Annemarie Ward Annemarie has a Masters degree (2005) and successfully completed a PG cert in Competence in Managing Drug and Alcohol services (2008), both from the University of Glasgow.

She was elected in a unanimous vote taken by the trustees in December 2013 to become CEO of the charity Faces and Voices of Recovery UK. She is the founder of the UK Recovery Walk Charity, now known as Faces & Voices of Recovery UK (May 2015). The aim of the charity is to be a policy advocacy movement that is taking on issues of discrimination, social justice and service access.

Favor UK is also a public and professional education movement, intent on challenging stigma by delivering messages of hope to the cultures of addiction within our systems and treatment. The Walks are an opportunity for us to announce this presence and, in time, mobilise and organise our community.

In the past, Annemarie’s work included being a founding director of the UK Recovery Federation, alcohol and drug partnership coordinater for Ayrshire and the head of research & development for a small charity. Her work has also included the development, implementation, monitoring and review of local research & development schemes in health-related services. She has also conducted a variety of small research projects, managed self harm and addiction projects, regularly written funding bids and organised workshops, seminars, conferences and training courses on alcohol and other drug issues.

In her earlier life, Annemarie had addictions to various substances (not a drug of choice kind of gal, she liked them all till they stopped working). She says the only substances she hasn’t tried are ‘alcopops’ and legal highs – she got into ‘recovery’ before their introduction – and glue, as where she grew up, glue was for boys and gas was for girls.

In August 2023, Annemarie celebrated 26 years of complete abstinence from all mind and mood altering substances.

PRESENTATION

Annemarie will discuss the Recovery Walk UK which this year will take place in London. After her presentation, delegates will have a chance to sign up in person and have their queries answered. See preliminary details of the Recovery Walk UK on 14 September 2024.