Tonja Myles serves as Director of the Office of Recovery. A Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, she brings more than 30 years of experience in substance use disorder, mental health, peer support, suicide prevention, and community engagement.
Prior to joining HHS, Myles served as Senior Advisor for Awareness Partnerships and Community Engagement at the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation. She previously founded Set Free Indeed Ministry and established the Free Indeed Intensive Outpatient Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana’s first licensed faith-based intensive outpatient addiction treatment center. Her work has included developing peer support programs and building partnerships with community organizations, faith-based groups, law enforcement, and judicial systems to support recovery and reentry.
Myles is a founding board member of The Bridge Center for Hope, a crisis stabilization center in Baton Rouge, and previously served as national co-chair of Vibrant Emotional Health’s 988 marketing campaign. She has testified before Congress on mental health and substance use disorder policy and worked with federal, state, and community partners on efforts addressing opioid and fentanyl use, overdose prevention, suicide prevention, and crisis intervention.
In 2003, President George W. Bush recognized Myles during the State of the Union Address for her work in faith-based addiction recovery and community rehabilitation. She later served in an advisory capacity with the White House Faith-Based Office’s Access to Recovery initiative.
Myles currently serves as a Sergeant in the Louisiana State Guard and previously served in the Louisiana Army National Guard Military Police. She is also a licensed minister, pastor, author, and national speaker on recovery, behavioral health, and trauma-informed care.