Olivia Pape, director of the WVU Collegiate Recovery Program, has been selected for the Class of Generation Next – 40 under 40. Sponsored by The State Journal, this award honors up-and-coming leaders in West Virginia.
“It’s an honor to have been selected as a member of this year’s class,” Pape said. “I am passionate about my work and helping our students grow, thrive and find a sense of purpose and belonging. Being recognized for doing what I love is humbling.”
Pape is a founding member of Collegiate Recovery and has been instrumental in its growth and development since moving to West Virginia from Los Angeles in 2015. She is a passionate advocate for students in recovery from eating disorders, substance use disorder and other mental and behavioral health concerns and is committed to creating a culture of recovery and reducing stigma at WVU.
Pape has trained more than 700 faculty, staff and students to be Recovery Allies, showing them how to be an ally to those in active addiction or recovery. She has developed Recovery Allyship and Advocacy, a for-credit course which expands upon the Recovery Ally training and focuses on providing emerging professionals with tools to better serve those in recovery.
She is a member of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals and holds an associate designation through the IAEDP Institute on Eating Disorders. She has served on the Health and Wellness Commission for the City of Morgantown and the National Wellness Institute’s Emerging Wellness Professionals Taskforce. In addition, she is an adjunct instructor for the WVU Department of Counseling and Learning Sciences.
Pape holds a master of public health in social and behavioral sciences degree from WVU and will begin work toward a doctoral degree in public health in fall 2022. The focus of her research will be eating disorders in collegiate athletes. A long-distance runner, she is working to establish a running group specifically for individuals in or seeking recovery from substance use disorders.