Elizabeth Childress is a dedicated advocate for recovery, peer support, and evidence-based interventions. Committed to bridging research with real-world experience, her work exemplifies the power of peer support in transforming addiction treatment and policy. She is currently a Full-time Peer Support Specialist and Region III Coordinator for the Virginia Partnership for Gaming and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Health Professions.

Elizabeth holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Virginia-Wise, a Clinical Addiction Counseling Graduate Certificate from East Tennessee State University, and is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work at VCU.

A passionate advocate and speaker, Elizabeth has presented at events in Virginia and Tennessee and at the 2024 National Conference for Problem Gambling. She actively engages in legislative advocacy, representing the Virginia Association for Addiction Professionals (VAAP) and NAADAC with State and US representatives.

Her contributions to research extend beyond Virginia on projects supported by NIDA, NIH, and SAMHSA, pioneering the development of the Central Appalachian Peer Partnership (CAPP) board as an advisor on the Studies to Advance Recovery Supports (STARS) project, a national board member for the Collaborative Hub for Emerging Adult Recovery Research (CHEARR) and as an Advisory Workgroup member for the Pharmacy Patient Advocacy Toolkit Project. She was the first to initiate Tennessee SBIRT at ETSU, consulted on and appeared in the Caring Workplace Project and the TN Dept of Health’s documentary Forest Through the Trees, and was acknowledged for assisting Co-Authors Dr. Angela Hagaman, Kristen Roark, and Lisa Washburn in The U.S. Cooperative Extension’s Response to Substance Misuse: A Scoping Review.