Events

Featured Speaker: 

Benjamin Westhoff, Author of Fentanyl, Inc. 

Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative journalist whose books are taught around the country and have been translated into languages all over the world. His new book Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic (September 3, 2019, Grove Atlantic) focuses on fentanyl, which now kills more Americans annually than any drug in history and is one of a crop of new chemicals called novel psychoactive substances (NPS).

To understand the crisis, Westhoff traveled the world, meeting with users, scientists, law enforcement, dealers, and distributors at every supply chain step. In China, he infiltrated a pair of drug operations making and selling fentanyl and NPS for export, and in the process, uncovered how China encourages this illicit trade through subsidies and tax breaks. Westhoff's work has also appeared in the Library of Congress, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Rolling Stone, and Vice. 

RSVP today - seats are limited.

Event Itinerary

10:00 - 10:30 am MT

Meet local and national partners including the CDC, DanceSafe, Denver Recovery Group, JPAR, and SCOPE.

10:30 - 11:15 am  MT

Keynote with author, Ben Westhoff.

11:20 am -12:30 pm MT

Panel discussion and Q&A session

12:30 -1:05 pm MT

Lunch

1:05 - 1:25 pm MT

NARCAN training by UCCS Recreation and Wellness

1:25 - 1:40 pm MT

Closing remarks

1:40 - 2:30 pm MT

Expo and networking

Kristi Brewster, Denver Recovery Group

Kristen is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Colorado and Texas, as well as a Licensed Addiction Counselor in Colorado. She has a Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and nearly a decade of experience working in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), providing support to individuals facing addiction and mental health challenges.

Sandra Paz, Jack Swigert Middle School

Sandra is a middle school counselor here in Colorado Springs and is passionate about empowering youth and their families. She focuses on using a proactive approach to supporting students through the many challenges they face in life. Her goal for students is to feel heard, supported, and equipped to navigate their personal journeys, both at school and at home. She also a mother to two incredible little humans who are about to embark on adolescence themselves.

My Reason for Joining the Fight

As a mental health professional and a parent, Sandra feels a deep responsibility to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl poisoning. She also wants to help break the stigma of having these very important conversations. The opioid crisis, particularly the rise of fentanyl, poses a significant risk to our youth, and she believes it is crucial to educate both students and families on its devastating impact. By spreading awareness, she hopes to empower families with knowledge and resources to protect their children from this growing threat.

 Jessica Breemen, DanceSafe

Jessica is a versatile practitioner with over 15 years of experience in creative problem-solving across a wide spectrum of fields. With a Master of Social Work and diverse certifications, she specializes in social entrepreneurship, harm/risk reduction, integrative drug-assisted care, and more. Jessica supports advancing DanceSafe’s mission through value-driven impact strategies for health, innovation, growth, and sustainability.

My Reason for Joining the Fight

Mitigating trauma and loss while fostering more informed, healthier, and safer communities.

Madison Gerchow, XFoundation

Madison is the COO and Co-Founder of XFoundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about fentanyl poisoning and breaking financial barriers to athletic and musical opportunities. As a Colorado native, she has spent most of her life in Colorado Springs before moving to Denver. Her world shattered in 2021 when she lost my baby brother, Xavier Gerchow, to fentanyl poisoning. Within a year, her family turned their grief into action, launching XFoundation to build a safer future through education, harm reduction tools like NARCAN and fentanyl test strips, and access to sports and music programs. No zip code is immune, and education is key to ending this epidemic.

If XFoundation saves even one life, we’ve done our job. Educate your loved ones, stop the demand, and end fentanyl poisoning.