Editorial Team
While The Recovery Village Ridgefield’s on-site care team provides exceptional service at the treatment center, the editorial team ensures relevant and helpful content is available online. The Recovery Village Ridgefield is committed to being a guiding source for healing and treatment in Washington and beyond. With leading experts in the field present on-site and medical writers and reviewers providing online content, we offer valuable resources both in-person and on our website.
Our Editorial Policy
Because The Recovery Village Ridgefield’s website is a leading source for information about addiction and co-occurring disorders online, the editorial team reviews each piece of content that is featured on our website. These writers, editors and medical reviewers are dedicated to providing accurate and quality information about addiction and treatment, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
MD
Andrew Proulx holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, an MD from Queen's University, and has completed post-graduate studies in medicine. He practiced as a primary care physician from 2001 to 2016 in general practice and in the ER. Since then he has been involved in research and writing on...
PHD
Annie earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Iowa, where she studied migraine pathophysiology. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado, Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus. Her current project involves characterizing the significance of cortical spreading...
LPC
Eric Patterson is a licensed professional counselor in the Pittsburgh area who is dedicated to helping children, adults, and families meet their treatment goals. As contributor for the American Psychiatric Association, he helped shape the content in the DSM-5. For the last five years as a...
RN
Benjamin Caleb Williams is a board-certified Emergency Nurse with several years of clinical experience, including supervisory roles within the ICU and ER settings. He obtained his Associates in Applied Science in Nursing from Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York, then went on to obtain...
RPh
Christina Caplinger is a licensed pharmacist in both Colorado and Idaho and is also a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist. She completed a fellowship program in infectious disease pharmacy, in which her research interests included antimicrobial stewardship and appropriate antimicrobial...
PHD
Dr. Candace Crowley received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and her Ph.D. in Immunology from UC Davis, where her thesis focused on immune modulation in childhood asthma. Candace has 12+ years in the life sciences sector, including experience writing and editing for both...
PharmDBCPSCACP
Dr. Sheehy completed his BS in Molecular Biology at the University of Idaho and went on to complete his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) and Certified Anticoagulation Care Provider (CACP). Since...
PHDMS
Dr. Deep Shukla graduated with a PhD in Neuroscience from Georgia State University in December 2018. He has a diverse background in biology, having transitioned from a background in cellular and molecular biology to neuroscience and integrative biology. His current focus on neuroscience affords...
PharmD
Dr. Jessica Pyhtila is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist based in Baltimore, Maryland with practice sites in inpatient palliative care and outpatient primary care at the Department of Veteran Affairs. She is a double board-certified Geriatric Pharmacist (BCGP) and a Pharmacotherapy Specialist...
PharmD
Kathleen is a licensed pharmacist in New Jersey. She earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Rutgers University. She currently works in the retail setting as a pharmacist and also has experience as an independent consultant pharmacist for skilled nursing facilities. Kathleen’s professional...
LCSW
Paula Holmes is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist and freelance writer who lives and works in midcoast Maine. She received her master's degree in Social Work in 2008 from the University of Maine. With over a decade of experience in the field of mental health, she is always amazed...
PHD
Dr. Sarah Dash is a postdoctoral research fellow based in Toronto. Sarah completed her PhD in Nutritional Psychiatry at the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University in 2017. Her research interests include public health, mental health, lifestyle medicine and noncommunicable disease prevention.
PHD
Dr. Sippel is a diversely trained scientist with expertise in cancer biology and immunology. She received her PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus and has completed two postdocs, one at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and one at Fred...
Ashley Sutphin Watkins received her degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Psychology and Journalism. She is a professional writer and blogger and a North Carolina native. For the past eight years, she has worked with clients throughout the country on writing projects....
LSWPHD
Dr. Jenni Jacobsen is a licensed social worker through the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board. She has over seven years working in the social work field, working with clients with addiction-related and mental health diagnoses. She is also a school social worker...
Cami Renzoni is a creative writer and editor for The Recovery Village. As an advocate for behavioral health, Cami is certified in mental health first aid and encourages people who face substance use disorders to ask for the help they deserve.
When Cami is not writing, she's learning. Cami reads...
Megan Hull is a content specialist who edits, writes and ideates content to help people find recovery. As a Florida born-and-raised writer with a family history of addiction, Megan is driven by her desire to connect people to treatment that works. As a writer and editor for The Recovery Village,...
Daron Christopher is an experienced speechwriter, copywriter and communications consultant based in Washington, DC. He brings a wealth of experience in ghost writing and editing for a wide range of clients, including entrepreneurs and senior government officials. He specializes in helping authors...
LCAS
Denise-Marie Griswold is a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist. She earned her Master's Degree in Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling from East Carolina University in 2014. She has worked primarily in a residential, inpatient setting treating patients with substance use and co-occurring...
MDMBAMS-Epi
Dr Helen Okoye is a highly accomplished and sought after American Public Health Physician with a medical degree (MD), an MBA in Healthcare Management, and a master's in Epidemiology/Public Health. She is also a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Research Fellow. She has a plethora...
Joy Youell is a writer and content developer with a background in educational research. Using sound pedagogical approaches and expert-backed methods, Joy has designed and delivered adult learning content, professional development, and company training materials for organizations.
Joy has done...
Jonathan Strum graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha with a Bachelor's in Communication in 2017 and has been writing professionally ever since. He has written, edited and published content for health care professionals, educators, real estate agents, lawyers and high-level university...
PHD
Dr. Karen Vieira has a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She previously led the Kraft Foods cell-based research team for discovering novel health and wellness ingredients, and has led a team of...
LMFT
Nicole Arzt is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working in Southern California. Her clinical emphasis lies in working with females with substance use, eating disorders, and complex trauma. She has been privileged to provide therapeutic services for a wide variety of individuals, couples...
Rob Alston has traveled around Australia, Japan, Europe, and America as a writer and editor for industries including personal wellness and recovery.
Graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Minor in German from Miami University (Oxford, OH), Rob is a proud Midwestern. After working...
MSW
Stephanie Hairston received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and English from Pomona College and her Master of Social Work degree from New York University. She spent several years in the field of clinical social work before transitioning into professional writing and editing. As a social...
PharmDMBA
Wendy J. Weber is a pharmacist with almost 20 years of experience in acute care clinical practice, hospital pharmacy leadership, medication safety, and clinical research. Her professional background also includes community pharmacy, government contracting, and association leadership.
Dr. Weber...
As a contributor for Advanced Recovery Systems, Renee Deveney is passionate about helping people struggling with substance use disorder. With a family history of addiction, Renee is committed to opening up a proactive dialogue about substance use and mental health.
Renee is a graduate of Rollins...
With over a decade of content experience, Tom produces and edits research articles, news and blog posts produced for Advanced Recovery Systems. Working with such a passionate team of dedicated writers inspires Tom to ensure that the quality of the content remains top-notch so that as many people...
PHD
Brooke Nichole Dulka is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She received her PhD in Biological Psychology at the University of Tennessee in August 2018. Brooke is a behavioral neuroscientist, and her work is focused on the...
BCGPPharmD
Bryan is a registered pharmacist and currently serves as the founder and chief consultant pharmacist at Kepney Pharmacy Services, a pharmacy consulting firm providing clinical services to patients all over Texas. He is also an adjunct clinical instructor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences...
BSPHD Candidate
Maureen is an academic researcher with a passion for science communication. She has a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University, where she majored in Molecular Genetics and minored in English. She has worked in multiple labs, studying the genetics of cancer and is currently a PhD student...
BAPHD
Bonnie is a medical communications specialist at Boston Strategic Partners, a global health industry consulting firm. Her recent work in mental health includes developing conference materials for clinical studies in mood disorders and copy-editing clinical manuscripts.
Bonnie obtained her BA in...
Gretchen Pruett is a writer and editor based out of Detroit, specializing in academic and evidence-based content. Born and raised in the economically distressed city of Flint, Michigan and from a family history of addiction and mental illness, Gretchen is aware of the daily challenges that people...
ND
Dr. Hillary Webster is a board-certified Naturopathic Doctor and a self-proclaimed Hormone Advocate. She leads the digital team at EHN Canada, helping Canadians recover from mental health and substance use disorders by creating authoritative, engaging and empathetic digital campaigns.
As a...
PHD
Dr. Kanika Sharma-Mittra received a 5-year fellowship for pursuing her doctoral studies from the UGC, Government of India, and received a PhD in Life Sciences. She has also received a Certificate in Medical Writing and Editing from the University of California, San Diego.
Her doctoral...
Nicole leads a team of passionate, experienced writers, editors and other contributors to create and share accurate, trustworthy information about drug and alcohol addiction, treatment and recovery for The Recovery Village and all Advanced Recovery Systems sites. She is a graduate of the...
Community Outreach Director
CRC
Shannon Beemer is a community outreach Director at The Recovery Village. In her role, Shannon provides support and assistance to patients taking their very first steps into recovery. She works to build relationships in the local community that provide a link between those seeking recovery and...
As the content manager at Advanced Recovery Systems, Melissa Carmona puts years of writing and editing experience to work helping people understand substance abuse, addiction and mental health disorders. Melissa is a Florida State University graduate with bachelor’s & master’s...
LCSW
Danielle is licensed clinical social worker, currently living and practicing in central Connecticut. Danielle graduated from Columbia University in 2012 with a Masters of Social Work, and always had the goal of opening her own private practice. She specializes in women's issues, maternal health...
Erica Weiman graduated from Pace University in 2014 with a master's in Publishing and has been writing and editing ever since. She has written and edited content across many niches, including psychology and mental health, health and wellness, food, technology, and workplace culture. She is...
Abby Doty graduated from Hamline University in 2021 with a Bachelor's in English and Psychology. She has written and edited creative and literary work as well as academic pieces focused primarily on psychology and mental health. She is passionate about removing the stigma around mental health and...
Rachel Loukas received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Montana in 2010 and later went on to earn her Associates in Human Services with a focus in addiction treatment and prevention. She has a diverse professional background that includes medication therapy management, clinical...
BCPSPharmD
Leila Khurshid is a clinical pharmacist based in Denver, CO. After graduating from Regis University with her Doctor of Pharmacy, she completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT where she continued to practice for a number of years. During this time, she became...
PharmD
Elizabeth Cambria, PharmD is a licensed, registered pharmacist and certified pharmacist immunizer. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She has more than 21 years of experience in community pharmacy and patient consultations. Elizabeth is passionate about...
Theresa Valenzky graduated from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Arts in News/Mass Media Communication and a certificate in psychology. She is passionate about providing genuine information to encourage and guide healing in all aspects of life. Through her experience as a community news...
LPC
Taylor Cameron is a Licensed Professional Counselor and mental health copywriter from North Texas. She has worked in crisis services for the past decade in various settings, including a domestic violence and sexual assault emergency shelter, university and local school district. As a copywriter,...
PharmD
Michelle Giordano has been a licensed pharmacist in New York State for nearly two decades. She received her doctorate in pharmacology from St. John’s University, where she earned an academic merit scholarship throughout the course of her studies. She has worked in the pharmacy retail...
LCSW
Sara Graff is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Florida. She earned both her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She also has earned a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development from Webster...