Our Friendly Staff at New Beginnings—Meet Them Here!
LEADERSHIP TEAM
CELLAND GILCHRIST (GIL)
CEO
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Personal Contributions:
- Gil’s feature from “Experts on what Recovery Looks and Feels Like,” from Christopher Kennedy Lawford’s 2013 bestseller, “Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction” (p. 292).
“From Gil Gilchrist, Chief Executive Officer, New Beginnings at Waverly: Recovery is a lot like enlightenment—most of the people who have excellent recovery, you wouldn’t even know until you spent time with them. They are human beings first and recovering people second. The recovery ideology does not define them, but it’s an integral part of their life. Recovery is not a feeling. It is a state of awareness and realization. You realize that you are free. No matter how good or bad things get, the fundamental realization is that you are free.” - 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from Minnesota Association of Resources for Recovery and Chemical Health (MARRCH) for contributions to the field of addiction treatment in Minnesota.
- 2007 “Vision for You” Award
- Gil’s interview from The Afflicted and Affected online video show
David Smith
Executive Director PhD, LICSW
Personal Contributions:
- Smith, D. T. (October, 2012). Center’s relations with insurer’s feature more data-driven work, Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly, 24 (38), 1, 5, 6
- Smith, D. T. (September, 2012). Patient Identified Healing Factors in Residential Treatment Environments: What patients “believe” makes them well, National Conference on Addiction Disorders (NCAD), Orlando, FL
- Smith, D. T. (2012). An Outcomes Collaboration: A Minnesota treatment center and an insurer join forces to monitor post-treatment support, July/August, Addiction Professional, 10(4), 36-9
- Presentation: Smith, D. T. (September, 2011). Electronic Medical Records: Influence on and Implications for Clinical Practice, National Conference on Addiction Disorders (NCAD), San Diego
- Smith, D. T. (2010). Planning for an Electronic Record: A Minnesota facility offers an EMR checklist, November/December, Addiction Professional, 8(6), 8-11
- Smith, D. T. (2007). New Models in Minnesota: A competency based model of addiction counseling is bringing new look professionals to the birthplace of the nation’s 12 step treatment infrastructure, Addiction Professional , 5(4), 34-39
MARLIS WARNER
DIRECTOR OF NURSING
Registered Nurse
MYRA STEERE
HUMAN RESOURCES COORDINATOR
Registered Nurse
KELLEY REED
UTILIZATION REVIEW MANAGER ADMISSIONS
Master of Arts
CLINICAL TEAM
JESSICA MEYER
CLINICAL SITE SUPERVISOR
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
WENDY WAGENER
PROFESSIONAL TRACK COUNSELOR INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR
Bachelor of Arts
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
CATHERINE RUSSELL
LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONER
Master of Social Work
TOM RITCHIE
PRIMARY COUNSELOR
Bachelor of Arts
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
CHRIS WENDROTH
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
STEPHANIE KANTOLA
PRIMARY COUNSELOR
Bachelor of Psychology
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
CARLA FORSTROM
PRIMARY COUNSELOR
Bachelor of Social Work
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
KAREN TRETTIN
FAMILY COUNSELOR
Bachelor of Science
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
THOMAS FORSTROM
PRIMARY COUNSELOR
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
MATT KARAYAN
FAMILY COUNSELOR
Master of Science
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Personal Contributions:
- Author of two books and published various articles on Chemical Dependency and Spirituality.
- Matt is the recipient of the 2009 Vision for You Award.
- Matt is a National Speaker on substance abuse and how it affects the family.
ROSS PATTON
FAMILY COUNSELOR
Master of Science
Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor
SUPPORT TEAM
GRACE NELSON
RECEPTIONIST
CYNTHIA GRITTMAN
INTAKE
