Annual Awareness Event

Our Annual Awareness Event features national experts and speakers, and we also honor contributions to the community with our Founders Award. The pandemic crisis around the nation and world resulted in significant changes in our lives, including cancellations and postponements of events and gatherings. We look forward to our 2022 Awareness Event on Friday, September 23, 2022. Thank you for your continued generous support.

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

The Studio Loft at Ellie Caulkins Opera House
980 14th Street | Denver Performing Arts Complex
**Drugs, Treatment, and Policy: Deconstructing Stigma**
Presentation by Dr. John F. Kelly, PhD, ABPP
Sponsorship and ticket information

highlights from past Annual Events

2019

• April 2019 at the Studio Loft in the Ellie Caukins Opera House
• Keynote address given by Austin Eubanks about his personal journey and strategies to address issues surrounding substance use
• Founders Award recipients: Darlyn Miller, Regional Health Connector, Central CO Area Health Education Center: Mike Orrill, Regional Health Connector, Chaffee County Public Health; and José Esquibel, Vice-Chair for Prevention, Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force

PAS CEO Elizabeth Pace and keynote speaker Austin Eubanks

PAS Board Members, Daniel Burrows and David Stuhr

Elizabeth Pace, Founders Award recipient Jose Esquibel, and Board President Sara Jarrett

Elizabeth Pace, Founders Award recipient Darlyn Miller, and Board President Sara Jarrett

PAS Staff with speaker Austin Eubanks

2018

• June 2018 at the Studio Loft in the Ellie Caukins Opera House
• Former Colorado State Senator and Behavioral Healthcare CEO Pat Steadman introduced keynote speaker Dr. Kelly
• Keynote speaker John F. Kelly, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Kelly presented the science of treating substance use disorder as a chronic illness.
• Founder Award recipients: OMNI Institute; Colorado State Senator Cheri Jahn; and Colorado State Senator Brittany Pettersen

Former Colorado State Senator and Behavioral Healthcare CEO Pat Steadman introducing keynote speaker Dr. Kelly

Colorado State Representative Brittany Pettersen accepting a Founders Award

Board Vice-President Velvia Garner, Founders Award recipient Omni Institute CEO Jean Denious, and PAS CEO Elizabeth Pace

Keynote speaker, Dr. John Kelly

Keynote speaker, Dr. Kelly

Board Vice-President Velvia Garner, Founders Award recipient Colorado State Senator Cheri Jalm, and Elizabeth Pace

2017

• June 2017 in the Ponti Room of the Denver Art Museum
• Kognito Co-founder and CEO Ron Goldman introduced the launch of One Degree / Shift the Influence Public Awareness Campaign
• Keynote address given by former Denver Broncos Safety and Clinical Social Worker Tyrone Braxton about his personal story, highlighting the importance of prevention and early intervention.
• Founders Award recipients: Ralph Johnson, Executive Director, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association; Andrew Volin, Attorney (accepted posthumously by his wife, Andi Volin); Richard Lindsey, PhD, Former COO, MINES & Associates; and Robert Mines, PhD, Founder and Chairman, MINES & Associates

CEO Elizabeth Pace, Jennifer Place, Board Member Jane Klein and guests

Kognito Co-Founder and CEO Ron Goldman introducing the One Degree: Shift the Influence campaign

Senator Dominick Moreno, Pat Steadman, Elizabeth Pace, and Bethany Pace-Danley

Elizabeth Pace, Founders Award recipient Richard Lindsey, and PAS Board President Jill Taylor

Founders Award recipient Ralph Johnson

Founders Award recipient Robert Mines, CEO of Mines and Associates.

Elizabeth Pace, Andi Volin accepting the Founders Award on behalf of her late husband Andrew Volin, and PAS Board President Jill Taylor

Keynote speaker Tyrone Braxton, former Denver Broncos safety and clinical social worker

Keynote speaker Tyrone Braxton and PAS Staff