Our talented alumni team members are here for you. Each one is committed to using their skills and personal experience to provide alumni of all MBH programs with ongoing resources and education while helping them find community and support to empower them to continue the work they began during treatment.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Aleah Johnson earned her undergraduate degree from Washington State University in leadership and professional studies with an emphasis on event design. Prior to joining the Meadows Behavioral Healthcare team, she worked as an event planner, where weddings and social gatherings were her specialty. It was only after she found that planning parties and being the life of the party went hand in hand with addiction for her, that she knew it was time to seek help. Through her own recovery journey, Johnson felt there had to be a higher purpose for her life and work.
Wanting to make a change, she applied for a job with MBH, packed what she could fit in her car, and headed for Arizona. Now she channels those event planning skills into recovery-related events and programs. Being able to spend time with alumni after they complete treatment, hearing about their accomplishments, and helping them overcome setbacks are highlights of the job. Johnson’s primary focuses are connection and community, using those to provide safe places and platforms for alum from any of our programs to be able to gain knowledge and connect with others to be successful on their recovery journey.
Joining MBH is January 2022, Rachele Rogers is originally from Omaha, Nebraska, but she grew up in Colorado before moving to San Diego for high school and college. She earned a BA in psychology from San Diego State University then became a manager in the hospitality industry in 2005.
Looking for a change from the hotel business and always passionate about helping people, the role of alumni outreach specialist seemed like a perfect fit for Rogers. Today, she works with the management team to implement initiatives that increase company visibility within the alumni community, providing support for their recovery journey.
Married, with four dogs, Rogers enjoys yoga, reading, sewing and anything outside, from “Jeeping” and gardening to nature walks, kayaking, and more.
Deena Harless has called many places home. She was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina and raised in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida before spending two decades in Anchorage, Alaska. She then moved to Texas in 2019 to support her recovery journey. After studying at Northwest Florida State, Harless spent 20 years working with individuals with disabilities. In recovery since August 2018, she is a Meadows alum herself, and a 2022 “What’s Your Story?” motivational speaker. Joining the MBH staff in 2020 as a behavioral health tech, she moved over to the Alumni team in 2022. As an alumni outreach specialist, Harless focuses on alumni outreach, virtual groups (Power of Words in Recovery and Become Recovery Comfortable), facilitating Recovery Enhancement groups, and facilitating the Friday afternoon lectures at The Meadows Texas.
A mother of three and grandmother to three more, Harless admits she is easily distracted by dogs and Jeeps, and she’s obsessed with her dog, Buddy. She also enjoys hiking, swimming, reading, and is extremely passionate about working with Alumni and their recovery.
Coastal Oregon native Chris Conlee holds a BA in business and a BS in exercise science from The College of Idaho. He really wanted to find a job where he could really help people and not just sell them something, so, knowing Meadows Behavioral Healthcare’s reputation for helping change lives, he joined the MBH team in early 2023. In his role as an alumni outreach specialist, Conlee assists with on-campus commencement ceremonies at our Arizona campuses. He also helps alumni navigate finding help and support beyond treatment.
Married with two kids, Conlee enjoys coaching, hunting, fishing, and gardening. He also loves interacting with people and listening to their journey.
Arizona native Lisa Steele graduated from Arizona State University (forks up!) summa cum laude with a BS in behavioral sciences before earning a master’s in social work-advanced clinical practice. An independently Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), her certifications include Certified Partner Trauma Therapist (CPTT), Post Induction Therapy (PIT), and IITAP Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). Steele worked for the Phoenix VA Healthcare System in various social worker roles, and as a clinician and in-home therapist.
After raising her children, she wanted to find something where she could assist others in removing obstacles in their lives. She joined the MBH team in 2018, originally as a Family Therapist at Gentle Path before transitioning to the Alumni program. In her role as an alumni outreach specialist, Steele develops and facilitates alumni support groups and provides consultation for program development. Married for 25 years, she has six adult children and enjoys kayaking, traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Anne McQuaid joined MBH back in 1999 as a family therapist before becoming a primary therapist and eventually going on to work in the Alumni program. A graduate of Ottawa University, she holds a bachelor’s degree in human services and a master’s in professional counseling as well as two chemical dependency certificates.
Originally from Mankato, Minnesota, McQuaid has served as a family counselor at Phoenix Shanti, a center for people living with HIV/AIDS, and Dignity Program, designed for prostitutes who have been arrested and choose to participate in a self-help program in lieu of serving jail time. She has also been part of Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, a program to allow the daughters of incarcerated women to belong to a Girl Scout troop and visit their mothers in jail.
Growing up in an alcoholic, dysfunctional home, McQuaid says she developed her own dysfunctional behaviors. Many years of personal therapy left her wanting to give back. She’s spent her career doing just that, and her current role allows her to connect with alumni from all over the world and to assist them in connecting with each other.
Passionate about wanting to empower people to be able to connect with themselves and have a voice, McQuaid has many other passions as well. Divorced with two grown children and two granddaughters, she enjoys reading, paint by number, watching TV, and attending concerts, plays, and movies.
Halley Simpson grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and Vilonia, Arkansas, earning a bachelor’s degree in social work from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. She previously worked as a maternity counselor and career development specialist before joining the Meadows Behavioral Healthcare team in October 2021 and then becoming a recovery coach and alumni outreach specialist in February 2024. In this current role, you can find Simpson engaged in alumni outreach and retreat planning as well as facilitating virtual groups, Recovery Enhancement groups, and Friday afternoon lectures at The Meadows Texas. “I’m passionate about working with individuals who’ve experienced trauma, and I love to connect them to their innermost strengths, gifts, and passions,” she says.
Simpson is married to her best friend and they have two kids. In her free time, she enjoys, blogging, reading, exercising, and being out in nature.
A Dallas native, Brandon Harris is a certified recovery coach. With a long history of substance use disorder in his family of origin as well as being on his own recovery journey, he was a natural for this type of work. So, in 2020, when Harrison found himself needing to make a career pivot, he decided to pursue a career helping others find long-term recovery. He joined MBH in 2021 as a behavioral health tech and neurofeedback technician before becoming part of the MBH Onward team in December 2023. In this latest role, he works with clients one-on-one in our recovery coaching program. Harrison also supports our Alumni program with outreach, virtual groups, and retreats. He got sober on tax day in 2016, and as a former first responder, working with that community is near and dear to his heart.
Married with two kids, a polite Great Dane, and a difficult Bloodhound, Harrison is kept pretty busy. In his downtime, he is a huge fan of sports (especially football and Formula 1 racing) and documentaries. Every weekend you can find him at Costco.