Patrick Flynn was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania and was educated in the Scranton public school system. In 2017, through Project Manifesto, Patrick was given an opportunity to intern in the Public Affairs department at Independence Blue Cross. Months later he was offered a full time position in the Government Affairs area.

During his time with IBX Patrick was part of a team that communicated the company’s public policy positions to elected officials and regulators at the federal, state and local levels. This includes Independence’s key priorities to address the ongoing opioid epidemic.

A person in long term recovery since 2014, Patrick founded the Someone You Know Group at IBX which strives to break the stigma of addiction in the workplace. In 2020 Patrick was invited by US Rep Madeleine Dean to attend the State of the Union address for his efforts around addiction and recovery advocacy. Patrick was also given the Unsung Hero award by Caron Treatment Centers. Patrick served on the Board of Directors for the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania from 2019 until 2022.

Patrick identifies as a person in long-term recovery. Professionally, he is a master’s-level psychotherapist and doctoral candidate in clinical psychology (PsyD ‘23) who treats individuals with addiction and other mental health conditions through a holistic lens infused with the evidence-based practices of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Patrick was a part of the original Manifesto pilot that directed his passion and penchant for helping others into a career in psychology. He conceptualizes addiction as a complex disorder with biological, psychological, social, developmental, and spiritual factors that requires a trauma-informed, holistic, and individualized approach. He emphasizes that an important, and often neglected, factor in sustainable recovery is occupation; developing professionally in order to feel fulfilled and purposeful.

As Chief Clinical Officer, Patrick oversees all of the Manifesto programming and provides supervision to the staff of recovery coaches. Patrick lives with his wife, child and french bulldog in the Roxborough area of Philadelphia.

Watch and read Patrick’s story here

Dan Hilferty Jr was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and is a member of long term recovery. Dan graduated from The Episcopal Academy in 2008, and earned his BA from the University of Scranton’s Kania School of Management.

Before founding Project Manifesto, Dan served as Project Director for Not Impossible Labs, a tech-for-good incubator based in Venice, CA. Dan currently resides in Costa Mesa, CA with his wife Kristen and daughter Milli.

Luke identifies as a person in long term recovery. Professionally he has worked in Medical Device Sales for the past 8 years. Luke is one of the founding members of Project Manifesto and after getting sober in 2014 returned to St. Joseph’s University where he completed his BA in English Literature at night while working full time by day. While at St. Joseph’s Luke co-founded The Flock, a collegiate recovery program on campus committed to providing a safe space for recovering individuals.

Luke has a passion for helping recovering individuals and understands the pivotal role occupation plays in long term sobriety. Luke lives in Philadelphia with his wife Kim.