Tom Hill
Vice President of Practice Improvement
National Council for Behavioral Health
Tom Hill, MSW, joined the National Council for Behavioral Health in March 2017 as Vice President of Practice Improvement. Mr. Hill previously served as a Presidential Appointee in the position of Senior Advisor on Addiction and Recovery to the SAMHSA Administrator. As part of this post, he initially served as Acting Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hill was a Senior Associate at Altarum Institute, serving as Technical Assistance Director for a number of SAMHSA treatment and recovery support grant initiatives. He also served for four years as Director of Programs at Faces & Voices of Recovery.
Mr. Hill is frequently sought out as a national thought leader in the addiction and recovery field; his personal experience of recovery from addiction spans two decades. Reflecting his commitment to the goal of long-term recovery for individuals, families and communities. he has also served on numerous boards of directors, advisory boards, committees and working groups. Mr. Hill received his MSW in community organizing from Hunter College at City University of New York. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Johnson Institute America Honors Recovery Award, the NALGAP Advocacy Award and a Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship in the Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse initiative.
WORKSHOP
Trauma, Harm Reduction, and Recovery: Addressing Health Inequities
In many individuals, there is a direct link between a history of trauma and poor health outcomes, including substance use and addiction. On a community level, the combination of cultural trauma and the personal trauma of its members often result in population-based health inequities. As many of us have worked to address the addiction and overdose epidemics, we have confronted barriers that people and communities face in accessing appropriate care and building recovery capital. A framework of trauma-informed and recovery-oriented systems of care invites us to take a broader approach to recovery and harm reduction as we help people stay alive and get better.