Mr. Stacey Petersen has gained national recognition for his leadership in the addictions sector and the homeless serving sector as the Executive Director of Fresh Start Recovery Centre for the past 17 years and was the President and CEO of Simon House Recovery Centre where he worked for 9 years prior to that.  Mr. Petersen helped steward Fresh Start to restructure its entire operating and funding model both securing multi-year funders as well as increasing the agencies profile in the community and addictions sector in Calgary and Canada. Under Mr. Petersen’s stewardship, Fresh Start has been named one of the top three treatment agencies in Canada by the Fraser Institute 2006-2012 and the number one treatment facility in all of Canada in 2010, 2013, and 2014 as well as receiving the prestigious Peter F Drucker Award for Non-profit management in 2014 and the overall Donner Award for Excellence in Social Services.  Charity intelligence Canada also chose Fresh Start as a Canadian Top Agency from 2007-2020. Mr. Petersen has led the agency to broker the City of Calgary’s very first Good Neighbour Agreement with the communities of Greenview, Thorncliff, and Highland Park and oversaw the completion of their purpose-built 50-bed treatment facility. The new facility opened in June of 2012. In 2012 Fresh Start received a Calgary Award for Advocacy. In 2020 Fresh Start acquired a 23-bed co-ed treatment center in Lethbridge Alberta.

Mr. Petersen is a Registered Social Worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers and has been involved in the field for more than 33 years and is a person in long-term recovery with as many years clean and sober. In 2011, Mr. Petersen was the recipient of the McKillop Award honoring individuals working in human services who demonstrate a personal commitment to improving the social fabric of Calgary and he had previously been chosen as one of Calgary's top "40 under 40" in 2001 for leadership, earning this distinction while President and CEO of Simon House. During nine years at that agency, he helped lead the agency to receive several national recognitions and awards.

He has worked in both the non-profit and government sectors, bringing with him such experience as staff management, fundraising, public speaking, public relations, group facilitation, outcomes measurement, accounting, and overall agency structuring.

Mr. Petersen has served four terms on the United Way’s Agency Advisory committee, three terms as Chair of the Calgary Addiction Sector served on the Addiction Initiative Steering committee for the Norlien Foundation(Palix), and Co-Chaired of the Services Sub-Committee of the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness (10-year plan). Stacey has done two TED X talks for Alta Link where he spoke on Innovation and Change. Mr. Petersen served on the National Recovery Advisory Committee and serves on the Canadian Research Initiative for Substance Misuse. In late 2019, Mr. Petersen was appointed to the Alberta Mental Health and Addiction Advisory Council. Mr. Petersen serves on three different boards of directors - the Alberta Addiction Service Providers, Recovery Access Alberta, and the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in Winnipeg Manitoba.