About Recovery Café DC
We are a healing, transformative recovery community in Ward 8, Southeast Washington, DC, dedicated to every person who has been affected by addiction, mental health challenges, homelessness, and incarceration.
Born from the Heart of Ward 8
Recovery Café DC was founded in 2018 by Donald and Jacqueline Conerly, who saw the deep need for a community-centered recovery space in Southeast DC and answered the call.
Donald brings the lived experience of more than 30 years navigating addiction and incarceration. When he was released for the last time, in 2008, he entered treatment at the 801 East Men’s Shelter, found work through Jubilee Jobs, and rebuilt his life from the ground up. That journey is the foundation of everything RCDC stands for.
Jacqueline is a native Washingtonian and a trailblazer in her own right, bringing more than 30 years of leadership in government and the nonprofit sector. She served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, frequently as the first African American woman in her leadership roles, before working in the U.S. State Department and later joining Jubilee Jobs as Deputy Director of its Southeast DC office.
They were named Washingtonians of the Year in 2024 for their exceptional work in Southeast DC. Together, they created a space where everyone’s story matters and where healing is always possible.
To be a healing, transformative recovery community for all who have been traumatized by addiction, other mental health challenges, homelessness, and incarceration.
Building a Permanent Home in Ward 8
Recovery Café DC owns a newly acquired property in Anacostia (Ward 8) and is partnering with the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), DC’s premier Black-led developer, to build a new mixed-use building. RCDC will occupy roughly 8,000 square feet of street-level space to grow our healing, transformative recovery community, including a new commercial kitchen and a community coffee and espresso bar.
We are looking forward to introducing our Culinary Heritage Program as part of this expansion, creating new opportunities for members and volunteers alike. See how you can support this project →
It Is Not the Coffee
RCDC is not a café business or coffeeshop. It is a “café-style” space that provides a welcoming feel for program participants. The Recovery Café Network’s Guiding Principles and Core Commitments are the core of our culture.
Guiding Principles
Connect with Love
Connect with divine Love in ourselves and others.
Show Respect
Every member is treated with dignity, always.
Cultivate Compassion
We meet each other with understanding, not judgment.
Practice Forgiveness
Recovery makes room for mistakes and second chances.
Encourage Growth
We celebrate progress at every size and speed.
Give Back
Members grow into the people who show up for others.
Core Commitments
Create a Community Space
Maintain a profoundly welcoming, healing, and drug- and alcohol-free environment.
Nurture Loving Accountability
Build structures that empower members to maintain stability, deepen their purpose, and give back.
Offer Radical Hospitality
A place where everyone is treated with dignity, offered food and beverages, and invited into real relationships.
Foster Peer Support
A culture where individuals find support and walk alongside one another in recovery.
Build Leadership
Pathways for members, volunteers, and staff to step into leadership roles within the café.
Champion Equity and Justice
Working to end systemic racism, socioeconomic inequality, and oppression.
What Is Recovery Capital?
Recovery capital is the research term for the internal and external resources a person needs to start and sustain recovery, not just willpower or abstinence. It comes from addiction researchers Granfield, Cloud, and White, and it is the framework the wider Recovery Café Network is built on. Every program at RCDC exists to help members build one or more of its four parts.
Physical Capital
Health, food, shelter, and financial stability, the basic needs recovery is built on.
Human Capital
Skills, self-worth, and a sense of purpose, the internal tools that make stability last.
Social Capital
Relationships and accountability, the people who make sure no one walks alone.
Community Capital
A local ecosystem of housing, jobs, and health care that recovery can actually lean on.
See how Recovery Circles, the School for Recovery, and our other programs build each of these, in detail, on Why Our Work Matters →
Source: White, W. & Cloud, W. (2008). Recovery Capital: A Primer for Addictions Professionals.
The People Behind RCDC
Jacqueline Conerly
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
A native Washingtonian and 20-year Marine Corps veteran, Jacqueline brings decades of leadership experience and consistently breaks barriers as an African American woman in leadership. She mentors emerging leaders launching new Recovery Cafés nationwide.
Donald Conerly
Founder & Chief Program Officer
With more than 30 years of lived experience with addiction and incarceration, Donald turned his journey into a mission. For over 16 years he has worked in recovery services in Ward 8, and brings 20+ years of building, construction, and engineering experience to RCDC’s growing campus.
Rebecca Lovett
Operations & Development Director
Rebecca oversees day-to-day operations, supports fundraising, and helps drive RCDC’s strategic growth, bringing a collaborative approach to building systems and strengthening community partnerships.
Board of Directors
Recovery Café DC is governed by a dedicated Board of Directors whose experience spans nonprofit leadership, community development, law, finance, ministry, and government, strengthening our mission to serve Ward 8 and beyond.
Kim Montroll
Board Secretary
30+ years in DC-area nonprofit leadership and resource development, including the Living Jubilee Capital Campaign at Jubilee Housing. She supports groups nationwide launching the Recovery Café model.
Jim Knight
Board Treasurer
Since 2002, Jim has led Jubilee Housing’s strategic direction, overseeing a staff of 70+ and $150 million in affordable housing investment.
Jacqueline Conerly
Founder and CEO
A native Washingtonian and 20-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Jacqueline brings 30+ years of leadership in government and the nonprofit sector.
Donald Conerly
Founder and Chief Program Officer
More than 30 years of lived experience with addiction and incarceration, turned into a mission to build the community he once needed for himself.
Rev. Joseph Deck, III
Founder, Institute of Radical Reconciliation
Director of Pastoral Care and Clergy for a 6,000 member congregation, focused on building community through racial and relational justice.
Kathy Guillaume Delemar
Director of National Partnerships, Center for Community Progress
20+ years in community development and philanthropy, including roles at Miriam’s Kitchen and Jubilee Housing.
Dianna Guinyard
VP of Operations / COO, United Planning Organization
40+ years of social services experience, currently overseeing seven major programs and eight community service providers.
Eric Letsinger
Board President
Founded Quantified Ventures in 2014, an outcomes-based finance firm helping clients deliver measurable social impact.
Mark Grovic
Co-Founder and General Partner, New Markets Venture Partners
Investing in high-growth companies since 1992, with two decades as a professor at Howard University and the University of Maryland.
Henderson Brown IV
Board Member, Attorney
A goal-focused legal strategist with executive leadership experience across utilities, government, and Fortune 100 companies.