and cocaine use culminating in six felony arrests and three prison terms, he entered treatment in 2017 at age 45 and rebuilt his life through structure, honesty, and community.

David Phillips is the founder of Brand 316, a ministry helping people rebuild their lives after prison. The son of World Impact founder Dr. Keith Phillips, he grew up a missionary kid in the inner city and later became CEO of a digital marketing firm in Los Angeles.

Douglas Smith, MSSW, is a leadership development trainer, certified trauma‑informed coach, and author of The Path of Rocks and Thorns: Leadership Lessons from a Prison Cell. He has over a decade of experience in mental health and justice policy, including roles at the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, and as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Doug’s trauma‑informed leadership work is shaped by his master’s in social work, professional coaching training, and his own lived experience with mental illness, addiction, and incarceration.

EDWIN DARNELL HENDERSON is a U.S. Army veteran, former Harris County Sheriff's Deputy, and the founder and executive chef of Chefs in the City, a Houston-based catering and personal chef company. He also serves as the Veteran Business Development representative at West Oaks Hospital, a psychiatric and substance use hospital in Houston, where he supports veterans navigating mental health and substance use treatment. Edwin has appeared on OWN's Ready to Love: Last Resort and has been featured on Food Network.

FRANK PARISI is an international bestselling author, keynote speaker, and heart transplant survivor who lives in Austin with his wife Kat and their son Sonny. He published Embrace Abundance in August 2024 on the one-year anniversary of his transplant. He is a managing partner and brand ambassador at Emotion Wellness in San Antonio.Order Embrace Abundance at frank-parisi.com

Jason Pullin is an experienced leader and public speaker with a bachelor's degree in Christian Leadership and over 30 years of professional experience. As a person in long-term recovery with an RSPS certification, he has valuable lived experience in recovery housing. Prior to becoming the TROHN Director at RecoveryPeople, Jason served as a regional and corporate training director for a major service provider. He also serves on several advisory boards, including the Clean Cause Foundation.

JASON TURNER is the founder and CEO of Emotion Wellness, an aftercare program in San Antonio built around the idea that the nervous system has to come first. He served ten years in the Air Force, where he trained bomb-sniffing dogs, and is a Pat Tillman Scholar. He has been sober since 2003.

Jessica Dawson is a mom in recovery with almost two years off non‑prescribed substances, staying on prescribed Suboxone and other meds while actively working on her mental health and boundaries. She has her own apartment and car, holds a steady job she’s kept throughout this stretch of sobriety, and is raising her son with lots of openness about recovery and emotions. She’s also thinking about going back to school to finish what she started in nursing or possibly move into counseling work.

Jill Smith is an outreach team member at Texas Recovery Centers, where she serves the East Texas region and draws on both professional expertise and personal recovery experience. She previously worked as a discharge planner and detox program director for UT Health and serves on the board of her local MHMR center. Jill is committed to improving access to care for individuals seeking recovery support.

Jordan grew up in Spring, Texas, and attended Cornell on a football scholarship before addiction derailed his career. After entering treatment in 2020, he found lasting recovery and purpose. He now serves as Senior Clinical Liaison – Business Development at Sunshine Behavioral Health, helping others access life-changing care.

Judge Katrina Griffith is currently the Associate Judge for the CPS Impact Court in Harris County. Prior to becoming an Associate Judge, she was a Family Law Attorney and is the Managing Partner of The Griffith Law Firm PLLC. The Houston based firm focuses on children's rights, family law, STAR family intervention court (drug court) and SOAR (juvenile drug court). She represented clients in divorce cases, child custody matters, modifications/enforcements, adoptions, children's protective services and juvenile law cases.

Judge Wayne Mallia is a District Court Judge with the State of Texas handling many areas of civil and criminal law.

JUDGE JULI A. MATHEW is the Presiding Judge of Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 3 in Texas, where she made history in 2018 as the first Indian American woman elected to the bench in the United States and the first Asian American judge elected countywide in Fort Bend. A proud immigrant from Kerala, India and a Syrian Orthodox Christian, she founded the Juvenile Intervention and Mental Health Court (JIMHS) — the first specialty court of its kind in Texas — and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center teaching Professional Strategic Writing.

Dr. Kamal Shah is a behavioral neurologist and addiction medicine specialist who combines over a decade of personal sobriety with medical expertise. Founder of Aftercare Doctors, he integrates neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and community support to help patients achieve lasting recovery.