Episode 9: Mell McCracken

Nick Stavros is the CEO of Community Medical Services, where he has worked for the past 10 years.

Previously, Nick was an intelligence analyst and Arabic linguist in the U.S. Army and finished his military career as an Airborne/Ranger-qualified Infantry Captain and Iraq War veteran. Upon honorably discharging from the Army, Stavros received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and is an alumnus of the Arizona Valley Leadership Institute.

Nick is on the board of the National Association for Behavioral Health (NABH) and chairs its Medication Sub-committee. He is also the Arizona representative to the American Association of the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) and the president of the Arizona Chapter of AATOD, which provides collaborative opportunities for facilities throughout the state. Nick is also on the ASU Medical Advisory Board, AZ Parent’s Commission on Drug Education & Prevention with the AZ Governor’s office, an Advisory Board Member of the National Conference on Addiction Disorders, and a board member for HMP’s Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat (East & West).

Tom Karl is the founder and chief executive officer of R1 Learning. Through R1, Tom’s goal is to put impactful self-discovery tools into the hands of individuals in recovery and empower them to change their lives.

Tom is a graduate of Duke University with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. Tom currently volunteers on the Patient & Family Engagement Advisory Council at Inova Healthcare System in Virginia. He is active in the recovery community, is a founding member of RecoveryDC, and volunteers with patient engagement programs.

Yvonne Vollaire has been active in the drug and alcohol treatment industry for over twenty + years with intensive involvement in civic, private, and non-profit organizations. Yvonne has been serving justice-involved individuals and specializing in gender-responsive services for incarcerated women and has managed numerous programs in custody and community-based organizations.

Yvonne has spearheaded the Sheriff’s Community Alliance, composed of community and faith-based organizations with existing funding sources dedicated to providing a seamless continuum of care for our retuning citizens being released. Her most recent assignment was contracted with the Los Angeles Sheriff's department (LASD) serving as the Director of the Gender Responsive Rehabilitation Program at the Lynwood County Jail.

Yvonne has invested in creating a safe space for women wanted to exit the sex work industry. Yvonne is the author of Connecting the Dots, “Repairing Generational Trauma”, a Workbook for Women in Addiction, Incarceration & Exploitation. Yvonne’s work is motivated by her past trauma, incarceration, and self-healing to connect the dots. Yvonne is a mentor to students, a sponsor to women in the recovery community.

Mell McCracken is a trauma informed substance abuse counselor and Associate Sex Addiction therapist currently working at Breathe Life Healing Center as a Chemsex Program Manager. They are a seasoned chemsex counselor that utilizes an experiential based, sex positive, gay affirmative approach to recovery from addiction and compulsive sexual behaviors. Mell is also a faculty member with the International Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and a Rainbow Advocate Educator.

Dan Manson has been working in the substance abuse treatment industry for over 27 years. His passion is helping addicts not only address their addictions, but dive deep into themselves and their own vision for the future. This includes really discovering who they are inside (often for the first time), who they want to have in their lives and what drives them to want to live a better life.

Dan is the co-Founder, President and Chairman of Elevate Addiction Services. He has appeared on television, radio and in the news. Most recently, he has written a book called Redefining Addiction, Reinventing Recovery: A common-sense guide to America’s biggest problem which addresses the challenges faced not only by individuals in treatment and their loved ones, but by the treatment programs themselves, including their challenges with insurance companies, documenting outcomes and delivering excellent care to its population..

Dr. Patrick Lockwood grew up in a small southern Missouri town, enculturated with classical southern and Midwestern values like honesty, integrity, and the “neighborly” way of relating to people. He completed his B.A. in psychology at the University of Missouri, then moved to L.A. to earn his Doctorate of Psychology at TCSPP.

Dr. Lockwood has worked for non-profits, treatment centers, and has been a part of a number of startups over the past ten years. His background in community interventions began before he even graduated from the University of Missouri where he successfully co-authored a grant creating a virtual intervention to help parents on campus become more connected and develop a supportive community while working at Parentlink, a division of the university’s college of education.

Dr. Lockwood has trained with experts in the field of addiction treatment and has worked at every level of the treatment industry. He is currently an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University, teaching future clinicians about clinical skills, addiction, and research analysis. He also has a podcast on YouTube about topics related to mental health, wellness, psychology, and neuroscience called “The Psychology Checkup.” Finally, Dr. Lockwood is the author of The Fear Problem, a book integrating the neuroscience and evolutionary psychology of our fear process to explain why we get triggered by politics and other “hot topics.”

Marlon Rollins, PhD, LPCC, LMHC is a member of the California Hospital Association, and a licensed therapist with more than 15 years of experience in mental health, dual diagnosis, and addiction treatment management. He has served as CEO and COO at some of the largest psychiatric hospitals and addiction programs in the state of California.

In his role as COO and President of Addiction Services with Renewal Health Group, Marlon supports leadership to align operations to meet organization goals. He also advises on strategic planning with the CEO and CFO to help enhance program services.

Dr. Rollins is the author of Healing the Impoverished Mind: Building Resilience Through Adversity. He is a suicide loss survivor of his sister Amber who was a nurse and battled addiction. He dedicates his work to honor her memory of caring for others. He is a board member of United Survivors International. He has also served as a BIPOC mentor with the American Association of Suicidology, and is a member of the Steering Committee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Dr. Rollins is passionate about enhancing quality of life and well-being through high quality care. As an ordained minister, he uses his faith and experiences to inspire others to seek healing.

Harry Nelson is the founder and managing partner of Nelson Hardiman, LLP, as well as the founder of the National Behavioral Health Association of Providers.

Beyond his legal expertise, Harry is known nationally as a consummate leader at the intersection of healthcare law and business, as evidenced by his role in co-founding five healthcare-related start-ups in the last decade. Deeply immersed in healthcare transformation and innovation; he frequently speaks on cutting edge issues and the future of the industry itself.

Zac Spowart is nomadic in nature, and presently resides in Bali, Indonesia, after living in a variety of states around the USA. He is open about his 16 years of recovery from alcohol and other drugs, with a sobriety date of 11/28/2006, and as such has adopted the name “Nomadic Addictt” to account for his lifestyle and passions.

He has been successful in numerous departments within the behavioral health care industry. He has experience in clinical services, compliance, quality assurance, program development, and business management and strategy.

He dedicates his time to the addiction and behavioral health care industry, focusing on assisting clients/patients in landing at the best quality programs around the world through means of digital content. He accomplishes this as the Director of Operations for Addiction Recovery, a company that specializes in organic recovery-oriented content for web pages and blogs, written by writers in recovery.

Dave Sheridan is the Executive Director of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences. He is a national speaker and writer with a primary focus on the development and operation of statewide recovery housing systems. He is also an advocate and resource on fair housing issues.

His professional background is in institutional investments, and he currently advises mid-size companies on matters including asset management, capital structure, business combinations, new venture financing and business planning.

His behavioral health industry experience includes CFO and COO positions with a prominent southern California provider. Dave also serves on the board of the Chandler Lodge Foundation in North Hollywood, California.