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.

Dr. Brett Talbot, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and CCO/Co-founder at Videra Health, a digital healthcare technology company. Previously, Dr. Talbot was a Chief Clinical Officer, Chief Quality Officer, Executive Clinical Director, and Executive Director at behavioral healthcare organizations. He has worked clinically in several hospitals and residential care settings. Brett’s private practice has focused on behavioral health services, healthcare technology consultation, and he currently sits on several healthcare-related advisory boards. 

Dr. Talbot received his doctorate degree in psychology from the University of Houston, specializing in health service psychology. Brett is certified in both Lean Six Sigma Healthcare Management and Healthcare Project Management. Administratively, he has specialized in program development, performance and process improvement, quality assurance, and risk management. Clinically, he has focused on working with healthcare providers to develop systems and interventions for patients requiring specialized services. 

Brett’s research has focused on program design and effectiveness studies for behavioral healthcare, emphasizing the integration of specific interventions, progress monitoring, and long-term outcomes. Dr. Talbot has published various articles, been a guest editor for a scientific journal, has done editorial reviews for children’s healthcare books, and speaks nationally and internationally on many topics surrounding behavioral healthcare. 

Loren Larsen is the CEO and Co-founder of Videra Health, a company focused on helping measure and assess mental health using video and artificial intelligence. Larsen is an award-winning technology veteran with extensive engineering and research experience and over 25 issued US patents. Loren has spent the last two decades building teams of scientists and engineers that have built smart video technology used in the delivery of digital assets across many platform ecosystems, including video relay for the deaf and hard of hearing, internet television, and film. His work has been published in both the popular press and scientific journals.  

Loren previously worked as the Chief Technology Officer at HireVue, building its industry leading on-demand video job interviewing platform, which has since facilitated over 33 million interviews. There, he and his team also invented several new machine learning techniques for predicting, measuring, mitigating, and monitoring potential algorithmic bias to assess individual job competencies using verbal and non-verbal behavior.  

Loren is passionate about augmenting healthcare with machine learning to better connect patients to their providers in a scalable way and ensure critical patient data is extracted that would otherwise be missed in a purely human interaction. He is an expert at developing technology that accurately analyzes human language and emotion. Loren is also a co-founder of Nomi Health, a services and technology direct healthcare company. 

Loren earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Utah. He then attended Clemson University, earning a master’s degree in computer science.  

Philip Wang, M.D., Dr.Ph., directs the new Learning Health Systems Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH); the Center helps systems collect and integrate data on patients’ outcomes to continuously improve access, quality, equity, and outcomes from their care. Phil completed his undergraduate degree in biochemistry, medical school, masters and doctoral degrees in epidemiology, as well as psychiatry residency and chief residency, all at Harvard University. He was a faculty member at HMS and BWH until 2006, when he went to serve as Deputy Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and then Deputy Medical Director and Director of Research for the American Psychiatric Association (APA) where he oversaw the recent text revision of DSM. He returned to HMS in 2019 and served as Chair and Chief of Psychiatry, as well as Chief Science Officer at Cambridge Health Alliance. He is currently Co-PI of an NIMH P50 ALACRITY Center grant, as well as an NIMH T32 Fellowship Training grant through the Harvard-T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has also been awarded research grants from CMS, NIDA, AHRQ, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has served on several NIH Study Sections, as well as the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee, FDA Medical Devices Advisory Committee, and FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. 

Rachel Wood, PhD, Vice President of Learning Health Systems for Discovery Behavioral Health, is a licensed clinical psychologist in the behavioral health field for more than twenty years. During her time at Discovery, she has provided direct service in various levels of care including outpatient and intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs, direct clinical care for adults and adolescents in PHP RTC and children in acute inpatient.  In her current position, Rachel’s focus is to leverage technology to gather evidence to improve care, access, outcomes, and long-term recovery.  Rachel implemented an app for alumni to provide ongoing education and support via connection with staff members and community members.  

Rachel’s programs increase the frequency and intensity of support following discharge affording real-time intervention for at risk alumni.  In March 2020 Dr. Wood launched Discovery’s mobile support apps allowing alumni and families to remain connected to program staff, receive educational content on mental health and offer and receive peer support following discharge.  The app is an extension of the in-person alumni programs offered by Discovery to provide a supportive community that fosters long-term recovery. Rachel received her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology and Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco.  She completed the 1998 International Scholars Program at Imperial College London, England. Her dissertation was presented at the International Conference for the Psychology of Science & Technology.  

John Peloquin is a visionary in revolutionizing measurement-based care, setting a new standard for relapse prevention at Discovery so more patients can experience meaningful, sustained recovery. John has served as president and CEO since the company’s inception in 2018, when he facilitated the merger of Cliffside Malibu addiction centers with the Center for Discovery to form Discovery Behavioral Health. Under his leadership, Discovery has become a national leader in leveraging its growing database of quantified patient experiences to deliver tailored treatment that leads to greater patient success. 

With John’s focus on the total journey of care, Discovery developed a first-of-its-kind tracking and assessment platform, Discovery365™, that provides patient support and monitoring beyond treatment to reduce the risk of relapse. 

John’s experience in behavioral healthcare spans decades. He served as CEO of Cliffside Malibu, a network of addiction recovery centers ahead of the merger. He also led Acadia Healthcare’s national outpatient division, which nearly doubled in size under his leadership; chief administrative officer/director of operations at Vital Imaging and division president of CRC Health Group, one of the nation’s largest behavioral healthcare providers. 

John leadership challenges the industry’s unacceptably high relapse standards to provide care that more often leads to the outcome that truly matters: a live well-lived. 

Dr. Matthew Ruble is advancing behavioral health care by harnessing the power – and data – from tens of thousands of patient experiences to drive innovation in treatment and ultimately improve outcomes and lives.

As chief medical officer, Dr. Ruble is dedicated to education/training, research and collaboration among payers and providers. His collaboration with Mass General Brigham led to external, academic validation of Discovery’s clinical outcomes and national leadership in setting a new standard for measurement-based care. 

 Dr. Ruble works to elevate the needs of patients, providers and payers by decreasing barriers to care and prioritizing value while ensuring clinical quality.

 Prior to joining Discovery, he served as national medical director at Human and was part of the team that reviewed and advised Humana leadership on all behavioral health technology/innovations for potential investment/acquisition and implementation. 

 A former faculty member of Harvard Medical School for nearly 20 years, Dr. Ruble also served as the Director of Behavioral Health and the Associate Training Director for the Adult Psychiatry residency training program at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

 Dr. Ruble earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He completed an Infectious Disease research Fellowship at Brown University’s School of Medicine before completing his MD at the Carver School of Medicine at the University of Iowa. He then attended Harvard Medical School to intern at the Department of Medicine and to complete his residency at the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Ruble became Chief Resident of Psychopharmacology at Cambridge Health Alliance. He then completed his Fellowship in Medical Education at the Academy of Harvard Medical School.

Grant brings more than 26 years of healthcare experience and 21 years of leadership expertise, with a diverse background spanning public accounting, financial operations in academic medical centers, regional hospital systems, and large behavioral health networks. Since joining Discovery Behavioral Health in 2019 as Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis, he has risen to the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2023. In his current role, Grant oversees operating divisions, admissions, and clinical outreach, where his leadership in uniting organizational experts, aligning project management with strategic goals, and fostering mentorship has significantly enhanced organizational performance in line with company objectives.

Grant holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Eastern Washington University and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Central Florida. He also served on active duty with the United States Army, stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Shalaura is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) leader with more than 15 years’ experience implementing employee relations-based business solutions in multi-state, start-up, legacy healthcare and hospitality organizations. She uses a conducive and collaborative approach to sustaining engagement to provide optimal employee encounters. Her philosophy is to support and mitigate risk for companies while ensuring the voice of the employee is highly regarded. She believes that diversity in a company’s leadership is tantamount to a diverse workforce and customer base. In her current role, she is responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of initiatives that promote a climate that fosters inclusion excellence. Shalaura is a member of ForbesBLK, championing a global community of Black entrepreneurs, professionals, leaders and creators that are driving systematic change in business, culture and society.

Kaydeese is a San Diego native who graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Kaydeese was fascinated with the study of I/O psychology, which focuses on how psychology can be used to create a happier and more productive work environment. She has leveraged her experience working in customer service and sales to help create a warm, welcoming space for patients and staff. Kaydeese has worked for Center for Discovery since 2019 and enjoys working closely with patients and their families. She strives to make sure that every person who steps through the doors feels included, safe and heard.

As a Black woman in leadership, Kaydeese believes that representation and understanding at every level is essential to making BIPOC patients and staff feel welcomed and validated in their experiences. She looks forward to creating a more inclusive space for all.