meet the power-c
CO-CHAIR: Paolo del Vecchio (he/him) is a person in long-term recovery from mental health and addictions, who has been a leader in the peer recovery movement for 40 years. He recently completed a 30-year career at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, where he served in multiple roles including the director of the Center for Mental Health Services and the founding director of the Office of Recovery. Paolo is now an independent advocate, working to advance recovery-oriented policies and practices on national and international levels.
CO-CHAIR: Arc Telos Saint Amour (they/them) is a disabled, queer and trans person of Mexican Native Indigenous descent (Coahuiltecan), and a victim/survivor of childhood trauma who deeply believes in self-agency and bodily autonomy. They are formerly gang-involved, justice system impacted, and consider themselves to be a peer supporter and a harm reductionist as part of their co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use recovery journey. This lived and living experience has led them to a deep belief in Native Indigenous Animism, radical empathy, and the power of holistic affirmation. Currently they are the Executive Director of Youth MOVE National. They are deeply passionate about all genres of music, documentaries, hiking and other outdoor adventures (in which they are infamous for achieving minor injuries and the loss of shoes), and absolutely refusing to be anyone other than Princess Peach in Mario Kart or Mario Party.