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A Joint Commission Accredited Facility

The Ridge Team

Expert Addiction Treatment Staff at The Ridge

The Ridge Ohio’s staff is exceptionally qualified and eager to help you or your loved one break free of addiction’s grip and get started living in recovery. The Ridge treatment programs are facilitated by compassionate staff including a board-certified addictionologist doctor, a board-certified addictionologist psychiatrist, and licensed counselors.

Marc Whitsett, M.D., FASAM, ABAM, DABIM

Medical Director
Stacy Klousiadis

Chief Clinical and Operations Officer
Eric McCallister

Clinical Director
William Stonebraker, LCDCIII

Counselor
Kellie Luley

Outpatient Counselor
Carrie Hensley, RN

Program Nurse
Cathy Cooke

Interventionist
Mary Jo Stelzer

Recovery Specialist
Kelley Peskin

Director of Admissions
Brian Wittmer

Admissions Specialist
William Wright

Chef
Greg Taleff

RSS Supervisor/Site Manager
Rebekah Burchfield

Counselor
Gavin Noah

Counselor

Marc Whitsett, M.D., FASAM, ABAM, DABIM

Medical Director

Dr. Whitsett is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine and continues the legacy, began by the late Dr. Jeffrey Stuckert. Both physicians agreed, that the cunning disease of addiction should be battled using a variety of modalities. Cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavioral, and trauma therapy are key components to include with community support groups.

Dr. Whitsett became the Medical Director of The Ridge in April 2015. He provides oversight for The Ridge Outpatient services, manages Ridge admissions, and provides addiction evaluation and consultation services.

He is a certified Medical Review Officer and is a member of the American Medical Association, is a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and is a member of the American College of Physicians.

He had previously served as the Medical Director for Detoxification and Inpatient Services at Deaconess Hospital in Cincinnati and for the Clermont Recovery Center for Opiate Addiction Services. Dr. Whitsett was also a Phase III Clinical Investigator for DuPont with FDA clinical trials for the eventual FDA approval of ReVia as a treatment for alcoholism.

Stacy Klousiadis

Chief Clinical and Operations Officer

Stacy Klousiadis serves as Chief Clinical and Operations Officer for The Ridge. In her role, Stacy provides leadership across The Ridge clinical programming and operations and works to ensure Ridge patients and families receive exceptional care. Stacy joined The Ridge more than 10 years ago as a counselor and has served thousands of individuals during her tenure. In her current role, Stacy leads a collaborative team of professionals whose mission of Recovery for Life is centered around The Ridge’s core values: Championing Excellence, Celebrating Strengths, Cherishing Family, Cultivating Clinical Expertise, Connecting Communities, and Changing Lives. Stacy has an LICDC and a Master’s in Education with a focus on professional counseling from Lindsey Wilson College. Stacy is passionate about developing programming at The Ridge that demonstrates clinical excellence, and is dedicated to helping others reach long term recovery.

Eric McCallister

Clinical Director

Eric McCallister is the Clinical Director for The Ridge. Eric holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with supervisory status. He is also a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor III. Eric’s undergraduate education is from the University of Dayton, while also serving in the US Army Reserves. Finishing his graduate education in 1998 at the University of Cincinnati, Eric began pursuing his career helping others achieve success, treating their mental health and battling substance use disorders.

Eric has a strong background in clinical and operational management, program development, and implementation. His dynamic experiences span 23 years including private practice to leading and supervising clinical teams in various settings and agencies.

Eric is a proud father of two teenage children and is engaged to be married. In his free time he can be found rooting on the Ohio State Buckeyes, traveling, fishing, camping and enjoying the many gifts of a faith-inspired life. Eric’s greatest joy is watching the light in other’s eyes return, finding peace, purpose and a general sense of belonging.

William Stonebraker, LCDCIII

Counselor

William has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Behavioral Science and has worked in the chemical dependency field since 2002. William loves working with clients as they continually challenge him to be a better listener and a more effective agent of change. The Ridge, supervisors, and co-workers allow him to broker hope for people who deeply need it.

Kellie Luley

Outpatient Counselor

Kellie holds a LICDC-CS, which is an independent license in chemical dependency counseling with a Clinical Supervisor endorsement through the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board. Kellie received her master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, focusing on Addictions.

Kellie has been working as a counselor at the Ridge since 2013. She loves working with clients, their families, and staff at The Ridge. Kellie says, “one of the greatest gifts I get is the opportunity to witness clients finding hope and discovering who they are.”

Carrie Hensley, RN

Program Nurse

Carrie is the Nurse Manager at the Ridge. She graduated from Southern State with an Associates degree in Nursing . Carrie has 10 years working in the mental health field and has been with The Ridge since 2016. Carrie is very compassionate about addiction and mental health and helping others to improve. Carrie says, “It is so rewarding meeting someone who appears to have lost everything including themself, who has found the strength and determination to overcome their addictions by taking the first step in asking for help and committing to regaining control of their lives. It is so fulfilling helping these wonderful people. The Ridge has a great team that truly collaborates to help clients reach their full potential. That is why I love The Ridge program.”

Cathy Cooke

Interventionist

Cathy Cooke is a CDCA and Certified Interventionist Professional (CIP). She has worked with Sober Escorts, Inc. (SEI) for close to a decade. SEI was founded in 2004 and provides a full spectrum of specialized services for individuals and families who suffer from substance abuse that are designed to get those who need help into treatment, and secure their sobriety upon discharge. These services include sober transport, sober coaching and companions, case management and interventions.

Cathy is a graduate of The Ohio State University. She spent a large part of her career in sales and sales management with high tech companies. In 2011, after getting sober herself, she changed her career path to helping other families and individuals suffering from alcoholism and addiction through the process of interventions, something she had hoped her family would organize years before she sought treatment. In addition to her work as an interventionist, she is also a sober and codependency coach. Growing up in a family with parents who suffered from alcoholism, she understands family generational trauma and the impact of addiction on the family, especially children. Her own recovery has included in depth work in the 12 step programs of Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Co-Dependents Anonymous, and Adult Children of Alcoholics.

Cathy is a longtime advocate of The Ridge of Ohio due to the intensive family programming, one year aftercare program, and robust programming. She describes it as a ‘magical place of healing’ and has referred many clients since they opened in 2012 who have maintained continuous and long term sobriety.

Mary Jo Stelzer

Recovery Specialist

Mary Jo started her Recovery journey on October 26, 1997 in Southern California, where she was born and raised. Together with her husband and biggest supporter, and their three young children they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 2000. The move to Cincinnati was made more amazing by her immediate immersion in the Recovery community. She was on the Board of First Step Home and later worked at a local, family-owned business. While always actively volunteering within the Recovery Community, she began to increase her education and knowledge in order to have the opportunity to work in Recovery. The dream became a reality as she became a certified sober coach, sober escort and CDCA. Mary Jo joined The Ridge in 2018 as an Intake Specialist, welcoming clients into the program and ensuring they are set up for success. Now as a Recovery Specialist, Mary Jo works with clients from the beginning of their journey with The Ridge through to their Alumni participation, visiting clients prior to admission, during their stay and working with them on their discharge plans. She also liaises with family members in helping them find their own recovery.

Kelley Peskin

Director of Admissions

Kelley Peskin joined The Ridge’s sister program, Northland in 2015 as an Intake Specialist where she provided 24/7 support to new patients. Kelley’s dedication to helping clients and families lead to a new opportunity and promotion with the The Ridge program in March of 2019. Now as Admissions Director, Kelley is often the very first point of contact made by clients or loved ones to The Ridge. Having lost family members to the disease of addiction, and with a child in recovery, Kelley understands how difficult and overwhelming it can be to navigate treatment options. She strives to ensure clients and families feel heard, understood, and fully educated on their options.

Kelley is married with two children and a grandchild. She enjoys evening walks with her dog Izzy.

Brian Wittmer

Admissions Specialist

Brian serves as an Admissions Specialist for The Ridge. He has been working in the recovery field for over 3 years and has a passion for helping others. He started out as a behavioral health technician but found his true calling working with families seeking help. Brian understands that reaching out for help is often a difficult step, and his goal is to make the process as painless as possible for the families and their loved ones. Through his experience in the recovery field, he is able to help navigate getting our clients the appropriate care they are seeking. Brian is also a member of the recovery community and cites that “Helping others is one of the foundations of recovery and I’m so very blessed that I have the privilege of helping others make their first steps towards living a better, healthier life.” Brian has a 7 year old daughter and enjoys hiking, fishing, and skateboarding in his free time.

William Wright

Chef

Chef William was born and raised in Cincinnati. He Started cooking at the age of 14 at his home church. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute and is classically trained in French Cuisine He started his career at Moerlein Lager House as a line cook. From there he spent six years at The Capital Grille where he learned important skills around being a leader and managing a kitchen. Furthering his career, he became Sous Chef at Matt the Miller, and was quickly promoted to Executive Chef within a year.

Chef William joined The Ridge in April of 2020. “I enjoy being able to be a part of a great team here. Everyone I work with has one goal: making sure our clients are taken care of and receiving the proper treatment to be successful when they leave here.” Chef Will brings his charismatic personality along with top quality five start dishes. “I believe that nutrition is the key to turning one’s life around. Food is life.”

Greg Taleff

RSS Supervisor/Site Manager

Greg started with The Ridge in 2016. At 14 months clean, he was compelled to change careers from retail management to helping people struggling with drug and alcohol use. As a credentialed CDCA, his first role in providing addiction treatment was during the 3rd shift. In January 2018, Greg was promoted to a shift lead and in November to RSS Supervisor.

Greg thoroughly enjoys his job and says it’s incredible to watch someone come in broken and feeling hopeless and then see them come back to life over their stay at The Ridge. Greg feels it’s a blessing to help clients restore relationships with their loved ones and learn to love themselves again. With over six years of continued sobriety, Greg’s favorite recovery quote is, “I used drugs to feel better. I quit drugs to be better.”

Rebekah Burchfield

Counselor

Rebekah Burchfield serves as an Addiction Counselor at The Ridge. She is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor III in the state of Ohio and has worked in the chemical dependency field since 2019. Rebekah obtained a bachelor’s degree in Substance Abuse Counseling and minored in Psychology in 2020. Rebekah is currently in the Lindsey Wilson College Graduate program obtaining a master’s degree in Counseling and Human Development. In addition, she attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and obtained a certification of Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. Her goal is to help clients achieve their goals through dedication and belief that all clients will be able to make positive changes.

Gavin Noah

Counselor

Gavin earned a bachelor’s degree in counseling in 2017. Since then, he has worked with clients during residential treatment and in their recovery journey. Gavin is working towards obtaining a master’s in counseling. He hopes the additional training will allow for more insight, confidence, and knowledge with helping individuals. Gavin believes that helping people recover is humbling and provides a love that no other “job” can provide.

Expert Addiction Treatment Staff at The Ridge

We know how addiction feels, and we can show you how to get your life back.