Healthy North Texas

Dr. Joseph Guillory was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he first encountered health disparities and social injustice. Determined to improve the circumstances of underserved communities, he pursued higher education and advocacy opportunities at Baylor University and then McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX. While at McGovern, he decided to devote his professional career to serving individuals who live with mental health conditions and their families through the field of psychiatry. During his adult psychiatry residency at the University of Texas at Southwestern (UTSW), he began seeking out opportunities that allowed him to serve others outside of the confines of the clinical setting through volunteering with NAMI North Texas. His volunteering efforts included public speaking, community psychoeducation/engagement, and program development. Through his volunteer work, he was able to better understand and support individuals with mental health conditions. Inspired by these experiences, his professional interests are aimed at addressing health disparities and social injustice within the field of mental health. He is currently a Child/Adolescent Fellow at UTSW where he continues to serve, learn, advocate, and grow.

Joe Powell is in long term recovery with thirty-one years free of alcohol and other drugs. He is the President/CEO of APAA-Association of Persons Affected by Addiction in Dallas, a recovery community organization that provides peer-to-peer mental health and substance use recovery support services for individuals, family members, and the community. Mr. Powell is a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor for over 25 years. His accomplishments with APAA include: the first Peer Recovery Community Organization in Texas funded in 1998 by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the first National Accreditation for Peer Recovery Support Services in Texas, chairman of the Peer Committee for Texas Certification Board (TCB) 2020, peer advocate for the passing of House Bill 1486 - Peer Medicaid-Reimbursement, chairman of the Peer Committee for Texas Certification Board (TCB) 2020; and much more.