R. Drake Ewbank, from Eugene, Oregon, is a consultant with lived experience of the mental health system who has served the peer population as an advocate and volunteer and then as a credentialed clinical and peer provider since the mid 1990's. He was involved in the first Oregon peer program to bill Medicaid for socialization supports and the first iterations of peer networking. Subsequently, with his non-profit, he helped open the first peer-run full service Medicaid approved mental health clinic. This practice included psychiatry, emphasized self-directed resources, and offered a full range of progressive brokerage style and choice driven community and clinical supports. Most recently, pre-pandemic, by choice, he is employed as an independent Personal Care Assistant to 5 individuals, as well as providing habilitation supports to 2 individuals on the Asperger's Spectrum of autism. He additionally still maintains the clinical credential of Qualified Mental Health Associate.
He was involved in establishing initial state training certifications for peer specialists for a workforce that now numbers more than 1500 in the state of Oregon. This peer workforce is the single greatest source of recovery employment in Oregon, with results in excess of programs like the Social Security Ticket to Work. He has presented nationally and regionally on topics of interest pertaining to trauma informed care, "life choices" empowerments, service brokerages, ethics, and stigma