Our Facilitators

Jessica Sprout CPS/CPSS

Recovery Educator

Jess Sprout is a Recovery educator at RI International where She facilitates Peer Employment Training courses. Jess has had an array of experiences working with adults in residential housing, behavioral health hospital, and children with autism and behavioral health diagnosis. Jess has always had a passion for mental health which stemmed from her personal experience finding her wellness through tough times and struggles with family members. She recognizes her growth and continues to work through her journey. Jess has worked hard to make a five-year personal goal to become a peer support specialist, which was in January of 2023, and was reached in December of 2022. Jess has her certification as a Peer Support Specialist/Supervisor and continues to grow. She continues to spread positivity with others that come into her life.

Jonah Sharkey M.Ed. CPSS

Instructional Designer

Jonah Sharkey has been in recovery from substance use and mental health challenges for most of his life. Jonah became a Peer Support Specialist in 2016 to use that experience to be of service to peers who are overcoming crisis and who are entering and sustaining their recovery. In facilitating thousands of hours of classes, he has gained a unique perspective on what best serves peers in different phases of recovery. In 2021 after completing a master's degree in Instructional Design, Jonah has begun creating curricula along with facilitating those courses. Facilitating is a passion for him and is an important part of his recovery and growth every day. 

Kristen Ellis, MS, LMFT

Kristen Ellis, MS, LMFT is a skilled behavioral health therapist licensed in California and Utah. She possesses an MS in Marital and Family Therapy from Loma Linda University. She has been a leader and therapist in a variety of populations and settings, including crisis walk-in centers, peer-run centers, inpatient and outpatient substance use treatment, and with the criminal justice population. Most recently, she was the director of crisis services for RI in Riverside County, using the Crisis Now model and the SAMHSA National Guidelines.

Mary Schulte, Team Lead ll

Mary’s first introduction to Recovery Innovations (at that time META Services) was in September, 2003 when she was hired to teach community college courses at META. Mary’s passion is the role of education in recovery, she believes that Education, once it is learned can never be taken away and leads to personal empowerment. In this endeavor she has facilitated support groups, developed workshops, written curricula, taught and mentored ASU students and REC Certificate program students and facilitated the Substance Addiction Recovery Training (SART) for the Arizona Department of Behavioral Health. Mary’s Masters Degrees are in Medical Anthropology and Religious Studies. Mary stated: “The wonderful thing about what I do as a Recovery Educator is to see that something that I love to do can help people in their recovery journey and being part of their journey is an honor that I do not take lightly.

Master Facilitator

Michael Runningwolf B.Ed.

Michael Runningwolf graduated from Boise State University with a B.A in Secondary Education with endorsements in History, Biology and Kinesiology. Michael taught United States History at a local high school, coached football as well as coached post collegiate adult distance runners.

Michael moved to Arizona to and begin his work in the mental health recovery field. Michael is a Master Facilitator at RI International facilitating such classes as Peer Support Training, Peer Support Supervisor Training, Advanced Peer, Facilitating Learning and more. In this position Michael gets to pursue his two passions; teaching and recovery.

Michael lives in Central Pennsylvania with his amazing family. Michael enjoys writing, running and spending time with those he loves. Michael is presently pursuing his Master’s Degree in performance/ sports psychology.

Shirley Miles, BS, CPRS

LMS Administrator

Shirley is a Recovery Educator at RI International, where She facilitates Peer Employment Training courses throughout Riverside County CA, including bringing peers together within the community to share lived experience and inspire hope, and certifying peers for gainful employment as a peer support specialist.

Shirley has worked in the Mental Health field since 2019 and has been able to share her lived experience of being a single teenage mother to her children as well as her siblings. By also sharing her understanding of having a child diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Shirley has been an inspiration to others by way of showing resiliency, leadership, determination, and cycle breaking. Her ambitions for the mental health field include redefining the idea that recovery is an exception rather than an expectation.  Shirley loves reading, cross stitching, family game or movie night with her kids, and learning whatever she can about computers.

Timothy Lahare, CPS/CPSS

Recovery Educator

Tim is a veteran of the US Army. He has worked in the medical field for over 25 years, included in that span, he was a paramedic in NYC for 11 years. He has 10 years in recovery. He is certified as both a peer specialist and a CPS Supervisor. He served on the Pennsylvania MHPC (Mental Health Planning Committee). He was also a trainer for a pilot program called Victory for Veterans. Tim is currently attending SNHU online in pursuit of his BS in Psychology.