About Stairway Resource Center in Woodland Hills, CA

Matthew been working in substance abuse/recovery treatment and mental health therapy for the past 4 years. He has extensive experience with dual diagnosis and co-occuring disorders. He completed his Masters at Antioch University, Los Angeles with specializations in Addiction & Recovery and Trauma practices. He has worked in PHP, IOP, and private settings and facilitated numerous Process and Support Groups. He believes a integrative and holistic, approach to be highly effective and comforting for those suffering with addiction as well other mental health diagnoses. With individual clients, utilizing a strength-based, trauma-informed method, he practices multiple theories including Humanistic, Attachment, Family Systems (IFS), Object Relations, and Intersubjectivity to help clients work on and process issues, including those that may have been overlooked, with a solution-focused strategy. He has been sober for 5 years. An avid sports and music fan, he loves attending events including concerts and games, especially watching his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers, where he used to be employed.

Michael has been an avid and successful entrepreneur since 2004, with experience in various industries including; entertainment, production, retail consumer goods, and transitional residential programs and multi-unit housing facilities.

He is highly driven by his commitment and passion to help others who are in need of recovery and has been helping people to achieve their goals for several years with tremendous success. His reputation is well known within the treatment community and amongst people who actively are working on their recovery and want to live a sober life.

Michael oversees the daily operations of Stairway Recovery Homes, the partner of Stairway Resource Center, which is located in Southern California. Stairway Recovery has nine residential homes and houses over 100 people in the sober community. Not only do the people in the Stairway Recovery community stay sober, but they are also able to create new meaningful relationships and lives that they never thought possible.

Michael’s vision has become a reality, manifested by the rebuilt lives and realized dreams of the people he serves.

As an experienced business leader and Co-Founder, Travis leveraged his leadership skills and personal family experience with addiction to inspire and create an innovative and patient-first culture at Stairway Resource Center.

Travis oversees the facilities’ Performance Improvement process, which ensures that SRC holds itself to the highest standards so that our clients receive the best quality of care. Additionally, he ensures compliance with all federal and state regulations, licensure, and Joint Commission Accreditation.

Travis is passionate about his work because it provides the opportunity to assist those with similar experiences to his. The virulent problem of addiction is very personal for Travis. He saw first-hand the tragic consequences of addiction in his own family as a young boy, and from that experience made a commitment to someday help others battle this devastating disease.

Travis and his wife, Elyssa, are longtime residents of Southern California. They split their time between their homes in Woodland Hills and Mammoth Lakes.

Jessi Brown, Senior Director of Admission and Client Experience, is more than just a member of the Stairways Resource Center team, she is an example of what this community can achieve and an example to all of our clients, especially the women.

Jessi has been working in the field of recovery since 2007 and joined this team as manager of the first female sober living at Stairway Recovery Homes and went on to design and implement the woman’s program at SRC. She continues to take on additional responsibilities within operations, to ensure our clients are receiving the highest level of support possible, but more importantly, Jessi continues to inspire and change the lives of young women, who can relate to her experiences, each and everyday.

Max has been working in substance abuse treatment for the past 10 years. He completed his Masters at Pacifica Graduate Institue and wrote his thesis on group therapy for addicted populations. He has run over 3000 groups and currently runs the family group at Stairways on Tuesday nights. With individual clients, he practices Habib Davanloo’s Intensve Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and believes it to be the most powerful approach in individual counseling for those suffering with addiction, helping clients quickly resolve core issues that had often previously been ignored. He has been sober for almost 2 decades. He opens the batting for Pickwick Cricket Club.

Heidi has been working in the field of addiction for the past 5 years, has a RADT and moonlights as a recovery blogger. If asked, there is nothing in the recovery field that Heidi won’t do to learn more or to be of service to the newcomers.

As Director of Alumni and Case Management, Heidi feels she has the unique opportunity to help with the day to day needs of the clients and maintaining continuity in the community-even after people have finished their initial SUD programming.

Michael D. Stone, MD has been in practice for over 30 years. He graduated from Medical School in 1986 and attended LA County/USC Medical Center Residency in the field of Emergency Medicine. He is a practicing E.R. doctor at 2 hospitals in the Southern California area. Dr. Stone also has a Specialty in Chemical Dependency and Addiction Medicine for 22 years. He is the Medical Director of numerous Residential and Outpatient Facilities in the Los Angeles area. Dr. Stone’s interests outside of medicine include a commercial pilot, all outdoor activities including skiing, fishing and boating.

Christy Zeegen is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner based in Los Angeles, California. With a rich background serving both pediatric and adult patients, Christy’s expertise spans developmental and intellectual differences as well as broader mental health challenges. She firmly believes in the intertwined relationship between holistic health and achieving balance in one’s life.

Christy is steadfast in her belief that holistic well-being encompasses mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Emphasizing a personalized approach in healthcare, she ensures that each patient’s unique needs are at the forefront of her practice. This patient-centric philosophy is the bedrock of her role as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

A former professional and one-time World Champion athlete, David hurt his back in competition and subsequently developed an addiction to his prescribed pain medication. After completing his own stay in treatment, David discovered both meaning and purpose in helping others find recovery and walked away from a prestigious J.D./M.B.A program to focus on psychology full-time. After completing his Master’s in Psychology, he began pursuing his Doctor of Social Work degree from The University of Southern California.

David is presently a Doctor of Social Work Candidate, where he has spent years researching the most advanced substance abuse related treatment service delivery systems and best practices to maximize successful treatment outcomes and to minimize barriers to care access.

Rosa graduated with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in ‘Addiction & Recovery’ from Antioch University, which was one of the first in the country to offer this specialization. Since 2018, she has had the pleasure of working at several dual diagnosis outpatient treatment centers for people struggling with mental health and/or addiction.

Rosa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in private practice, teaching groups (and with individual clients) at Stairway Resource Center, as well as pro-bono work with Miriam’s House, a non-profit residential sober living home where women can live with their children while in recovery.

Cristina is a bilingual clinical social worker with over 10 years experience working in the field of mental health and addiction, both in the non profit and private sectors. Cristina received a diploma as a certified substance abuse counselor before returning to school to receive a Masters Degree in Social work at USC. Cristina uses a client-centered trauma focused approach in her treatment modalities, blending evidenced based practices such as CBT and EMDR to create an individualized treatment plan to support each client’s unique needs.

Cristina spent several years serving the dually diagnosed homeless populations by working with homeowners to create sustainable housing models for our Los Angeles county homeless. Recent work in the non-profit sector with the hispanic LQBTQ-IA+ community and children and families has afforded the opportunity to hone a trauma focused clinical practice, where she developed a penchant for addressing intergenerational trauma. She has worked at every level of substance abuse treatment from residential facilities, intensive outpatient programs, and as a sober living manager.

Bruno Burghard is a Case Manager, NAMA Anger Management and Relapse Prevention Specialist at Stairway Resource Center with 22 years of giving back to the community, one newcomer at a time.

Jon began his journey working in substance abuse treatment in 2019. He has experience working with co-occurring disorders, anger management, and depressive disorders. He is active in his own recovery, passionate about his position, and is able to serve as a brand ambassador to Stairway Resource Center. As a psychiatric technician he is committed to helping others seek treatment and getting the appropriate care they deserve.

In 2021, Jon was certified in the delivery of TMS. Due to his varied experience working in mental health, Jon finds TMS exciting due to the possibility of offering real hope to individuals for whom many other treatments failed to produce a genuine change in their internal experience of depression. An avid learner, Jon is currently studying to become a CDAC.

Raymond has been working in the addiction and behavioral health field for the past 5 years. A member of a 12 step program, Raymond has been clean and sober for over 7 years. With a special interest in medication resistant depressive disorders, Ray returned to school and obtained his certification in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Through his work with patients, Raymond has found that he is at his best when he is helping others connect with mental health resources and he is excited to help more patients find TMS.

In his free time, Raymond enjoys travel, theatrical events, and exploring Southern California.