Meet the
Board

Andrew Kiezulas brings with him a wide array of leadership, management and life experience to the YPR Board of Directors. A person in long-term recovery from substance use disorder and a recovery ally himself, Andrew has been involved with YPR since 2013. While completing his Bachelor’s in Chemistry (University of Southern Maine, 2017) and Master’s in Policy, Planning and Management (Muskie School of Public Service, 2018), Andrew founded YPR-Portland, ME (2014), co-founded USM’s Recovery Oriented Campus Center (The ROCC, 2016), and received numerous accolades for his diverse enterprises, including: Inaugural Scholar (USM, 2016), Outstanding Junior Award (USM College of Science, Technology and Health, 2016), Student of the Year (USM, 2017), Collegiate Recovery Student of the Year Award (ARHE, 2017), and Convocation Scholar (USM 2017). Andrew’s leadership mark extended well beyond the confines of the classroom, lab and campus. A co-author of two U.S. Senate Resolutions, Andrew has collaborated on local, state and federal SUD policy with the F.D.A., White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress. Humbled by these opportunities, empowering recovery allies and people in and seeking recovery still inspires him. He has given hundreds of presentations, talks and workshops in the community. Andrew is the CEO of Coatings2Go, LLC, a small medical device coating company that specializes in water-based, super-lubricious, hydrophilic coatings for the single-use medical device industry. Since joining the team in 2019, Andrew has made major contributions to all levels of the business. While managing general production, he streamlined production processes, supported technical sales and contract negotiations; expanded C2G’s targeted marketing strategy, SEO footprint and long-term business plan; and identified OFI’s in the overall business and quality systems.

Zina is the Founder of Z&D Consulting whose mission is to collaborate with organizations with creating inviting, intentional and inclusive healing spaces for individuals to achieve mental wellness while creating pathways for success for individuals from underrepresented communities. She is passionate about bringing awareness to the vast disparity in mental health and substance use treatment services for BIPOC and LBGTQ+ communities and the need to address how racial and identity trauma impacts individuals and communities. Zina has over 25 years of experience in marketing and operations. She has held senior leadership positions for national and global behavioral health care companies where she has served as Executive Director and in Senior Marketing and Business Development roles. Zina has worked internationally which has allowed her to develop a specialty in multi-cultural program development and marketing. She is a global speaker on topics related to culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion in behavioral health care. Zina is a social worker, certified addiction professional and ARISE trained interventionist. She is also a Certified Diversity Executive. She has served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Social Work. She holds a MSW with a concentration in Administration from Fordham University and a BSW degree from Rutgers University. Zina currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, FL and her favorite pastime is sitting on the beach with a good book.

Ruben Terrazas serves as a committed board member of Young People in Recovery, combining a wealth of personal and professional experience to advance the organization's mission. With over 17 years in recovery, Ruben has firsthand knowledge of the challenges and transformative opportunities involved in overcoming addiction. His personal journey drives his passion for giving back to the recovery community and supporting individuals as they reclaim their lives. Professionally, Ruben is a Sr. Director at Alvarez & Marsal, a global strategy and consulting firm. With more than 25 years of experience, he specializes in finance, technology, and organizational transformation for some of the world's largest companies. His expertise includes global consolidations, finance transformation, USGAAP/IFRS reporting, and enterprise performance management. Ruben's ability to enhance the people, processes, and technologies within organizations has been instrumental in achieving measurable outcomes, such as streamlining financial operations across multinational teams and driving millions in cost savings. Currently, he is pursuing an Executive MBA at Yale School of Management, further expanding his leadership and strategic acumen. In addition to his professional achievements, Ruben is deeply involved in community engagement. He mentors young Latino students in Baltimore City Public Schools, guiding them to avoid the pitfalls of gang violence and make empowered life choices. Ruben also co-founded the Chicago chapter of ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America) in 2001, fostering professional growth and opportunities for Latinos across the country. His ongoing involvement with ALPFA reflects his dedication building a diverse and inclusive professional community. Ruben's dual perspective as a business leader and someone in long-term recovery enables him to connect meaningfully with individuals and communities facing adversity. He firmly believes in "giving away what was so freely given to me" and channels this ethos into his service at YPR. As a board member, Ruben provides strategic guidance and advocates for expanding access to recovery resources, aiming to empower young people to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. Through his personal recovery journey, professional expertise, and community involvement, Ruben exemplifies YPR's mission to create a world where everyone in recovery can thrive. He is honored to contribute to this impactful work and inspire others to achieve lasting change.

Ryan Pierce is Vice President and General Counsel at SWCA Environmental Consultants. Ryan started his legal career in private practice before moving to the legal department at a large public company in the transportation industry. Ryan is also an adjunct faculty in the Master of Legal Studies Program at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Ryan received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his B.S. in Finance from Arizona State University. Ryan lives in Mesa, Arizona with his wife, Andrea, and his four children: Brooklyn, Sydney, Brent, and Karli. In addition to his children’s many extracurricular activities, Ryan has remained involved for over 20 years with various groups serving young people, including the Boy Scouts of America as well as church youth groups.

Jonathan Banasihan is a third-year law student at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his BA in International Studies with a minor in Chinese from American University. After receiving his JD, Jonathan intends to work in criminal law. While in law school, he worked with the Veterans Legal Clinic and the Veterans Justice Project to provide legal assistance to veterans seeking to expunge their criminal records. Telling their story often required understanding their substance use and how they began their recovery journey. As a Navy veteran, their stories highly resonated and showed Jonathan new, resilient approaches to recovery. Reflecting on his own recovery journey, he is dedicated to continuing work that empowers people to find their path to recovery and a more fulfilling life. He has taught veterans how to transition from service to higher education, spoken on the challenges of graduate education while in recovery, and continues to help others navigate higher education. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Amber Chaney is the CEO and Founder of Chaney Communications. For over a decade, she served as Communications Manager and then Deputy Director of a leading veterans non-profit in downtown Silver Spring, MD. She received the Chapel of Four Chaplains award for her work with Vietnam Veterans. She then went on to create and launch her own business, a digital marketing firm with strategic campaigns for the federal government and for-profit and non-profit businesses alike, to include the University System of Maryland, Bowie State University, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Amber holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland College Park, MD in Theater Arts and a Master's degree from American University in Strategic Communications. In addition, she was a McNair Research Scholar and studied abroad at both the American University of Rome and the University of Ghana. As the founder of C2, she honors her values in giving a voice to the underrepresented and leading strategic marketing for global causes. She is a first-generation business owner and college student in her family. Amber is currently a Yale Executive MBA student. As a daughter of two parents who struggled with severe substance abuse, her proudest endeavor yet is joining as a YPR board member. She currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland.

Harry Cunnane is a nonprofit executive with a background in government affairs, sales, and branding. In 2021, he co-authored Under Our Roof, a family memoir about addiction and recovery, and You Are Always Loved, a children's book aimed at reducing the stigma of addiction in the family system, with his mother, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, for Penguin Random House. As a person with lived experience in recovery, he works tirelessly to ensure that more Americans have the same chance at success through access to lifesaving treatment that he had. Harry has worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle as well as the White House and local leaders to foster meaningful conversations geared toward leveraging the government's resources to combat addiction and care for those impacted by substance use and mental health disorders. An accomplished public speaker, Harry frequently shares his message at conferences and schools across the country. He has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, ABC, FOX, as well as dozens of podcasts. He lives in Mount Laurel, NJ with his wife Juliet, and children Aubrey, Sawyer, and Scottie.

Alexa Eggleston is Founder of Audacia Consulting LLC, a consulting practice she launched to support strategic advances in improving the lives of young people and those impacted by substance use and addiction. Prior to starting her business, Ms. Eggleston led implementation of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s youth substance use prevention and early intervention initiative. With more than 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, including more than 10 years in leadership and management positions leading national initiatives, developing and implementing strategic plans to affect policy and practice change, and increasing research translation and implementation, Ms. Eggleston is committed to creating and expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery approaches that are rooted in equity and non-punitive health-based responses. Her expertise and knowledge has a focus on youth development, health and well-being, and substance use and mental health, and spans a wide range of federal and state legal and policy issues in criminal justice, healthcare, education, and child welfare that impact youth and families affected by substance use. Ms. Eggleston also has experience launching new programmatic initiatives in the non-profit and philanthropic sector. Ms. Eggleston has served as Substance Abuse Program Director with the Council of State Governments Justice Center in Bethesda, Maryland where she was responsible for advising governmental and non-governmental agencies on developing and implementing substance use treatment and other rehabilitative services for individuals involved the criminal justice system, including youth in the juvenile justice system. Eggleston worked as Director of Public Policy for the National Council for Behavioral Health where she conducted public policy activities to increase access to substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services through federal legislation and enact criminal justice and healthcare reform. She also spent several years as the Director of National Policy for the Legal Action Center where she directed policy and government relations activities to improve laws and policies that affect people with histories of addiction, HIV/AIDS, or criminal records. She received

Erik Hansen is a partner within the Risk and Regulatory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. An executive with over 25 years of providing accounting, auditing and consulting services to large, multinational companies, SEC registrants, private companies and governmental entities. He is lead partner on several global engagements, with focus on helping clients optimize their risk and control ecosystems. In his role, Erik regularly works with CFO’s, controllers, Internal Audit leaders and Audit Committees to optimize internal controls through leveraging technology, enabling swifter and deeper insights. Erik’s experience includes working with a number of clients to help them address strategic, financial and operational challenges, including growth initiatives, cyber readiness & incident response, cloud-based systems infrastructure, strategic cost management, deal execution and workforce preparedness. He has demonstrated the ability to lead teams and develop professionals to become the next generation of leaders. Prior to joining PwC, Erik was a partner with KPMG LLP and also served as a Director of Internal Audit with the Walt Disney Company. Erik lives in Houston, Texas and has two children, Alexander and Taylor. He graduated with distinction from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce. He is a licensed CPA in the state of Texas as well as a licensed Chartered professional Accountant in Canada. Erik also holds a Certified Internal Auditor designation.

Dr. Lisa Johnson Pratt is a physician who has spent over 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry. She is currently the SVP, New Product Strategy at Akcea Therapeutics in Carlsbad, California. As she has progressed through her career, she has led teams in both the drug development/ clinical trials arena and in the commercial realm. Her career has allowed her to work globally, including in emerging markets, including China and Vietnam, on products that have contributed strongly to improving patient health. From preventing cervical cancer, to supporting cancer drugs through the development process, to preventing the sequelae of uncontrolled asthma and hypertension, Lisa has worked to improve the quality of life of people. After her daughters experienced trauma, Lisa started Ananias Ventures. Ananias Ventures seeks to provide resources to individuals who are trying to magnify the voice of the voiceless. This has led to the creation of the Life After Abuse platform which seeks to inform and support victims of abuse. In Lisa’s case, the sequelae of abuse is not theoretical. While suffering from PTSD, her daughter developed an addiction. Being a physician allowed her to be able to successfully navigate and support her daughter during the recovery process, but during that process she began to recognize the challenges that exist throughout the process for patients entering and existing recovery. She remains committed to ensuring that patients in recovery have the support that they need to live their best life and fulfill their purpose.

Brandon Fernandez received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Denver, with an emphasis in Health Care Ethics, and was an exchange student at the University of Oxford. Brandon received his Master of Public Health from UCLA, with an emphasis on Health Policy and Management. Brandon is the CEO of CRI-Help, Inc., a nonprofit corporation specializing in the treatment of substance use and co-occurring disorders. CRI-Help was founded in 1971, serves over 3,000 patients annually in its detoxification, residential, and outpatient levels of care, and employs over 200 full-time employees. CRI-Help spans more than 10 locations across Los Angeles County, including 288 licensed beds and over 100 recovery residence beds. CRI-Help's headquarters, the George T. Pfleger Center, is one of the largest DHCS licensed residential treatment centers in California (135 bed capacity). Brandon has been featured as an expert panelist for UCLA's Integrated Substance Abuse Program and regularly lectures at national conferences. He serves as a board member of multiple organizations, UCLA's Health Public Policy Management Alumni Association (HPMAA), the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives (CAADPE), a professional association of community-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment agency executives advocating for quality patient care, and the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). Brandon was a founding member of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control's Provider Advisory Committee. Brandon has over 15 years of executive management and grant writing experience, working in nonprofits focusing on substance use disorders, mental health treatment, and affordable housing. During his tenure at CRI-Help, Brandon has successfully raised over $25M in grant funding for the organization to expand treatment services in LA County for Medi-Cal eligible adults. Brandon is an avid policy advocate with a desire to increase equity and access to health care services for individuals with substance use disorders.

Samantha Martinez is currently working towards receiving her B.A. in Philosophy from UCLA, where she is an avid advocate for mental health and recovery resources. She currently sits on the Bruin Mental Health Advisory Committee and works as an intern with the UCLA's Collegiate Recovery Program. Through the program, she's been able to connect the Bruins for Recovery student organization, where she is currently Co-President and leads weekly peer recovery meetings and programming. She has a deep connection to recovery as someone who is 4 years into her recovery and with lived mental health experience. She enjoys public speaking, having given keynote presentations for her community college, hosting UCLA wellness workshops and presentations, and sitting as a panelist for events like the YPR Youth Recovery Expo, where she was introduced to YPR. Samantha hopes to enter the nonprofit sector after graduating, exploring the intersection between mental health, recovery, policy, and law in her career. She is humbled to work alongside YPR to help further their mission and cause in uplifting young people in recovery such as herself.

David Puchi grew up in a suburb of Chicago—Downers Grove. For college, he headed to Colorado and graduated from the University of Denver, with both Bachelor of Arts and Law degrees. He practiced law for five years and specialized in corporate mergers and acquisitions and real estate law. During that time, he held positions at Holme Roberts & Owen, a Denver-based law firm; Colorado National Bankshares, Inc., a bank holding company; and Blackfox Real Estate Group LLC, an entrepreneurial real estate firm. His background as a transactional real estate attorney was well suited for entering the real estate industry as a principal. In connection with founding and managing a vibrant commercial real estate investment and management company for the past 25 years—Baceline Investments, he has been involved with all aspects of running a private investment company. This experience spans every facet of the industry.Throughout his career, he has served on several non-profit boards of directors primarily focused on education. These include, Denver Kids, Inc., the Denver Active 20-30 Childrens foundation, Ace Scholarships and Arrupe Jesuit High School. In 2019, he found sobriety and has been on a new journey not only becoming physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy, but also serving others in a new way. In addition to the board of YPR, he serves on the board of Fishing the Good Fight, which helps men suffering from mental illness and volunteers for other service organizations in the Denver Metro area. He enjoys the Colorado lifestyle and loves to be outdoors, fishing, skiing and being with his family and friends. He is married to Vickie and has four children.

Jenna Stapleton is a dedicated and passionate philanthropist who serves as the Executive Director of the Denver-based Harmes C. Fishback Foundation, a charitable trust that provides financial support to non-profits in Colorado. Jenna also serves on the Board of Advisors of ACE Scholarships, whose mission is to provide children of low-income families with scholarships to private schools in grades K-12. She’s also a proud member of the Orrery Society at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and recently joined the board of Young People in Recovery. Jenna, her husband Walker, son Craig, and daughters Colette and Olivia live in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Jenna graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She also holds a graduate degree in social work from the University of Denver as well as a certificate in marriage and family therapy from Denver Family Institute. Jenna is currently working toward her license in clinical social work. Jenna’s passions include watching live music and professional sports, playing tennis, acquiring pets, meditating, reading and being a mom to her three amazing children.

Alison Stevens is the Director of HR Services at Paychex, the largest HR solutions company for small and medium sized businesses. By combining innovative technology with personal service, Paychex empowers business owners and leaders to focus on the growth and management of their businesses. Alison leads a team of over of over 600 Paychex HR professionals responsible for delivering HR insights and advice to help clients thrive. Alison also serves as a subject matter expert for Paychex on various HR issues and trends facing small businesses in America. Her career in HR and leadership spans 25 years in the professional services industry. Alison holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from The George Washington University. Living in central Massachusetts, Alison is active in her local community and has served on multiple Boards focused on helping families in need. She is currently a Board Member for the Boys & Girls Club of Assabet Valley. She is an addiction recovery ally who seeks to increase awareness of how employers can provide access to necessary resources to educate and support the workforce of tomorrow.

As an early supporter and champion of YPR, Charlie Mayr is remembered by YPR as a memorial board member in perpetuity so his spirit, love of life and passion for our cause will always be with us. Mayr was appointed Chief Communications Officer of Actavis on April 27, 2012. Charlie joined Watson as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs in September 2009. Prior to joining Watson, Charlie operated an advertising and public relations consulting company from 1998 to 2009, serving such clients as Watson, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), Barr Pharmaceuticals and a variety of professional associations and consumer products and service companies. Prior to starting his consultancy business, he served as Director of Corporate Communications for Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1994 to 1998. Prior to joining Barr, he served as Director of Global Communications from 1990 to 1994 for Sterling Drug Inc., the global brand and consumer health products pharmaceutical subsidiary of Kodak. Charlie began his career as a broadcast and print journalist and received a B.A. in journalism from New York University.