Board of Directors
LifeRing operates under the guidance of a democratically elected Board of Directors. In alignment with LifeRing Bylaws, individuals wishing to serve on the Board or hold an officer position must have a minimum of two years of continuous sobriety. This requirement ensures that all directors and officers are individuals in recovery who bring valuable lived experiences to their roles, allowing them to effectively guide their work and support LifeRing's mission. The Board convenes annually at the LifeRing Congress via video conferencing and holds monthly meetings in the interim to maintain ongoing communication and collaboration.
LifeRing Board of Directors
Bobbi Campbell <bcampbell@lifering.org> lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and fellow LifeRinger Richard, who met as members of the LSRsafe email group, which she credits as her primary source of recovery support as well as the LifeRing Delphi Forum and LSR Women’s Empowered email group. Thanks to these groups she’s been sober since November of 2007 and since then previously volunteered to manage LifeRing’s social media pages - a gig she recently returned to - and wrote for the blog, and is now pleased to be a part of the governing body in addition to serving on the Fundraising, Marketing, and Communication Committee. She writes and does paper crafting on the side, but still doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. Bobbi was appointed to the LifeRing Board of Directors in December 2022, elected to the board in 2023, and reelected in 2025. Her term ends in 2028.
Ivona Szudelski <ivona@lifering.org> lives in Long Beach, California and discovered the LifeRing community in late 2020. Ivona is an online convenor and was elected to the board in 2025. Her term ends in 2028.
Jonathan Magid <jonathan@lifering.org> lives in Denver, Colorado and joined LifeRing in January 2023. Jonathan was appointed to the board in 2025. His term ends in 2026.
Lisa Swing-Corney <lisas@lifering.org> joined the LifeRing Community in late 2012 and has celebrated continuous sobriety since 2001. She is a LifeRing in-person meeting convenor in Akron, Ohio, and serves as the LifeRing Frontier Regions Coordinator and International Meetings Coordinator. In 2024, Lisa lead a team of BOD members to create LifeRing's first Strategic Plan, which continues to serve as our guide to meeting our ambitious but attainable objectives. Lisa is passionate about choosing her own path in recovery and helping others to bring LifeRing to their communities. In 2021, Lisa was nominated with unanimous consent to fill a vacancy on the LifeRing Board of Directors. In her free time, Lisa enjoys spending time with her dog Audrey, kitty cat Eve, and consuming all things Star Trek. Her term ends in 2028.
Mary Beth O'Connor <marybeth@lifering.org> resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was first elected to the board in 2017, and her current term will end in 2026. Mary Beth leads the LifeRing Speakers Bureau and convenes a monthly meeting to explain LifeRing to friends and family. Mary Beth speaks regularly about her personal story, LifeRing, and multiple paths to recovery. You can listen to some of her interviews on her website, junkietojudge.com. Her essay "I Beat Addiction without God" appeared in the Wall Street Journal in August 2020. Her memoir, "From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction," is available on Amazon and all the usual sites.
Michael Anderson <michael.a@lifering.org> is a lifetime Oakland, CA resident and first joined the LifeRing Community in June 2022. Initially serving as an online convenor, Michael now hosts two in-person meetings in local recovery facilities. Michael was tapped in 2024 to take over the role of California Regional Representative and is tasked with promoting and supporting new local meetings. His hands-on approach encourages both new and long-term California convenors. He is a certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist (CalMHSA) and Mental Health First Aider (National Council for Mental Wellbeing). Michael is often joined in meetings by his trustworthy pitbull Chutney. His term ends in 2027.
Monica Foy <monica@lifering.org> resides in San Francisco and have been in recovery since 2016, when she attended her first LifeRing meeting. She convened an in-person meeting from 2018-2020, transitioning its venue to the San Francisco LGBT Center, then to an online format. She stepped down as convenor in early 2023 to concentrate on a career transition to be a Financial Planner. She has been a Member of the LifeRing Communications Committee (2019), Contributor to the Language Initiative (2019), Delegate at Annual Conference (June, 2019), and Convenor Workshop Presenter (May 2020). She served as Secretary from 2023 to 2024, and was elected Treasurer in 2024. Monica attributes her successful recovery to LifeRing’s model of self-direction peer counseling, and is passionate about LifeRing’s mission to help others in recovery. Her term ends in 2027.
Njon Sanders <njon@lifering.org> joined LifeRing in January of 2009 and started convening after just a few months. This led him to start several in-person meetings in San Francisco in his first years, and he was asked to run for the BOD at his 2-year anniversary. He went on to host a number of annual meetings and chair the board for 2 terms. Njon is back again hoping to help LifeRing find its new post-pandemic “normal” in the current volatile environment. Njon was elected to the board in 2023. His term ends in 2026. Njon on LinkedIn.
Sue Betts <sue@lifering.org> is a San Francisco transplant enjoying her fifth year of sobriety. She joined LifeRing in 2019 and was encouraged shortly thereafter to convene one of LifeRing's original online meetings — The Saturday Morning Chat. Sue created The Liver Spot in 2020. When Sue began volunteering on LifeRing committees in 2020, she helped establish the Fundraising Marketing Communications Committee affectionately known as FunMarCom and now coordinates marcom efforts. She is also chairs the Meetings and Convenor Collaboration team (MCC) and collaborates on all active LifeRing teams. Sue was invited to join the LifeRing Board of Directors in 2021 and now serves as Board Chair. Her term ends in 2027.
Qualifications needed for the Board of Directors
Current LifeRing Officers
Sue Betts, Executive Director <sue@lifering.org>
Ewa Conroy, Secretary <ewa@lifering.org>
Monica Foy, Treasurer <monica@lifering.org>
Board Meetings
A Board Meeting is scheduled every month on the second Sunday of the month at 9:00 AM, Pacific Time via a Zoom meeting.
This meeting is open to the public.
Meeting URL: https://zoom.us/j/88907758083?pwd=YTVDMStaY0hVdnhHOTlqcnM1MEpYdz09
Meeting ID: 889 0775 8083
Passcode: lifering
Call-in numbers: https://lifering.kowebhost.com/governance-menu/bod/zoom-phone-numbers/
Additional help joining a Zoom Meeting: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting
Current Regional Representatives
Regional Representatives - Who are they and what do they do.
Co-founder and CEO 1997-2010
Martin Nicolaus
LifeRing Documents
Current LifeRing Bylaws
LifeRing 2025-2026 Strategic Plan
LifeRing’s 501(c)(3) IRS Determination Document
California Articles of Incorporation (1997)
Legal Notice
LifeRing Press, LifeRing Recovery, LifeRing Secular Recovery, and the LifeRing graphic design are registered trademarks/service marks of LifeRing Inc. All rights reserved. The LifeRing meeting charter and Bylaws are official publications of LifeRing Inc., approved by the LifeRing Congress. All other publications, including, without limitation, the content of posts, blog items, comments, books, brochures, flyers, other publications, and linked sites on this website, represent the opinions of their authors.