Clinical
Jorja Davis, LMFT
Clinical Director
Speciality: Psychology, EMDR therapist, PIT, Hypnosis, Family Therapy
Jorja Davis has facilitated recovery with clients for the past 30 years. Initially beginning as a chemical dependency counselor and graduating from one of the first programs in the state to offer certification she continued her education and currently has a Masters in Psychology and licensure as an LMFT. Jorja is also a certified EMDR therapist.
Jorja has worked in the fields of mental health as well as substance abuse and brings many areas of expertise to her practice. In 1995, Jorja won an award from the Department of Corrections for service to the community and brings with her, knowledge of criminal justice and legal issues. While researching new & relevant theories for those affected by addiction, she began studying neurochemistry and its relevance. She has developed an educational seminar for families that are affected by substance abuse and/or other addictions which was profiled by The Signal, with a focus on adolescents and impulse control.
Hypnotherapy:
Jorja Davis became interested 5 years ago in utilizing hypnotherapy as a resourcing tool for EMDR. She received training through the Southern California Society of Clinical Hypnotherapy in beginning , intermediate and advanced hypnotherapy and has continued her certification through ASCH. ( The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis) . Jorja also completed an initial training focusing on “clean language” through the estate of David Grove whom was an authority of the facilitation of trauma treatment using hypnosis to reveal coded messages in the psyche . Since that time Jorja has found applications for the use of hypnosis in treating not only trauma but as a primary tool in treating addictions , anxiety and facilitating relief of chronic pain .
P.I.T (Post Induction Therapy):
which was developed by Pia Melody to facilitate healing for developmental trauma . Jorja completed the initial P.I.T training with Ms. Melody and looks forward to gaining more knowledge through the advanced P.I.T. training in 2015 .
Steve Verduzco, CADC II
Case Manager
Steven began working at Westwind when it first opened their doors. He earned his B.A. in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College and his CADC from Sober College. Steven began his career working in recovery since 2014, although he had no intention to. Steven was pursuing a career in nursing while in college, but that did not work out as planned. During a heart-to-heart with his step-father, he suggested to Steven that he should give back to the community that helped him get sober and work in the recovery field. And as life would have it, Steven was offered was job by a friend to work in the recovery field. He took the job and never looked back.
Steven started out working as a technician, admissions specialist and then move up to become a drug and alcohol counselor at Cry Help.
At Westwind, Steven is involved with each client from the start to the time they graduate from the program. He welcomes each client, help them feel comfortable, explain the program, and make sure that all their needs are met so they feel supported.Steven also runs many of the groups and meet clients one-on-one.
He feels that he has a deep understanding what the clients need since he himself is in recovery. He is knowledgeable in what would work or what would not work for each client in their recovery process.
Once the client has completed treatment he is very thoughtful in planning their next course of action and setting them up for success.
Steven says that the team at Westwind provides true personalized and individualized treatment not usually found at other centers. The staff at Westwind shows genuine love, care and compassion. He also says,” I have an immense gratitude for my recovery because of where I’ve been in my addiction. I try to come in with a positive every single day. I’m just grateful to be sober myself, so working in recovery is just gravy.”
Steven is a beast in the gym and trains at 5AM daily. He also stays fit by chasing after his 2 year old son. He spends a lot of time with his family; he and his wife are expecting baby number 2 later this year.
Kasey Smith, CATC-I
Case Manager
Kasey Smith brings her high energy,enthusiasm and exceptional passion to Westwind Recovery Team. Kasey is one of Westwind’s case managers, counselors and group facilitators. She earned her degree in Addiction Studies from Pierce College and is also a certified yoga instructor, earning her certificate through Yoga Works.
Deeply inspired by her teacher and mentor, Marty Farash, Kasey began working in the addiction field in 2014. She was also motivated to help people who struggle with addiction because of her own addiction. Kasey started out working as a chemical dependency tech at the Villa in Woodland Hills, CA. She continued to work her way up as a chemical dependency counselor, case manager, group facilitator, then program manager for various treatment centers in southern California. Kasey has also worked closely with homeless population in the Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood.
Kasey also meets with clients one-on-one to check in with them at a spiritual, mental and emotional level as well as making sure they are on track on with their education and work life.
Kasey understands that if someone if suffering from substance abuse he/she/they may also be suffering from something even deeper. She and the team at Westwind will offer the love and support to get to the root of those issues whether it be with mental health problems, sex and love addiction among other issues. The clinical staff at Westwind truly collaborates and will go to almost any lengths to maintain with well being of all their clients.
Kasey is a very active person and loves hanging out with her kids. She stays active through hiking, yoga, rock climbing and boxing. She also loves to dance, watch movies and spending time at the ocean. She actively maintains connection and fellowship with her tribe in AA.
Isaac Reddick III
Alumni Coordinator
Isaac brings nearly 20 years of experience to the Westwind family as the Alumni Coordinator. Isaac began his career in recovery as a tech at Promises then joined The Hills as the residential supervisor. He then became the alumni coordinator at The Hills.
Isaac understands the importance of not only participating in a program to get sober but keeping truly connected with clients after they have graduated from a program. He is there to support clients after the are done whether it be to be an active listener or to provide them with resources that may need from couples counseling to job recruitment.
Before working in the addiction field, Isaac worked in advertising for the motion picture industry. He realized that although he was very good at what he did, it did not align with who he was.
Allie Clingan, AMFT
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Speciality: DBT, CBT
Allie is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with experience at all levels of care including detox, residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs. From 2015 through 2018, she worked as primary therapist at Center for Discovery, providing individual and group therapy and case management for adults and adolescents with eating disorders. She has training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Trauma-Focused CBT. Allie earned her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Phillips Graduate University, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Ithaca College. She is passionate about providing hands-on individual support with humor and care.
Lisa Blume, AMFT
Primary Therapist
Speciality: Eating Disorders, Trauma, PTSD, Child or Adolescent
Lisa Blume has been with Westwind Recovery since the day they opened their doors. She earned her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Spiritual Depth Psychology at Antioch University Los Angeles.
Lisa has training as a mindfulness-based psychotherapist from The Center for Mindful living in Brentwood, CA. She finds great satisfaction in bringing a unique approach of Transpersonal/Spiritual Depth and Psychodynamic Therapies to WestWind Recovery. Lisa also received professional training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition accredited by Columbia University Teacher’s College in New York City in 2007.
Lisa began working in the recovery field in 2017. She grew up in addiction and her unconscious journey that she was on lead her understand and have compassion for those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.
Lisa uses a mindfulness-based approach when working with clients. Her intention is to help the client build their awareness so that they can start implementing change in their life. She also works from a spiritual perspective such as inner child work. She gets the client to look inward so that they can see what is happening within themselves and develop a relationship with a power greater than themselves both internally and externally.
Lisa says that when someone ready to make a change and is looking for and longing for a family, they can find that at Westwind. The people who work here really do hold and take care of the clients and the clients truly can feel that.
Sam Silverman, AMFT
Primary Therapist
Speciality: ACT, IFS, CBT
Sam is a trans and non-binary Marriage and Family Therapy Associate Therapist and an LGBTQIA+ workshop facilitator. Sam is passionate about helping clients to engage with their barriers to recovery using ACT, IFS, CBT, trauma-informed, and mindfulness-based work. Specifically, Sam likes to help clients focus on and process their feelings in the moment. They also work well with clients who are on the spectrum as well as queer and trans people. Sam also highly values experiential activities as learning experiences. Prior to working at Westwind, Sam worked at Breathe Life Healing Center, Paradigm Malibu, Evolve, Mitchell Family Counseling Clinic, and Magnolia Science Academy Schools doing therapy and some case management. Sam earned their masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University Northridge (CSUN). They have also given workshops about trans advocacy, queer and trans relationships, identity exploration, LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, communication, healing trauma, and substance abuse recovery.
Sam feels that if someone is ready to put the work to get sober and needs the guidance and structure to help them get there, Westwind is the place to get that. They will also go the extra mile to meet the needs of each client whether it be more work on trauma, conflict resolution or even more assistance in finding a job.
Sam has also lead workshops and trainings at the 2016 EDGY conference, The Relational Center, Boeing Aircraft Manufacturing Company, California State University Northridge, College of the Canyons, Catalyst Con, and SexPosCon. They always attempt to approach therapy through an inclusive, intersectional lens emphasizing accountability on both the part of the therapist and the client. Sam uses They/Them, He/Him/His pronouns.
Sam is also an animal lover, amateur gardener, cook, gamer, podcast listener and has claims to have a solid game at mini-golf.
Randy Smith, LMFT
Primary Therapist
Randy Smith hails from Austin, Texas and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He also earned in Masters degree in Psychology from Antioch University in Los Angeles. Randy trained at several different places around southern California, including Center for Individual and Family Counseling in North Hollywood, Teen Line at Cedar Sinai, Klean Treatment Centers and in private practice. Randy began working in the recovery field in 2013 after a 20 career in the movie industry with Sony Pictures, MGM and Universal. Randy no longer felt fulfilled working in the entertainment industry and decided to go back to his first loves which are psychology and helping people.
Medical
Ryan Peterson, M.D.
Medical Director
Speciality: Addiction Medicine Specialist, Pain Management Physician, Anesthesiologist
Dr. Ryan Peterson is Westwind’s Medical Director who is triple board certified in Pain Management, with American Board of Pain Medicine, Anesthesiology, with the American Board of Anesthesiology and Addiction Medicine with the American Board of Addiction Medicine.
He completed medical school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., residency training at Cornell University in New York and fellowship training at UCLA.
Before he became an addiction specialist, Dr. Peterson made the assumption that he knew all there was to know about addiction medicine since he was recovery himself. But he soon realized that there was so much more to learn about addiction than what he went through himself. He spent most of 2014 learning and studying for the boards in Addiction Medicine and became board certified.
Dr. Peterson got sober through AA, but understands that they are so many other ways to get to recovery. Through his own journey to sobriety he has learned of so many other ways to help others. Westwind Recovery offers those modalities to get clients on the right path to recovery.
Along with Dr. Peterson, the team at Westwind helps those suffering with addiction get to the root issues with individual psychotherapy, group therapy, exercise and mediation among other things. He feels that the community of love and support that the Westwind team provides for clients is monumental in their recovery.
Dr. Peterson also helps his patients who have co-existing mental and physical conditions such as pain with appropriate pain management.
Dr. Peterson believes that when a client is ready to do the work to get sober and stay sober, Westwind would be the perfect fit. He sees the huge, positive changes that happen week to week, month to month in the clients after working with their therapists and staying active. He adds that with his own experience with addiction, patients are able to bond with him. Although he helps patients deal with their physical pain without having them going to opiates, his practice will delve beyond just the medical side.
Dr. Peterson moved to California because of the ease of going on road trips from Los Angeles. He loves the adventure of getting on the road and exploring new places all around California. He is also a self-proclaimed “foodie,”
Mark Jaffe, M.D.
Psychiatrist
Speciality: Addiction Phsychiatry Specialist
Dr. Mark Jaffe graduated from UCLA cum laude in 1987. He then attended the University of Southern California medical school and completed his internship and residency in psychiatry at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. He also completed two years of fellowship training at the USC Institute of Psychiatry and Law, where he is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry. He is board certified in general and forensic psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Jaffe is a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.
Dr. Jaffe currently consults for the Los Angeles County Superior and Municipal Courts and is a member of the expert witness panel. He has provided consultations to various agencies including the United States Postal Service, the Medical Board of California, the United States Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons, Long Beach Rapid Transit, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Los Angeles County Mental Health Court. He has performed many evaluations for various agencies, courts and attorneys on cases that involve the use of drugs and alcohol during the commission of crimes or during employment.
During the 25 years comprising his medical education, training and experience, Dr. Jaffe has had the privilege of evaluating and treating thousands of people with addiction. He has seen the countless ways that addiction impacts people and has also seen the remarkable impact that treatment can have.
Kimberly Mendoza, LVN
HealthCare Director
Speciality: Phlebotomy
Kim is Westwind’s Healthcare Director and a licensed vocational nurse. Kim earned her nursing degree at ELAC and was trained at sub acute hospitals in the Los Angeles area. She has been working in the medical field since 2012 and joined the Westwind team in 2018.
Seeing the transformation in a client’s life, from arriving to the residential house in a state of desperation and completely lost to their addiction to living a peaceful and composed life is what drives Kim to work in the recovery field.
For Kim, working at Westwind feels like home. She is an extremely compassionate and caring person and she is able to express that to the fullest extent to the clients. Clients at Westwind truly feel her joy and positivity while they are in residential treatment. What Kim’s loves most about Westwind is the community and continuity that the team creates for all the clients. The clients stay connected to Westwind long after they’ve finished the program through meetings and alumni events or just stopping by to say hi.
Outside of work, Kim likes to get outdoors to hike and play softball with friends and family. It’s her way to decompress and get centered. She also loves to travel and going on road trips to discover new places.
Operations
Jessica Steinman, LMFT
Director of Programming
Speciality: Sex and Love Addiction and Codependence
Leading the Westwind Recovery team is Jessica Steinman as Clinical Director. Jessica is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has been working in treatment and in a private practice since May 2014. Jessica is originally from Los Angeles, California and has a Bachelor’s Degree from New York University. After careers in entertainment, hospitality, PR and Marketing, Jessica found her passion as a psychotherapist when she began her Master’s Degree education at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. She graduated with a Masters of Arts in May 2014.
Jessica received exceptional post-graduate training at The Maple Counseling Center (2013-2015) in Beverly Hills where she worked psychodynamically with individual adults and couples. She also received training at The Center for the Study of Young People at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (2014-2015) as a Supervisor and Resource Associate for Teen Line, a program that provides crisis intervention and prevention, peer counseling, and referrals specifically for children and adolescents ages 12 to 21.
Jessica continued her work with adolescents at Destinations to Recovery in Woodland Hills as a Primary Therapy and Group facilitator. She left Destinations to join KLEAN Treatment Center, based in West Hollywood in December 2016. She worked as a Primary Therapist and group facilitator at KLEAN and also created their Family Program for the Residential and Outpatient programs.
Jessica specializes in Sex and Love Addiction and Codependence and leads many groups for the Westwind programs in those topics. She completed the Sex Addiction Treatment Program training provided by The Center for Healthy Sex.Jessica created the clinical programming for Westwind Recovery’s Inpatient and two Outpatient programs. She is currently curating the Westwind Family Program as well as creating more specialized and focused tracks for the Outpatient program.
Jessica says that if someone wants to be part of a community or family, Westwind is where they will find it. The team at Westwind will fill in the gaps for clients who have not had fulfilling family and loving experience.
Jessica is proud that Westwind can provide a variety of groups and programming. Clients who have become tired of the “treatment cycle” and have been in and out of a lot of treatment centers are used to the same types of therapy and it’s not working for them to stay sober.
Westwind has a variety of different clinicians who specializes in different areas. By having that available as well as an assortment of groups, the clients stay engaged and interested. She says, “We make it fun and enticing where clients want to work on their recovery. We make it feel like they are a part of something. They can find something they connect with and expand on that.”
Jessica is affectionately known as MAMA BEAR. Clients feel absolutely comfortable coming to her for the love and support they may not have. Jessica is a big believer in self-care. She enjoys her time at the spa and with family and friends.
Rebecca Boswell
Director of Operations
Becky has dedicated her life to helping others who are struggling with addiction. She started working in the recovery field since 2016 as a house manager. Her own struggles with addiction is what lead her to Westwind—first as a client and now as Director of Operations at our Outpatient facility.
The challenges and struggles that Becky had to go through to get help with her addiction is what drives her to help those who walked the same path that she did.
At Westwind, Becky makes sure that clients get their medications, she runs group meetings and makes sure that the day-to-day operations run smoothly. Becky brings love, dedication and light to each client. She says that the programs and systems at Westwind works and if anyone who wants to get their life back, the team at Westwind will help make that happen. She is a testament to that.
Becky is an avid reader, yogi, and has a very strong mediation practice.
Michael Shahin
Housing Director
Mikey, a crossfit and health and fitness guru is Westwind’s Housing Director. He oversees all of the housing managers, operations supervisors and technicians. He makes sure that all the homes are being properly maintained and running smoothly. Mikey began his career in the recovery in 2014 at Breath as a mentor. After a 2 years at Breath, Mikey wanted to expand his role with clients and began his tenure at Westwind as a house manager. Mikey’s work experience at Westwind as a house manager had been so positive that he decided to come on full time and eventually worked his way up to housing director.
Mikey brings light, morale, hope and strength to the clients who come to Westwind. He feels that Westwind welcomes all people from different walks of life and will support them wherever they are at on their journey to sobriety.
Mikey says that since being clean, he is able to do anything he wants to and have a great time doing it!
Brandon Cochran
Assistant Housing Director
Brandon, a Registered Alcohol Drug Technician, joined Westwind Recovery in 2018 as the Operations Supervisor for Westwind’s Sober Homes. Brandon attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is currently working on earning his CDAC Certification at Sober College.
Brandon roles includes managing client scheduling, conflict resolutions, relapse prevention and crisis management.
Brandon feels that Westwind completely redirected his life through the programs and community that are provided.
Brandon feels strongly that if one is ready to lead a sober, fun and productive life Westwind gives the tools and guidance that will set that person up for success. He says, “Westwind’s program is just really cool–with the VR meditation, variety of groups available to resume building to fun weekend outings. People here just really care.”
Outside of work, Brandon enjoys time with his fiancee, hiking and hitting the gym. He will be getting married in Sept 2019.
Business Development
Dave BiFulco
Director of Admissions
Dave has been with the Westwind family since they opened their doors. Dave’s career began with working in the Labor Union field on the east coast in 2007. He worked as an operating engineer handling heavy commercial equipment. After going through addiction and rehab himself, Dave chose to work with people suffering from addiction starting in 2016. He wanted people to experience the same thing he did once he reached sobriety. Dave wanted people who were in the throes of their addiction to realize that there is a better way to live; that there is an answer to their addiction. While he was going through his recovery at a different center, Dave learned about Westwind through friends who were in the Westwind program. He wanted to get involved in Westwind’s program as part of the team, so once he graduated from his own program he joined the Westwind team and gained experience as an admissions coordinator.
Dave also manages business development for the east coast and midwest territories. This includes advocating for easier access for alcohol and drug rehab for unions, underserved communities and large corporations.
Dave is a family man and loves spending time with his wife and son. He also loves to travel and hang out with friends.
Admissions
Kathryne Hall
Admissions Coordinator
Kady is one of the first persons that a client will talk to when they call Westwind Recovery. As the admissions coordinator she is the voice of reason and security
At the recommendation of Westwind’s clinical director, Kady has worked with the company since 2018 as a med tech at the detox and outpatient centers. She received her training under the health care director.
After excelling at her role, Kady was promoted to admissions coordinator. Kady has the ability to relate to clients with ease and comfort. As a child of an addict and in recovery herself, she can empathize with the clients with what they are going through at nearly every stage. Her approach to helping people go through the recovery process is done with a lot of insight, love and utmost care. Because of personal life experience and clinical work, Kady can easily talk with someone who is going through addiction and seeking help.
Kady’s pride and joy is her dog, Nova. She and Nova spend their time hiking, hanging out, and going to the beach.
Administrative
Toni Kells
Utilization Review Manager
Toni Kells is one of Westwind’s Associate Marriage and Family therapists with extensive experience with working with insurance companies. Toni is in recovery herself. She was seeking answers in her recovery journey and that lead her working in the field of addiction. Toni earned her Master’s Degree from Phillips college and began her career in recovery in 2003.Founders
Justin Wells
Founding Member, Chief Executive Officer
Justin Wells grew up on the east coast and attended the University of Vermont. He moved to California in 2004. Justin’s journey to form Westwind began after numerous attempts at getting sober. Once Justin realized that he no longer wanted to live life as an addict, he worked hard to get to his sobriety and decided to stay committed to it.
Justin has the ability to see things from a different perspective than most people. He will always look at any situation with optimism. As the landscape of recovery was changing, he decided to expand safe and sober spaces for clients. He collaborated with more partners to open up Westwind’s inpatient and outpatient centers. Justin feels that if someone who has problems with addiction, wants to stop and has not had success at other treatment centers, they will find that Westwind will work for them. They people who work at Westwind truly cares and are 100 percent committed to helping people.
On his off time, Justin enjoys working out, skiing and SCUBA diving.
Zack Ament
Founding Member, Chief Operating Officer
Zack Ament is a Southern California native and has a great love for the outdoors. He incorporates his passion for the outdoors into much of the programs at Westwind Recovery. Clients will find that outdoor activities such as hiking, running, and walking in the local mountains are part of the weekly if not daily routines at both the inpatient, outpatient and sober living levels.
Zack’s life journey in addiction led him to work with people who suffer from addiction. After numerous attempts at different treatment facilities and programs that started during his high school years, Zack has found success in studying Addiction Studies at Antioch University while simultaneously running sober living homes since 2014.
Zack adds a light, positive and high energy to the community at Westwind. He works closely with the eclectic group of directors, clinicians and operations team to bring out the best from the clients. Clients who have been through many different treatments programs and have not been able to sustain their sobriety will find that with the Westwind team, they will maintain their sobriety long term. The clients will find their passion and strengths at Westwind, and Zack will help them hone in on that passion so that the clients can thrive.
Zack’s passion is in creating an atmosphere of community and family through fun, social, sober events that are all inclusive to people from any type of background. He is a very active participant in the sober community and supports many local sober groups all around Los Angeles.
Zack spends much of his free time being outdoors whether it be hiking, cliff jumping, or just hanging out at parks with friends. He also is a dog lover, and an avid horror and independent movie watcher.
Justin White
Founding Member, C h t hief Strategy Officer
Justin, Westwind’s CSO hails from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. By 18 years old, Justin earned his high school diploma and an associates degree in general studies. He then attended The University of Minnesota at Duluth.
Justin has extensive experience in working in the recovery field that began in 2009. His roles have included being a sober living manager, tech, operations manager, and director of operations. Justin liked working with people who were working on bettering their lives and seeing the positive improvement so much that he decided to open up his own sober living homes. After some time, he collaborated with Justin Wells to open more sober living homes throughout the LA area.
Justin says that Westwind has one of the most vibrant and diverse sober communities that he has ever been a part of. He hopes to continue to create an even larger and connected sober community through more events such as group hikes, cook outs, and service events.
On his off time, Justin likes to cook, attend music shows, camping and hiking. He is also dabbling in dog training.
Bradley Athens
Founding Member, Chief Branding Officer
Bradley began his career is the music industry. After studying architecture, business and graphic design at the University of Oklahoma Bradley managed events and stages for the biggest names is the music industry all over the United States. In 2016, he followed his true calling: Helping people suffering from addiction. After many years of AA, mentoring and helping people with their addictions Bradley teamed up with a partner and opened up a detox center in Hollywood, California. He used his skills and experience in music production to create a successful and thriving detox center. His success continued when he merged with the largest sober living community in Los Angeles, Westwind.
Bradley strongly believes that if one is willing, has an open mind, and wants to change their life around they can do that with the guidance of the Westwind team. Bradley personally knows that addiction is a very isolating disease. He also knows that change is incredibly difficult for an individual especially when one is trying to change bad behaviors to appropriate behaviors. But, when a client walks into the Westwind homes, they will immediately feel they are part of a family. Westwind provides all the tools and has the highest level professionals in the industry to provide the best care possible to clients willing to get that help.
Bradley truly enjoys the world around him to the fullest extent since he’s been sober. He takes back all the things that drugs and alcohol took away from him—the outdoors, traveling, friends and family. He faces any fears he may come across head on and lives each day with renewed energy and purpose.
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