Here is information about our Speaker today:
Kimberly Barman is the mother of 20 year old Emily Cooley whose life was taken by a drug overdose on January 5, 2017. Together with Emily’s five siblings, Kim founded a non-profit organization known as Em’s Angels. The goal is to raise awareness through prevention education, to directly assist those in active addiction and recovery, and to educate the loved ones of those affected.Â
Since losing Emily, Ms. Barman chose to educate herself to better understand, help, and serve those struggling with Mental Health and/or Substance Use in hopes of sparing other parents her reality. Currently she is licensed through the State of Ohio as a CDCA II (Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant, Phase 2), through The Addictions Academy as a Nationally Certified Advanced Clinical Intervention Professional as well as a Level 2 Nationally Certified Recovery Coach, and she has completed coursework including that of a Wraparound Facilitator through the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addictions Services.
Kimberly has produced a short documentary of Emily’s life, Gone Too Soon: The Story of Emily Cooley, which premiered and was awarded Best Documentary at The Art of Recovery Film & Art Festival 2018. The documentary can be viewed below. She and her non profit have also been featured in several television news stories, most recently on Fox 8 Cleveland.
