10/02/2026
Upward Spiral Summer Series Hosts Annual Meet the Authors & Awards Celebration, Honoring Leadership and Impact
NEW HAVEN, CT – The 2026 Upward Spiral Summer Series, under the theme Roots of Support, Building Leadership & Sustaining Growth for the Future, culminated in its Annual Meet the Authors & Awards Celebration on September 30, 2026. Held at the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, the event brought together authors, leaders, and community members to celebrate the power of lived experience.
During the event, 14 authors shared their powerful writing journeys, reflecting on their work, their aspirations for the next five years, and the impact they hope to create in the world. The featured authors included:
Carolyn Colado
Michael Skinner
Christine Zangrillo
Caleb Harris
Shawn Henry
Barbara McClane
Maryann Lonegran
Mary Keating
Latoya Pemberton
Sarah Boon
Gregorio Lewis
Chaya Grossberg
LaResse Harvey
Nizma Hutchings
The celebration also honored distinguished leaders for their significant contributions to advancing leadership through lived experience.
Celebrating Leadership & Impact
Cheri Bragg Acker Spirit of the People Award
The 2026 recipient is Herb BoydHerbert “Halfcrow” Boyd Jr. A person in long-term recovery with decades of lived experience, Herb is a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and serves as Vice-Chairman of the Tribe's Elders Council. He actively contributes to his community's well-being through his roles on the Tribe’s Health and Human Services & Public Safety Committees. Herb is a certified Recovery Support Specialist, CCAR Recovery Coach Professional, and works with organizations including Hartford HealthCare, Zinnia Health, and Recovery 12 Solutions. He also serves on the Board of Directors for The Southeastern Council for Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (SCADD).
Dr. Chyrell Bellamy Leadership Award
Today is especially meaningful to me because the Bellamy Leadership Award is beyond someone's title or résumé. When I think about leadership, I think about people who show up, who make room for others, who use what they have lived through to make things better for somebody else, and who continue doing the work even when no one is watching. And that is why, in this fifth year of Upward Spiral, I am so proud to recognize three people who have helped make this what it is: Annette Diaz, Kelvin Young, and Mitzy Sky. Upward Spiral grew because people with lived and living experience came together and said: We have something to say. We have something to teach. We have something to build. Annette and Kelvin were there as founders. Mitzy joined us later; they brought creativity, voice, and leadership and helped us take it further.
Five years later, that matters.
And I want to say something to our three leaders together.
Annette, Kelvin, and Mitzy, you are leaders.
Annette reminds us to change systems and create opportunities for other people. Kelvin reminds us to create spaces where people can heal and reconnect with themselves and one another. Mitzy reminds us to tell the stories that systems sometimes try to erase, simplify, or tell us. And together, you represent what I hoped Upward Spiral could become - five years ago, we were building something. We built a community. That is why having my name on this award is both humbling and deeply personal to me. Leadership, to me, has always been about lifting as we climb.
Annette, Kelvin, Mitzy - thank you for helping create this upward spiral. I love you. I appreciate you. I see you. And today, we honor you,
Congratulations!
Annette Diaz is a nationally recognized peer leader, Recovery Support Specialist, trainer, and co-founder of Upward Spiral, with more than 15 years of leadership in recovery, reentry, and peer support. A graduate of Yale’s LET(s)Lead Academy, she has trained peer supporters across the country and has been a longtime community partner with the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health
Kelvin Young, CPSRP: An award-winning sound healer and the co-founder of SoulCare Love, LLC, Kelvin draws from his lived experience of addiction, incarceration, and recovery. He powerfully integrates peer support with sound healing to foster recovery, emotional well-being, and personal transformation.
Mitzy Sky: A Jamaican-born author, poet, award-winning writer, and performative documentarian, Mitzy is a storyteller and advocate whose work focuses on transforming pain into love. As a lived-experience leader, her art explores the journey of letting go of internalized oppression and moving from shame to a state of presence beyond labels.
Mitzy Sky Kelvin Young , and Annette Diaz organized the event, with invaluable assistance from, Chyrell Bellamy Jannat ThindJannat Thind, and Graziela Reis.
This event was sponsored by the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH), LETsLead LETsLead Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Academy (LET(s)Lead), and Psychiatry.
