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Candid Conversations with Emily Derecktor | Redefining Recovery
Members-Only
August 7, 2025 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
Join us for a special Candid Conversations session featuring Emily Derecktor, founder of Cereal For Dinner (CFD)—a peer-led, community-centered organization redefining how we support mental health and recovery. In this session, Emily will share the origin and evolution of CFD, explore its unique, low-barrier model, and discuss how this approach fosters belonging, mutuality, and sustainable care.
We’ll also explore how models like CFD can complement and challenge traditional behavioral health systems, offering powerful insights into what it means to build accessible, inclusive, and person-driven supports. Come with questions, curiosity, and a willingness to think beyond the status quo.
Emily Derecktor is the Founder and Director of Cereal for Dinner, a social enterprise offering peer-informed, values-centered support for individuals living with chronic mental health challenges. With a background in public health and deep lived experience, Emily designs programs that meet people where they are—emotionally, functionally, and energetically. Through a growing ecosystem of personalized tools, coaching programs, and practical support opportunities, Cereal for Dinner helps individuals re-engage with daily life in ways that are accessible, sustainable and values-centric. Emily draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), community wellness frameworks, psychiatric rehabilitation and the collective wisdom of peers to inform her approach to this work.
Emily is dedicated to building a movement rooted in the belief that we can move toward what matters—even while we struggle. Rather than focusing solely on symptom reduction, her work centers recovery around purpose, belonging, inclusion, hope, and self-determination. While well-acquainted with the strengths and limitations of the current mental health system, her mission is to help create a complementary, community-based infrastructure of mutual support, connection, and meaningful activities—one that honors the wisdom of lived experience and makes room for each person’s unique path.
She holds a BA in Health & Societies from the University of Pennsylvania and dual master’s degrees in Medical Sciences and Population Medicine from Brown University. Emily is also a certified mental health and wellbeing coach. She lives in Providence, RI with her cat, Noodle, and is an avid singer and artist.
What are CBHL Candid Conversations?
CBHL Candid Conversations provide an informal platform for connecting and networking with other CBHL members, fostering an environment where we can learn from one another’s experiences. Led by a CBHL member or partner, these sessions are designed to facilitate the exchange of valuable leadership insights, skills, and support. Candid Conversations are open to all CBHL members.
The purpose of CBHL Candid Conversations is to:
- Network and Collaborate: Meet and engage with fellow CBHL colleagues in an informal, small group environment that encourages collaboration and the building of meaningful connections
- Learn and Innovate: Acquire new skills and exchange fresh ideas with experienced leaders in a supportive and trusting environment, fostering personal and professional growth
- Showcase Success: Highlight successful member programs or best and promising practices that demonstrate potential for scaling and broader application.
