Anthony is a person in long term recovery from substance use disorders. He is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) and has years of direct experience working with people in recovery residences. Through his passion for working with people new in recovery, in 2016 he started his first certified recovery residence. In 2017, Anthony co-founded the Willing Addicts Recovering (WAR) Foundation, a recovery residence foundation in Richmond, VA. The WAR Foundation has grown from 21 beds to currently 88 certified beds in Virginia. In 2019, Anthony was hired as the first full-time paid executive director of the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) which is the Virginia state affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR). VARR certifies recovery residences throughout the commonwealth of Virginia that meet the national standards set forth by NARR. VARR is also a credentialing entity for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) state certification. During Anthony’s tenure, VARR has more than doubled in the number of certified recovery residence operator’s and bed capacity. In 2020 VARR received a budget amendment from the Virginia General Assembly which allowed VARR to provide funding to certified recovery residence operators for indigent bed reimbursement and promote equitable access to safe, certified recovery housing.