About

William Stauffer is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance (PRO-A), the statewide recovery community organization of Pennsylvania. He has been in long-term recovery since age 21 and has spent nearly four decades engaged in clinical practice, recovery support, workforce development, and public policy and systems reform in the recovery arena.

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An adjunct Professor of Social Work at Misericordia University, Bill holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Cedar Crest College and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Kutztown University. Throughout his career, he has initiated and led numerous workforce expansion and systems-strengthening initiatives for people in recovery. A central focus of his work has been advancing a five-year care paradigm within the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment system to improve long-term recovery outcomes while saving lives, resources, and communities.

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Bill has played a key role in shaping recovery-related policy in Pennsylvania and nationally. He led a recovery house task force that helped inform Pennsylvania Act 59 of 2017 and has testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on multiple occasions regarding the opioid epidemic and substance use among older adults. He has also conducted hearings with the Pennsylvania House Human Services Committee focused on expanding recovery opportunities for young people.

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A writer on the history and future of the American Recovery Movement, Bill trains and presents nationally on a wide range of topics related to substance use treatment, recovery support, and recovery-oriented systems of care. In 2024, he completed a fellowship through the Hazelden–Betty Ford Foundation, and at the request of recovery historian William White, opened the First National Conference on Addiction Recovery Science hosted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

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Bill is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing his advocacy, including the Vernon Johnson Award for Individual Recovery Advocate of the Year (2019), the Lecie G. Machell Prize in Social Work (2002), and the Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliance’s Recovery Advocate of the Year Award (2008).

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He lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Julie, and their three rescue dogs. Outside of his professional work, he enjoys wandering in the woods with his camera, birdwatching, and reading widely.