Staff

Bob Forrest is perhaps best known as the straight talking, straight shooting counselor on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew. Bob had a long journey in his struggle with addiction, visiting rehab facilities 24 times before finding sobriety in 1996. He has spent the last 17 years being of service, becoming one of the foremost… Read More

Carson Winn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and has been since 2007. He holds an LCSW in both California and Florida. He received his Master’s Degree from Florida State University in 2004, and has additional post-graduate education in depth psychology and clinical supervision. He utilizes a variety of research based practices with his current… Read More

Meredith Sagan, MD is a UCLA Semel Institute trained Psychiatrist who is on the cutting edge of the integrative medicine movement.  For over 20 years, and in tandem with her mainstream career as a child, adolescent and adult Psychiatrist, Dr. Sagan developed her capacities as a medical intuitive by studying with shamans, spiritual leaders, and… Read More

Dr. Lisa Benya is an internal medicine doctor servicing the Malibu community for many years. Her caring and compassionate approach has earned her a great reputation for being one of the area’s favorite doctors.  She is a board certified physician who as an internist broadened her scope to include more serious and chronic conditions including… Read More

Dr. Jorge Partida is a Psychologist, Green Advocate, and Indigenous Healer. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and immigrated to Chicago at nine years of age. Dr. Jorge has been a consultant on many national and international projects in the areas of education, health, diversity, and spirituality. Dr. Jorge has worked with local and… Read More

Lyndsey Vroman has worked in many different positions in the treatment industry since 2009, including case management, after-care, alumni services, clinical coordinator, human resources and now Alo House Recovery Centers is very lucky to have her as our Director of Operations! She found her true passion working in the treatment industry and describes herself as dedicated,… Read More

Chris Paulson has been working in the substance abuse treatment field since 2005. With eleven years of experience, ranging from admissions, intake, operations, and administration, he decided to focus on one, if not the most important elements of the treatment experience – clinical work. Chris earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology with Antioch University Los… Read More

Dr. Hanna Chusid, Ed.D was born and bred in Chicago, earned her MA and Doctorate in Western Canada and is an LCSW and Licensed Clinical Psychologist in California. She brings over four decades of expertise, weaving a wide range of therapeutic healing modalities from humanistic, systems and cutting-edge positive interpersonal neuro-psychology with multi-cultural, East-West Wisdom Traditions. Dr. Chusid  further integrates expertise as an… Read More

Jodi Wagner is a Certified Addictions Treatment Counselor as well as Clinical Supervisor Credentialed and has worked in the recovery field since 1999! Jodi worked at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health for co-occurring disorders with women as a Primary Counselor for over 6 years and from there was at Journey Out for 8 years, prior to coming to Alo House. Journey… Read More

Gary Stanis found a new way of living through the 12-step process of recovery. Having battled with alcohol abuse throughout his adult life, Gary discovered a way of living free from the addiction that had became a hindrance to his ability to grow and function like those around him. Gary has been free from this battle for the last 11… Read More

Jody Waxman was a pre-school teacher for over 36 years when one of her children called her and told her they were a heroin addict and needed help. She went back to school at 55 years of age to receive her Drug and Alcohol Counseling credential. Jody has 2 children whom she loves very much… Read More

B.J. Houle was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. He started drinking at the young age of 12 and continued to drink and be in active addiction until he was 22 years old. B.J. hit bottom at that time and was able to start making changes in his life. He went to therapy, and… Read More

Soraya Soto has been with Alo House Recovery Centers since 2014 and is incredibly passionate about helping others. She has finished her addiction studies program and is currently in school for her BS in Clinical Psych and Political Science. Once Soraya finishes that, she will be enrolling in Law School to focus on healthcare law. Soraya is the… Read More

Jennifer Pedrini has worked in the field of substance use treatment since 2013 and is also enrolled in school and a member of CAADE. Her passion in working in addiction treatment is due to the miracles she sees here. Jennifer loves seeing the light come on in our clients’ eyes and watch as entire families… Read More

Daniil Khorunzhiy has been sober since 2015 and has many passions such as hiking, meditation and painting. He wanted to work in the treatment industry as it is a good reminder for him of where he came from and it gives him the opportunity to be an example of sustainable recovery to our clients. Daniil… Read More

Heidi Lopez has been sober since November 2012 and has used Yoga and meditation on her path of recovery. She attended college in NYC with a focus on Social Work and also worked in non-profit there for several years. Heidi is dedicated to finding inner peace and practices Kundalini, and Vinyasa Yoga as well as… Read More

Brandon Lewis was an IV drug user for over 6 years before he got sober in 2015. In his recovery, some of the tools he has found useful are both therapy and psychiatry to address the underlying issues that drove his substance use disorder. Brandon is a talented musician and has been playing guitar and… Read More

Bob Howland comes to Alo House with over 15 years in Healthcare/ Medical industry experience, 25 years in business development and a bachelors degree from George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia. Bob has dedicated his life to helping others in the transition to recovery. Bob suffered a back injury when he was 18 years old… Read More

Brandon D. Sprout, C.Ht struggled with Addiction and Alcoholism for most of his 20’s. Due to his substance use disorder he lacked any type of ambition or motivation for a healthy lifestyle. He was unable to find purpose and meaning to his life. Finally, after getting sober he decided he wanted to be an example for others who struggle with the… Read More

Carley Bowen has been working in the recovery field since 2016 and has been sober since 2015. She was drawn to working in recovery due to her experience. Carley’s addiction started around the age of 16 and after a few years felt like she could not recognize herself. She suffered several overdoses and found herself… Read More

A recovering addict himself, Lawrence Williams understands and empathizes with what a struggling addict is experiencing when they first come into treatment. Larry began using drugs as a teenager, and the majority of his young adult life was spent in and out of correctional facilities. Sitting in his prison cell one day, he was struck with a… Read More

Maria Almada was raised in an environment where drug use was all around her. Once she started using herself, substance use controlled her life for 17 years. Maria became very comfortable with going in and out of a jail cell. As a result of her addiction, she lost her children to child protective services. Finally,… Read More

Rachel Ziegler grew up in Oxnard, CA from a long line of addicts, alcoholics and chaos. She endured much abuse and trauma from her family of origin and eventually was placed into foster care where the trauma continued. Rachel began using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain at a very young age. She didn’t… Read More

Marley Cohn has had an innate sense of wanting to help others since she was about 10 years old. She made it her life’s purpose and went to school to obtain both her Bachelor’s Degree and Masters in Psychology. Marley is very familiar and in tune with recovery as her father has been sober since 1988.… Read More

Sal Mike Federico didn’t take the usual path in life. He starting using alcohol and drugs at young age, and in the process, missed out on a normal childhood. After a lengthy 19 year battle with addiction, Mike now has over four years clean. It took an outpatient program and help from 12-step program to give… Read More

Bryanna Wallace has been sober since 2012 and has completed school to become a certified alcohol and drug counselor. She has a young daughter and has always been passionate about helping others. Bryanna loves Alo House Recovery Center’s way of connecting between the clients and staff. She has seen first-hand how this therapeutic bond serves… Read More

Alexis Haines completed her schooling to become a chemical dependency counselor in October 2011. Since that time, she has worked at several treatment centers, and is currently completing her practicum hours. Alexis got sober at nineteen years old, after facing up to six years in the California State prison system due to her addiction to… Read More

Corey Cardenas has been horse crazy for as long as she can remember. Regularly riding and being with horses since she was three, Corey has been well shaped and trained by the horse. She is continually learning the subtle art of body language and reading energy. With a genuine love of people, trust in the… Read More

Rachel Corbett is a Los Angeles native and sober alcoholic who has been working in the field of substance use disorders, mental health, outreach, and business development since 2005. For many years she fulfilled her desire to help others by dedicating her work to facilitating the linkage of all populations including LGBTQ, HIV +, and those with co-occurring disorders… Read More

Evan Haines is a Co-Founder of Alo House, and specializes in admissions, and marketing and business development.  An active participant in the recovery world, it felt natural for Evan to transition into the sober living business, and help others obtain and maintain sobriety.  In 2010, he and Jared founded Alo House, which, in less than… Read More

Jared Valentine is a Co-Founder of Alo House.  He is a Certified Developer and Operator of Sober Living Housing, and successfully operated Alo House sober living for a number of years before taking the company through the licensing process. Jared believed that it was time to offer a licensed substance use disorder and mental health program at… Read More