In September 2026, during National Recovery Month and the nation’s 250th anniversary year, Candace traveled to Washington, DC twice to speak about what it takes to build a workplace where recovery is possible.
“From a Dope House, to THE White House”
A Seat at Two Tables
September 1, 2026 · The Sofitel, Washington, DC
Candace joined a panel discussion at a national Recovery Friendly Workplace gathering held during National Recovery Month. The conversation focused on the practical side of recovery-friendly employment — not policy language, but what actually changes in hiring, supervision, benefits, and culture when an employer decides that people in recovery belong on the payroll.
September 24, 2026 · Eisenhower Executive Office Building, White House Grounds
Candace returned to Washington to speak at an event supporting the 2026 National Drug Control Strategy, released by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Expanding recovery-friendly workplaces across the country is named a priority of that Strategy, and the event carried a call to substantially increase the number of businesses earning Recovery Friendly Workplace certification in 2027.
She served on the lived-experience panel as the only private-sector employee, alongside:
Dr. Monty Burks
Director, Center for Faith, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Alice Marie Johnson
White House Pardon Czar
Lynne Patton
Deputy Assistant to the President
Bringing a private-sector voice to that table mattered. Federal strategy can set direction, but the work of becoming recovery friendly happens inside individual businesses — in the decisions owners and managers make about who they hire and how they support them.
Looking for a speaker on recovery-friendly workplaces, workplace grief, or lived-experience leadership?
Get in touch or call 87-RECOVERY.
