Session Description: This presentation will examine the ethical principles and professional boundaries essential for recovery support professionals. Participants will learn strategies for ethical decision-making, role clarity, and maintaining integrity while providing peer support services.

Learning Objectives:

• Defining ethics in the context of recovery support services.
• Understanding core competencies and skills for recovery support services.
• Learning skills for providing ethical services.

Kim Govak, BS, NCPRSS
Board of Directors
NCAAR – National Center for Advocacy and Recovery 

Kimberly Govak is a woman in sustained recovery management and a dedicated advocate for equitable, person-centered recovery support. She is the Founder of EmPanda Perspectives, an initiative grounded in community, inclusion, and the belief that recovery is possible for everyone. Kimberly currently serves as an Instructor for the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) program at Rowan College of South Jersey, where she trains future peer professionals in recovery-oriented practices.

She is a National Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist (NCPRSS) and a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) with additional training in Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT). Kimberly previously served as the Director of a regional Recovery Community Center in southern New Jersey, where she mentored individuals seeking careers in peer recovery. She also held the role of Program Manager with Faces & Voices of Recovery’s Council on Accreditation of Peer Recovery Support Services (CAPRSS), advancing national standards for peer services.

Her advocacy work has earned her numerous accolades, including the NCADD-NJ Advocacy Leader Award and the Courage and Compassion Outstanding Peer Leadership Award from NJAMHAA. Kimberly serves on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Advocacy and Recovery (NCAAR) and was a founding advisory board member of the New Jersey Coalition for Addiction Recovery Support (NJ-CARS). Kimberly’s work is rooted in the belief that people with lived experience are vital to building sustainable recovery systems. She continues to lead trainings, consultation, and advocacy efforts with the hope that everyone who needs access to quality recovery support and care gets it.