Appalachian Recovery Concepts strives to provide low-barrier, cost-free professional development training and supervision for peer support specialists of all experience levels. Dr. Hutter-Thomas is the Research Program Director for the Buprenorphine Implementation Research & Community Health (BIRCH) project through West Virginia University School of Medicine. The BIRCH study aims to increase integrated medical care services in FQHC/PCC settings for PWUD in West Virginia. She also serves as educator for the Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (MarylandROTA) program, University of Maryland Extension, providing community education on the overdose crisis, mental health, stigma, and harm reduction. In 2021, Dr. Hutter-Thomas formed Appalachian Recovery Concepts, L.L.C. for the purpose of providing ongoing consulting and education to Maryland programs as an independent contractor. Prior to her current roles, she served as Research Program Coordinator for the BeSuRe West pilot project by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, organizing data collection efforts to examine socio-behavioral determinants of HIV, HCV, and overdose risk among people who inject drugs in Western Maryland. She went on to serve as a project researcher in Western Maryland for the Statewide Ethnographic Assessment of Drug Use and Services study known as SEADS, characterizing the lived experience of people who use drugs in Maryland. As a seasoned Mental Health First Aid instructor, she has provided over 65 workshops, certifying more than 500 Mental Health First Aiders in Maryland. Dr. Hutter-Thomas is a strong advocate for peer support and remains an active contributor to Appalachian community efforts through her affiliation with the Healing Allegany Consortium of Allegany County and the Stand Together Against Drug Abuse consortium of Garrett County. Dr. Hutter-Thomas is a member of the Frostburg State University Institutional Review Board, the Allegany County Mental Health Advisory Board, the Maryland Coalition of Families Board of Directors, the Allegany Arts Council Board of Directors, the Maryland Area Health Education Center (AHEC, West) Board of Directors, the Archway Station Board of Directors, and the Office of Consumer Advocates Board of Directors.
