The People Behind the Program

Lisa brings over 30 years of healthcare experience to our team, having retired from a leadership position after a distinguished nursing career.

Beyond her professional credentials, Lisa carries many years of lived experience supporting family members through addiction and mental health challenges, including the loss of someone near and dear to her several years ago. This journey has given her a deep understanding of how grief, loss, stress, and trauma affect those we love, and a firsthand knowledge of the powerlessness, guilt, and frustration families so often feel.

Guided by core values of compassion, empathy, and a desire to help others, Lisa is grateful to work in a person-centred environment alongside an amazing team of people who have overcome adversity and built a place and program designed to help others do the same. She holds a deep appreciation for everyone who walks through the door ready to make a change in their life.

Melissa supports admissions and administration at Twelve Mile. She comes from medical administration in a hospital, work that asked for confidentiality and for steadiness with people in vulnerable moments. She is in recovery herself, and knows firsthand how hard it is to live inside addiction and how hard it is to ask for help; she is glad to show what life has to offer on the other side of it, once you rediscover and accept yourself.

She cares about meeting people where they are, without judgement, and about making a pivotal moment feel less overwhelming. To anyone calling: you don’t have to have it all figured out. That is what she is here to help with.

Max was one of the first clients to enter the Twelve Mile Recovery program at Lake Street, back in August 2025. He brings a professional background in support work, having spent his career alongside vulnerable people of all ages and needs, survivors of human trafficking, mental health patients, and children with special needs among them.

For Max, the most important thing is recognizing that everyone works differently and that support is never one-size-fits-all. Originally from the UK, he moved to Canada in 2024 and soon faced his own struggles with mental health and addiction. After falling into a cycle of alcohol misuse, he reached out to Twelve Mile to turn things around, and nine months on, he’s proud to be the one who now answers the phone for people making the same all-important call he once made himself.

Sarah Ollikainen is an RPN working toward her RN license, with experience in emergency medicine and a strong commitment to holistic, patient-centred practice. Now practicing in recovery and mental health, Sarah brings a thoughtful and compassionate approach to her work, shaped by caring for individuals in high-pressure, complex clinical environments. Sarah values seeing the whole person, recognizing the connection between physical health, mental well-being, and lived experience.

With a background in fast-paced emergency nursing, Sarah has developed strong assessment skills, adaptability, and clinical judgement, which she applies to supporting individuals through recovery and healing. She is passionate about mental health advocacy, trauma-informed care, and creating safe, respectful spaces where patients feel heard and supported.

Guided by evidence-informed practice and a commitment to continuous learning, Sarah works collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams to provide care that is both structured and individualized. She is dedicated to fostering trust, promoting dignity, and supporting each person’s journey toward stability, resilience, and long-term wellness.

Madisyn holds a Bachelor of Public Health from Brock University, where she developed a strong passion for building healthier communities through program development and community-based care. During her studies, she became especially interested in supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges, and substance use, with the goal of creating meaningful, accessible services that improve overall community well-being.

Madisyn began her career in the not-for-profit sector, working with older adults to develop and facilitate programs that promoted mental wellness, reduced social isolation, and fostered meaningful community connections. That experience reinforced the importance of meeting people where they are and providing compassionate, person-centred support.

Inspired to expand her clinical knowledge and direct impact, Madisyn returned to school to become a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN). During her studies, she worked in a brain injury group home, supporting individuals in achieving their personal goals while promoting independence, dignity, and quality of life through individualized care.

Today, Madisyn is proud to bring together her backgrounds in public health and nursing to support individuals on their recovery journey. She is committed to providing compassionate, evidence-informed care and empowering people to build on their strengths as they work toward improving their health and well-being.

Michael is a Residential Addictions Support Worker who brings both professional training and lived experience to the role. In long-term recovery himself, he has maintained continuous sobriety since 2019, and that shapes his compassionate, trauma-informed and person-centred approach to supporting people through substance use.

After beginning his own recovery he returned to education, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from Brock University with coursework in psychology, criminal justice, public policy, sociology and health sciences. That academic grounding, alongside his lived experience, lets him support residents with insight into the social, systemic and personal factors that shape addiction and recovery.

He is currently working toward his Canadian Certified Peer Support Specialist (CCPSS) and Canadian Certified Recovery Coach (CCRC) designations through the CACCF, and is committed to walking alongside residents with empathy, accountability and hope.

With over 20 years of service as a firefighter and dedicated, continuous addiction recovery since 2011, Chris brings deep understanding, lived experience, and strong leadership to everything he does. His experience in the addiction recovery and treatment centre space spans over the last 10 years, working as a public speaker, comprehensive treatment program developer, and consultant, before founding Twelve Mile Recovery.

A respected voice in the recovery community, Chris is a published author, certified recovery coach, peer support professional, certified interventionist, and trauma-informed leader. He holds certifications from CACCF, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the University of Toronto, the Addictions Academy, Innerstart, IAFF, ATP, and Citation Canada, as well as in Critical Incident Stress Management, coaching ethics, and leadership development. Chris has authored five books on recovery and transformation, including Breaking the Chains of Addiction.

Chris’s multifaceted background lends integral insight and experience to every aspect of Twelve Mile Recovery. His work developing a recovery model rooted in support, accountability, holistic healing, and trauma-informed care propels the centre to excellence.

In recovery from addiction since 2012, Joanna brings over a decade of lived experience and a client-focused perspective to Twelve Mile Recovery. Driven by a deep interest in the human experience and compassion for others, she plays a key role in shaping a program rooted in trauma-informed care, individualized treatment, and real-world application.

A full-time business owner since 2014, she leads by example, balancing entrepreneurship, motherhood, personal goals and service, while remaining deeply involved in client support, operations, and program development. Her direct, grounded approach inspires those around her to take ownership of their recovery and lean into the work.

Joanna has completed certification from the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and is currently pursuing her education in Social Work at Thompson Rivers University to further deepen her ability to support those in recovery.

Ryan came to Twelve Mile Recovery the way many people come to this work, through loss. He watched addiction tear through his family and his friendships before finding his own recovery four years ago, and that experience grounds everything he does today. A capital markets professional and serial entrepreneur, he has spent his career building and scaling businesses, and he brings that same discipline to the harder, more meaningful work of building treatment that actually lasts.

When he met Chris and Jo, he was struck by their absolute dedication and unrelenting energy for helping people in the depths of addiction, and knew he wanted to build something alongside them. As Co-Founder, President & CEO, Ryan focuses on growth, strategic partnerships, and the financial and operational foundation that keeps care sustainable and accessible, so the clinical team is free to do what they do best.

Erin is a social work professional, educator, and leader with more than two decades of experience across post-secondary education, addiction treatment, and community-based services. Currently a Sociology and Psychology faculty member at Trent, Ontario Tech, and Fleming College, she is dedicated to inclusive, evidence-based teaching that supports diverse learners through applied and experiential practice.

Her work in the addiction and mental health field spans clinical counselling, program development, and management in residential treatment, leading multidisciplinary teams, building community partnerships, managing operations budgets, and guiding individuals and families through recovery using trauma-informed approaches. Erin is in long-term recovery, celebrating 11 years of sobriety, a journey that grounds her work in empathy, accountability, and resilience. As Director of Operations, she is driven by client success and environments where people feel supported and capable of growth.

Backed by nearly two decades of lived experience and a diverse background spanning street outreach, healthcare, and management, Janelle brings an unmatched depth of empathy and operational insight to behavioural health care. She has spent more than 15 years walking alongside individuals and families through active addiction, crisis intervention, and the transition into sustained recovery.

Today, Janelle bridges the gap between frontline empathy and rigorous compliance, working directly alongside the founders, she directs Twelve Mile’s quality assurance frameworks and manages the entire CARF accreditation lifecycle.

Susan is a Clinical Psychologist with more than 25 years of experience across hospital, academic, and community mental health settings. Her career began as a volunteer on an inpatient psychiatric unit and as a crisis worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association, work that shaped a practice now built around adults navigating some of the most demanding moments of their lives.

She works extensively with first responders, police, fire services, paramedics, dispatchers, correctional officers, nurses, and military members, and with clients facing trauma, burnout, mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and substance use. Her approach is grounded in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, with EMDR, DBT, and ACT integrated when clinically indicated. Susan trained and practiced for nearly two decades at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton in the Mood Disorders Program and Anxiety Treatment & Research Centre, and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University.

Dr. Ilan Nachim is a specialist in family medicine with a Certificate of Added Competence in Addiction Medicine and a member of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine. He graduated from Technion’s American Medical School in 2009 with both an MD and a Master of Science, and is a co-founder of Vector Medical in Toronto.

His clinical work in pain and addiction medicine has been recognized by the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine and by the Wasser Pain Management Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital. He has extensive experience assessing, treating, and monitoring patients with alcohol and substance use disorders. At Twelve Mile Recovery, Dr. Nachim provides medical leadership across the program, ensuring every client receives clinically sound, individualized care from intake through discharge.

A registered social worker since 2016, Kristen brings a deep commitment to mental health, recovery and trauma-informed care. Her approach is eclectic and collaborative, rooted in meeting people where they are and working alongside them toward a more fulfilling life.

She partners with clients to navigate their own challenges, drawing on a range of therapeutic techniques tailored to each person rather than a fixed method. Her aim is to help people recognize their strengths and live a life that feels meaningful to them.

Carole is a Registered Social Worker practicing counselling and psychotherapy in the Greater Niagara Region. She holds a dual BA (Psychology and Criminology), an MA (Social Justice and Equity Studies) and an MSW from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a certified Trauma-Integrated Practitioner (ATTCH Niagara) and Certified Narrative Therapist (Sick Kids Hospital). Drawing from psychodynamic frameworks, trauma-informed thinking, gender-affirming models, and bereavement modalities, Carole prioritizes the unique story and experiences of every person she works with.

Carole’s practice is deeply informed by her work with patients, families and caregivers who have complex medical experiences including cancer, rare disease, and chronic conditions. She’s had the privilege of supporting Quality of Life and Advanced Care teams as they provide end-of-life care, and the magic of possibility, to children with serious illnesses.

As a member of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, Carole is trained to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. She is qualified to conduct secondary surgical assessments for transition-related surgeries for trans people.

Outside of therapy, Carole is usually found in a crunchy old antique shop, reading a Stephen King book, watching true-crime documentaries or travelling to small towns in Ontario with her family.

Leanna is a Registered Psychotherapist with more than 10 years of experience in mental health practice. She approaches therapy as a partnership, creating space for meaningful conversation that helps clients explore inner strengths and clarify what they actually want from the work. Her toolkit spans Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, and mindfulness, applied based on what each client needs rather than what fits the modality.

Jake Orr is a Registered Social Service Worker (RSSW) and Lead Counsellor at Twelve Mile Recovery. He completed the Social Service Worker program at Niagara College after previously studying Police Foundations, bringing a diverse background in addiction treatment, youth services, and community support.

Prior to his current role, Jake gained experience working in youth shelters, youth outreach, and sober living homes, where he supported individuals navigating complex mental health, substance use, housing, and life-transition challenges. These experiences have shaped his compassionate, client-centred approach and reinforced his belief that recovery looks different for every individual.

As Lead Counsellor, Jake works closely with the clinical team to oversee treatment planning, facilitate individual counselling and therapeutic groups, coordinate aftercare, and support staff in delivering high-quality, evidence-informed care. His areas of interest include relapse prevention, emotional regulation, boundary setting, values-based living, and helping clients develop a meaningful sense of purpose in recovery.

Drawing from both his professional experience and personal recovery journey, Jake believes that recovery is about far more than abstinence — it is about building a life worth living. He strives to create an environment where clients feel genuinely supported while also being challenged to grow.

Outside of work, Jake is a proud father to his two-year-old daughter. Fatherhood continues to shape his perspective, reminding him daily of the importance of presence, resilience, and leading by example in both his personal and professional life.

Victoria Mead is a Registered Social Service Worker (RSSW) and Primary Counsellor at Twelve Mile Recovery. Her practice is compassionate, trauma-informed and person-centred, built on the recognition that every client arrives with their own experiences, strengths and goals.

She brings a professional background in brain injury rehabilitation and concurrent disorders, which gives her a holistic understanding of how substance use, mental health, cognitive functioning and life circumstances shape one another.

Victoria also brings lived experience to the work, with three years of personal recovery and sobriety — an experience that has deepened her understanding of the courage, vulnerability and resilience recovery asks for. She believes connection, compassion and meeting people where they are can be powerful catalysts for change, and her goal is a safe, non-judgmental environment where clients feel heard, respected and empowered to take meaningful steps toward the life they want to build.

Jessi brings 17+ years of frontline experience in correctional and high-acuity environments, with deep systems-informed knowledge of trauma, addiction, crisis response, and the structural barriers that derail recovery. As Aftercare Facilitator, she supports clients in the transition from inpatient treatment back into everyday life, focused on skill integration, relapse prevention, emotional regulation, and the practical realities of staying well outside a structured environment. She is also a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Rachelle is a mental health and addictions counsellor whose work centres on supporting families impacted by substance use. Her professional background spans adult inpatient psychiatry, women’s corrections, bail supervision, and community-based addiction services, paired with personal insight that informs how she meets families where they are. She helps loved ones rebuild trust and support recovery while also tending to their own emotional well-being, drawing on radical self-compassion as the foundation of her practice.

Alešh is a Registered Addictions Counsellor with the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF), holding the Associate Addiction Counsellor (AAC) designation and a college diploma in Addictions and Community Service Worker (ACSW). With over 20 years of lived experience in addiction and five years in sustained recovery, he brings both professional training and personal insight to the work. His approach is professional and realistic: he recognizes the complexity of addiction while keeping the focus on practical, achievable steps toward long-term recovery.

He has worked in both private and government-funded residential and withdrawal management treatment centres, facilitating therapeutic process groups, psychoeducational programming and recovery support groups, and providing one-to-one counselling in person and virtually. As an Aftercare Counsellor and Team Lead he supported clients in building relapse prevention strategies and holding stability beyond primary treatment. His clinical work draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Relapse Prevention Therapy and trauma-informed care, and he is fully trained in the 12-Step model and its role within a comprehensive recovery plan.

Grounded in both lived and clinical experience, Alešh is driven by helping people recognize what is possible in recovery, and by guiding them toward accountability, stability, purpose and lasting change.

Britney is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and seventh-generation Ontario farmer, born and raised in Jordan. Her cooking philosophy is built around sustainable practice, whole-item preservation, seed saving, foraging, and propagation, drawing on a lifetime of agricultural knowledge alongside formal culinary training. At Twelve Mile Recovery, she teaches residents practical skills in growing, butchery, preservation, and meal planning, and brings additional creative practice into the program through willow basket weaving, fibre arts, and painting.

Alaina first found recovery 18 years ago, and the full arc of that journey, relapse included, shapes the humility and compassion she brings to her work today. Before Twelve Mile, she spent 15 years in hospitality, including six as a Chief Stewardess on private yachts, travelling to more than 50 countries and developing a deep appreciation for human connection across cultures. An eight-year triathlete and national age-group champion, she carries the discipline and perseverance of sport into how she supports clients and holds the facility steady.

Gracie has spent several years supporting youth and adults in residential, community, mental health, developmental services, crisis and addiction settings, in frontline and leadership roles. That work has covered individualized support, crisis response and de-escalation, behavioural support, advocacy and program development.

She takes the time to understand the person beyond what brought them into treatment, and adapts to meet people where they are. Her professional experience, and her own, shaped a belief that support is not one-size-fits-all: it is built on trust, consistency, collaboration and genuine connection.

At Twelve Mile she works to make the residence a place where clients feel safe to be themselves, supported without judgement, and able to take an active part in their recovery: recognizing the strengths they already have, building practical skills and confidence, and forming healthier patterns that carry beyond treatment. The most meaningful part of the work, for her, is watching clients recognize their own capacity for growth.

Jess is a Certified Natural Chef and Nutritionist with more than 15 years of experience as a personal and private chef across Ontario, New York, and Connecticut. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Exercise Science, and brings both formal nutrition training and a personal discipline as a competitive bodybuilder to her work at Twelve Mile. Her sessions teach clients how to shop, prep, and plan healthy meals, practical, sustainable skills they take with them long after treatment.

Johnny came through Twelve Mile as a client and now works in the kitchen and on the support team, part of the program he says saved his life. In his family, food is how love is shown. His job here is to share that with the recovery family and with anyone who walks through the door.

Bryan is Twelve Mile Recovery’s strength and fitness coach, focused on the often-overlooked role physical fitness plays in addiction recovery. He teaches the fundamentals, proper form, sustainable routines, progressive training, with an emphasis on building physical resilience and discipline that translate back into daily life. His coaching meets clients where they are, whether they’ve never lifted a weight or are returning to training after years away.

Tania is a trauma-informed meditation and mindfulness guide, and the author of The Affirmation Station and A Journey Through Your Grateful Garden. Her sessions integrate guided meditation, visualization, affirmation, and therapeutic sound using tuning forks to support nervous system regulation and restoration, creating grounded spaces where clients can reconnect to body, breath, and self.

Harley spent more than 13 years as a first responder before training as a trauma-informed yoga teacher and certified sound therapist. Her practice is shaped by that frontline experience and by her own journey with complex PTSD, giving her a working understanding of how the nervous system actually responds to stress, trauma, and the slow work of recovery. She brings this directly into the first responder track at Twelve Mile.

Courtney is a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher trained in Bali, Indonesia, and the founder of Soul Tribe Studio in the Niagara region. She is certified in trauma-informed yoga and meditation, and her sessions integrate breathwork, mindful movement, and sound healing to support nervous system regulation and emotional resilience. Yoga played a transformative role in her own recovery, and shapes the strengths-based approach she brings to every session.

Kelly is a certified recovery coach and interventionist focused on what comes after the first 30 days of sobriety. A former crack addict and alcoholic, he’s been sober since 2011 and recently qualified for the Boston Marathon, proof of the philosophy he teaches clients: build a life so fulfilling you no longer need to escape from it. He’s the founder of The Forge, an online community supporting long-term recovery through goal setting, accountability, and weekly coaching.

Nick, known as Nick TNT, leads weekly online breathwork sessions for Twelve Mile clients, joining live from Maui. He is a certified life coach and breathwork specialist, co-founder of Breath of Life Recovery and Honu House Hawaii, and the author of Breath of Life: Finding Long-Term Recovery with Breathwork and Stepwork. His sessions help clients process emotion, regulate the nervous system, and access the parts of recovery work that talk alone often can’t reach.

Dr. Michael Varenbut is a family physician with a subspecialty focus in addiction and sleep medicine and more than three decades in practice. He earned his BSc in Biology (Honours) and his MD (Honours) at the University of Toronto, completed his Family Medicine residency at Sunnybrook, and went on to speciality training in Sleep Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Stanford University School of Sleep Medicine, followed by certification in Addiction Medicine through the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

He has authored more than 48 publications, served as the founding editor of the Canadian Journal of Addiction, and sat on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine. A longtime teacher in the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, he has built clinics and programs dedicated to reaching people struggling with mental health and addiction. At Twelve Mile, Dr. Varenbut consults on addiction medicine, helping ensure clinically sound, evidence-based care across the program.

Ian is a Registered Social Worker who has spent the past 15 years working closely with individuals navigating mental health challenges, addiction, and the impacts of trauma. He has been registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers since 2013, and runs his own practice, Masse Counselling & Psychotherapy, based in St. Catharines. His approach centres on being fully present with each person, helping them feel seen within the context of their own story. He provides clinical supervision to other therapists in the region and brings deep experience working with complex trauma and concurrent disorders.