Humanly Possible: Episode 03

Christine  is the Peer-to-Career Program Director at RecoveryPeople and is in active, long term, sustained recovery from mental health challenges, substance use, and incarceration. Christine's primary focus is the growth and professional development of Texas’ peer workforce. Drawing from her lived expertise in recovery and justice involvement, she mentors emerging peer specialists and supervisors as they pursue training, certification, and meaningful careers. She works alongside a statewide team to create supportive workforce pathways that honor lived experience while strengthening retention, professional growth, and sustainability across Texas.

Jason Howell is a person in long-term recovery from mental health and substance use issues and the founder and Executive Director of RecoveryPeople, a nonprofit dedicated to building a brighter future for Texans in recovery.

Jason grew up on a cattle ranch in deep South Texas and earned an undergraduate degree in animal science before completing an MBA at Texas A&M University. Since 1994, his career has spanned multiple areas of health and wellness.

He is a certified Peer Recovery Specialist and state-approved trainer, a founding member and former Board President of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, and has served on both the Texas Behavioral Health Advisory Committee and SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment National Advisory Council. Jason has coauthored curricula, policy briefs, technical assistance resources, and peer-reviewed research focused on recovery support, recovery housing, and systems change.

A systems thinker, social entrepreneur, filmmaker, and visual communicator, Jason works at the intersection of lived experience, policy, research, innovation, and storytelling. Outside of work, he remains connected to his agricultural roots and enjoys raising cattle and living in rural Texas.