Aaron Arnold is chief development officer at All Rise, where he works to develop new initiatives to strengthen justice system responses to substance use and mental health disorders. Prior to joining All Rise, Aaron spent 15 years at the Center for Court Innovation, overseeing the Center’s national work in the areas of treatment courts, community justice, tribal justice, alternatives to incarceration, and more. Aaron has served as a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona, where he gained first-hand experience working in several problem-solving courts. Aaron is graduate of Cornell University and the University of Arizona College of Law.

CEO and Founder of Beep Beep Traffic Survival School, Beep Beep Interlock, and ALL DUI Services, Adrienne empowers her team with the power of advocacy and assisting clients through the challenges they face, whatever those challenges may be. Her agency has modeled a one-stop solution that reduces the stresses individuals experience and aims to nurture a more humane, service-oriented approach and overall environment.

Ms. Balkey is a Program Director at the Center for Children and Family Futures, Inc. (CCFF) and works with the National Family Treatment Court (FTC) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program. Ms. Balkey provides mentoring and direct supervision to Associates and Specialists that are part of the FTC TTA Program. She assists with project management and reporting tasks to compile and synthesize information on lessons, results and policy and practice innovations. Additionally, she provides TTA to FTCs across the nation responding to over 1400 requests in over eleven years. Ms. Balkey was a Change Leader for the statewide system improvement initiative enhancing system collaboration to improve outcomes for families within the child welfare system affected by substance use disorders. Additionally, Ms. Balkey was a Change Leader for the Prevention and Family Recovery (PFR) initiative funded by the Duke Foundation Charitable Trust assisting jurisdictions to advance the capacity of their FTCs to provide more comprehensive family-centered care to children, parents and families affected by substance use disorders through integration and institutionalization of proven parenting services and developmental and therapeutic services for children. Previous to her employment with CFF, Ms. Balkey was the Program Manager for Riverside County Family Preservation Court, located in Indio, CA where she successfully managed a FTC with multiple funding streams including the SAMHSA Children Affected by Methamphetamine (CAM) Federal grant. Ms. Balkey is a certified addictive disorder counselor by the Breining Institute, College for the Advanced Study of Addictive Disorders with robust knowledge of alcohol and other drug treatment programs. Ms. Balkey received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Temple University and a Masters of Public Administration from California State University, San Bernardino.

Having worked in counseling since 2006, I have a strong background in working with addiction/alcoholism. I’ve had extensive experience working with both the chemically dependent themselves, as well as children, partners, parents, and other family members of the addict. The more I worked with people struggling with addiction, the more I became interested in family dynamics, and the more I learned how personality disorders affect all aspects of family life, and contribute to depression. I have focused on helping people with Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissism, as well as family members of people struggling with those disorders, including spouses and children. We have focused on how to cope with a family member or parent with the disorder, including the importance of setting boundaries. I have most of my training in CBT, although I also use positive psychology, motivational interviewing, and many techniques and theories of Carl Rogers. Additionally, I have years of experience working with depression, anxiety, and relationship difficulties (either in couples therapy or with individuals). I believe counseling is a partnership between the clients and myself, and the purpose of counseling is to help guide you to making the healthiest decisions for your life, in all aspects.

Allen King, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute Allen King is a dedicated leader with more than 15 years of experience in behavioral health and community service. After overcoming significant personal challenges, including incarceration and substance abuse, Allen has devoted his life to helping others navigate similar paths. He is an advocate for culturally sensitive treatment programs and has successfully implemented several initiatives to support Native American communities. Allen’s work focuses on integrating traditional healing practices with modern therapeutic approaches, aiming to create a holistic support system for individuals in recovery. His journey from hardship to leadership serves as an inspiring testament to the power of resilience and the importance of community-based support.

Amanda Stamps retired from the Mesa Police Department after spending 26 years pursuing her passion of helping others. Amanda was the CIT Program Coordinator for the Mesa Police Department and was involved in the creation of the Crisis Response Team, the current co-responder model, and the call diversion program responsible for diverting hundreds of calls directly to the crisis system. Amanda has assisted numerous regions in the creation of CIT Programs. Amanda has been involved in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) for more than a decade, including working as a member of the department’s peer support team (team leader) and now providing training for all things related to CISM and creating peer support programs. Amanda has facilitated dozens of critical incident defusings, debriefs, and community briefings as both the law enforcement partner and the mental health professional. Amanda has a M.Ed. in Counseling and Human Relations from Northern Arizona University and is attending Arizona State in pursuit of a Doctor of Behavioral Health. Amanda currently works for Community Bridges Inc. where she provides training and assists in the development of programs throughout the community. Additionally, Amanda assists staff at Community Bridges after critical incidents and trains other CBI staff on the CISM process.

Amy Melcher has been working at the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Officer for 14 years. For the last 9 years she has been representing clients in the treatment courts.

Angie Burleson, APP, is a Polarity Therapist and Executive Director of the AZ ACEs Consortium. She is committed to changing the conversation surrounding trauma and ACEs by empowering individuals and connecting communities to become recovery ready through a trauma informed lens. Angie’s own struggle with addiction, family experiences, and education gives her a multi-faceted and unique perspective.