Marni Wratchford has worked at Discovery for over 17 years in a multitude of roles. She’s worked in the facilities as a facility manager and a primary therapist, as an admissions coordinator and clinical liaison and also in the UR department as a clinical advisor and UR manager. She currently works in the alumni services department and oversees the Discovery Mood and Anxiety Alumni and family apps leads our DMA alumni support groups and manages the D365 submissions for the entire DMA division. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of CA.

Samantha has been working in the field of eating disorders professionally for five years. She got her start by developing a snack-bar for patients struggling and has authored three books. She has held positions within the eating disorder field in nursing, case management, facility management and alumni services. Samantha has experience in working with both residential and outpatient levels of care. Samantha’s biggest passion is helping patients and families get the resources they need all while making their experience feel positive and memorable. Outside of her duties in alumni services.

Rick is committed to expanding the alumni program by starting the relationship with each individual while they’re still at Brookdale. Rick takes the time to meet with every patient and encourages them to stay connected with their Brookdale supports upon completion, especially with Discovery365 which has been a groundbreaking program for the clients he services. Rick has a unique position that allows him to be in front of the community where he employs passion and enthusiasm to keep patients motivated for recovery.

Rick conducts lectures, runs small groups, completes patient exit interviews, runs detox meetings, and coordinates the speaker schedule.  He leads the coordination of Ddiscovery365 and its implementation, yielding the highest engagement rate in the company.  Rick aims to ease negative thinking patterns and provide education on solution-based practices that benefit those in early recovery.  Rick always makes himself available as a confidant and mentor for the patients whether they are still at in treatment or have become part of the alumni family.

Dr. Wood is a pediatrician who has been in pediatric practice over 30 years in the San Diego area.  She is currently in solo practice consulting on patients with eating disorders.  She has served as the Medical Director for the residential eating disorder facility at Center for Discovery La Jolla since 2013.  As part of the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight Steering Committee, she was co-author of a Clinical Report published in September 2016 in Pediatrics, titled “Preventing Eating Disorders and Obesity in Adolescents.” She graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and went on to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles for her pediatric residency.  Married with a 29 year old son, who is a professional tennis player, a dog who loves to play ball and she and her husband play tennis, pickleball and do Pilates.

With more than 30 years of experience as a Psychiatrist, Dr. Sanders serves as the Medical Director for Casa Palmera. Dr. Sanders completed his Psychiatric Residency training at the University of California, San Diego and is Board Certified by the Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry since 1993. A native and resident of San Diego, he has been a practicing physician providing direct patient care in hospital and outpatient treatment settings. Doctor Sanders was honored as “Clinician of the Year for 2011″ at the 25th Annual Mental Health Recognition Dinner hosted by over twenty-five major Mental Health Care Organizations in Southern California.

Dr. Sanders has extensive experience as a Clinician and Administrator over the course of his career having served as Medical Director at Casa Palmera for the last 13 years, Medical Director at Alvarado Parkway Institute BHS for the last 7 years, and has served as Associate Medical Director (15 years) and Chief of Staff at two well- known San Diego hospitals, Aurora Hospital BHS and Alvarado Parkway Institute BHS. Dr. Sanders has been the Clinical Director of numerous hospital and outpatient-based treatment programs and has participated as a member of the Medical Executive Committee, the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, Clinical Directors Committees, Performance Improvement Committees, and Peer Review committees in various prestigious institutes and hospitals in California. He currently is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, and in the past, served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD.

Dr. Sanders holds a BS Degree in Zoology, and an MS Degree in Physiology from the University of California, Riverside. He obtained his Medical Degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. Dr. Sanders served his Medical/Surgical Internship at Hillside Hospital in San Diego California and completed his Psychiatric Residency at The University of California, San Diego. He is a member of the American Osteopathic Organization and the American Osteopathic

Lara has been with Discovery Behavioral health since January of 2019 serving in multiple leadership positions. As a medical provider, Lara has provided leadership working both within substance use facilities as a Lead Medical Provider as well as throughout the division as a Medical Quality and Compliance Manager. As COO at PaRC, Lara utilizes this background to support the exceptional teams within the facility to provide the highest quality care for each patient. After graduating from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 2001 Lara has focused her career on providing exceptional care to medically underserved populations. With her background in internal medicine, she obtained additional training in psychiatry, HIV specialty care, and substance abuse treatment to bring a unique and holistic approach to care for each individual patient. When not at work Lara enjoys filling her day with volunteer work and international travel focusing on learning from diverse and varied cultures.

Dr. Lekwauwa is a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist, an assistant professor of psychiatry, and an Associate Program Director for the Yale University Adult Psychiatry Residency Training program. She is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), American Psychiatric Association (APA), and the American Academy of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training (AADPRT).

She is the facility psychiatrist for the Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program’s residential treatment facilities in Fairfield and Stamford, Connecticut, and joined the Discovery team in 2018. Dr. Lekwauwa graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and shortly thereafter attended medical school at the Duke University School of Medicine where she completed her thesis on the relationship between PTSD and substance use in adolescents presenting for trauma treatment. She also co-authored a book chapter on the biological, psychological and social impacts of early adversity on children and authored posters on the relationship between religiosity/spirituality in marginalized groups. She completed her general psychiatry training at Yale University, followed by her child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center, where she served as the chief fellow.

Dr. Lekwauwa has extensive experience in the treatment of children, adolescents and young adults and has worked as a staff psychiatrist, medical director and psychiatric consultant to mainstream and therapeutic day schools, college counseling centers, community child guidance clinics and inpatient psychiatric units. Dr. Lekwauwa has specific interests in the culturally competent management of high risk adolescents, mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, and medical education.

MIke Leath has been with Prevention & Recovery Center (PaRC) since 2004, starting as a staff physician, then later becoming the medical director. He has been with Discovery Behavioral Health since the transition in 2021. Prior to joining PaRC, he worked in family and ER medicine. He attended Texas A&M University, then graduated with a degree in pharmacy from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. He attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and did his residency in family medicine at Memorial Family Medicine in Houston, Texas. He is board certified in both family and addiction medicine. Dr. Leath has been sober since 2003 and uses his personal knowledge and passion of addiction and recovery to help his patients succeed as they begin their personal journey. In his spare time, Dr. Leath enjoys any and everything outdoors, especially hunting, fishing and spending time with his awesome family.

Irinel Chiriac M.D. is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, practicing in San Diego California. Originally from Romania, Dr. Chiriac earned her medical degree and a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” in Bucharest. Dr. Chiriac completed a residency in psychiatry at the University of Chicago, where she also did her PhD studies in social psychology at the School of Social Service Administration. Dr. Chiriac is the owner of Discovery M.D. of California, and the Medical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Center, TMS and IOP services at Discovery Behavioral Healthcare in San Diego and attending psychiatrist at Casa Palmera Treatment Center in Del Mar, California. In addition to that, Dr. Chiriac is also the Medical Director of the Military Intensive Outpatient Trauma, Mood, Dual and Chemical Dependency Clinics at Aurora Behavioral Healthcare in San Diego, CA. A Board Member and owner of the Psychiatric Centers at San Diego until March of 2022, Dr. Chiriac also serves as Board member of the OPTUM Health Credentialing Committee for California. Dr. Chiriac founded the Military Program at Palomar Hospital in 2010, where she also functioned as the Medical Director of the Psychiatric Acute Unit. Prior to that, Dr. Chiriac was Medical Director at Boscobel Area Healthcare in Wisconsin, and the Chief Resident at the University of Chicago psychiatric program. Dr. Chiriac is certified as an Aviation Medical Examiner by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, is also certified SAMHSA provider for Buprenorphine prescription under DATA 2000 and is a certified TMS provider. Sharing her knowledge and experience is a priority for Dr. Chiriac, and previous teaching affiliations include the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Currently, Dr. Chiriac is part of faculty in proctoring Nurse Practitioner students at the University of San Diego, National University, and Walden University. Dr. Chiriac, a big believer in integrative medicine, is passionate in providing the best care to her patients, promoting the best evidence based clinical practices, besides medication management, TMS, medically assisted addiction treatments, in a continuous activism for psychoeducation and eliminating stigma of mental illness. What makes Dr. Chiriac prouder than any of her own professional accomplishments are her two sons, David and Alex. David is a Senior at the Carey School of Business at ASU graduating with a triple major in Finance, Economics and Advanced Data Analysis and is a successful athlete. Alex is a freshman in High School and an athlete preparing for his first national competitions. Dr. Chiriac and her husband Tony, enjoy traveling, spending time with friends, family, and with their amazing Irish Setter, Lucky.

Serving more than 15 years in behavioral healthcare, Alyson has experience in a wide range of levels of care, serving populations including, substance use disorders, eating disorders, gambling disorder, complex trauma, mental health disorders, and perinatal mood, and anxiety disorders. Alyson is a certified perinatal counselor and is certified in complex trauma and telemental health. Currently, Alyson’s professional focus includes implementation of systems to ensure the highest standard of clinical documentation is maintained, standardization to achieve value-based care and improve patient outcomes, evaluation of patient care data, identification of performance metrics to review program effectiveness, participation in the Learning Health System with internal and external partners focused on predictive data trials. In late 2020, Alyson initiated a clinical philosophy, and corresponding manual, The Clinician’s Desk Reference, and a supervision framework for Discovery Behavioral Health. This was a collaborative effort and developed with input from expert clinicians from all service lines within the organization. Simultaneously, and as a key dimension to what is now referred to as the DBH Clinical Model, Alyson developed a DBH Therapeutic Alliance Tool, which is available in the Eating Disorder, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorder divisions.