Board Member

Jake Lapke serves as the Statewide Treatment Court Coordinator for the Montana Judicial Branch, supporting treatment courts across the state through training, technical assistance, and program development. In this role, he works closely with court teams, partner agencies, and community stakeholders to strengthen best practices and advance effective, person‑centered approaches in Montana’s treatment courts.

Jake brings experience in court operations, collaborative justice, and statewide program coordination, with a focus on improving interdisciplinary communication and ensuring treatment court teams have the tools and resources they need to serve participants effectively. He is committed to fostering strong partnerships across disciplines and promoting consistent, high‑quality services throughout the treatment court system.

Project Director

Bill has 15 years of living in his substance use and mental health challenges, homelessness, and other trials due to the lifestyle that he lived. He has been in recovery for the past sixteen years. When he first started his recovery journey, and was working with a peer support specialist at Valley Cities Behavioral Health Care in Washington, Bill attended a peer support training class that mimicked Washington state’s peer training. He continued his training and earned his peer support certification in the state of Washington. His first peer support job was in Butte, Montana working for Western Montana Mental Health Center, where he worked for seven years. He also spent four years working for Montana’s Peer Network where he developed the mentoring program, and developed several trainings for the company. Bill has also been involved in Montana state legislative session since 2017, advocating for peer support.

Today he is a husband and father, a business owner, and an active member in his recovery community. Beautiful Minds Recovery is his dream that has become a reality due to dedication, commitment, hard work and a great business partner. Recovery is possible for anyone.

Executive Director

Zac Cannada has been working in behavioral health as a Certified Peer Support Specialist in Montana since 2020, with a primary focus of working with adults, families and parents struggling with substance use and navigating systems.  In 2021 he became the First Nationally Certified Peer Specialist in Montana. Zac has worked with local Missoula agencies such as Western Montana Mental Health Center, Partnership for Children and Partnership Health Center. In 2022 he received the “Comeback Parent of the Year Award” from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. As a person in long-term recovery himself, Zac knows through first-hand experience the challenges facing people struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

In addition to being a co-owner of Beautiful Minds Recovery, Zac is a single parent of a daughter, a Licensed Addiction Counselor, and the owner of Cannada Counseling. He is a passionate advocate for recovery services at the local, county, and state levels.

Board Member

Kathy started her journey in mental health treatment in May of 1992 as first an Adult Case Manager, moving into management as the Day Treatment Manager, Crisis House Manager, and Operations Director for Butte, Anaconda, and Dillon. In her career with this company, she established the first adult mental health group homes, a crisis facility with a standalone locked emergency detention unit, establishing Butte’s first PACT Team, Workers Now Program, and many other projects. Her love of her “consumers” was evident in all of her endeavors. Kathy enjoyed working with the Local Advisory Councils throughout the area and advocating for behavioral health services. Restructuring of the company made early retirement an attractive option.

Retirement was short-lived when Mike Thatcher and CCCS Corp in Butte requested her assistance establishing emergency mental health services for the Butte and Anaconda communities. Kathy told them she would give them a year and spent four years working part-time. She worked with a mental health team in the Butte Silver Bow Detention Center and a county contract for second evaluations for folks being committed to MT State Hospital and hearings for Butte Silver Bow on commitments. She has recently retired, officially July of 2026.

Kathy and her husband Bill have been married for fifty years and have two daughters, two sons in laws and five granddaughters, two grandsons in law and one great-grandson. Kathy is proud to be a fifth-generation Butte resident and an alumnus of Montana Tech.

Board Member

Founder & Executive Director of Crosswinds Recovery, a Missoula-based nonprofit providing residences and outpatient addiction treatment since 2019.

A licensed and clinical social worker and addiction counselor, Ferguson’s work is deeply informed by his personal journey— 15 years battling substance abuse, incarceration, and mental health challenges before achieving long-term recovery in 2016.

Board Member

Katie Smith is a licensed clinical social worker, licensed addiction counselor, and faculty member at the University of Montana. She teaches in the Addiction Studies program at Missoula College and the University of Montana School of Social Work, preparing future professionals to provide ethical, compassionate, and evidence-informed behavioral health services.

Throughout her career, Katie has supported individuals navigating challenges with substance use and mental health. She works to strengthen Montana’s behavioral health workforce and expand access to effective substance use disorder treatment and recovery support. Her professional interests include addiction education, workforce development, integrated behavioral health practice, and creating accessible pathways for students and community members to enter helping professions.

Katie is honored to serve on the Beautiful Minds Recovery Montana Board of Directors and to support the organization’s work to foster hope, reduce stigma, and ensure that individuals and families have access to compassionate, recovery-oriented resources.