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Career growth

Home Careers at RCA Career Growth

We hold ourselves accountable to our values. One of those values is that every RCA employee has the opportunity to develop and advance. At RCA you can start on the housekeeping team and work to become a Recovery Support Specialist. You can start as an Admissions Coordinator and work your way up to become an Executive Director. But it doesn’t stop there, because we don’t believe in limitations. Your path is up to you, and we think our employees’ experiences speak for themselves. Check out some of our examples here:

Amber Engelhardt:

Receptionist > Admissions Coordinator > Primary Therapist

Soon after graduating with a BA in Psychology, I attended a job fair for RCA at Lighthouse in February of 2018. I always knew my end goal would be to provide therapy for those struggling with addiction, but I had little experience in the field aside from my education and didn’t know where to begin.

I had the pleasure of speaking with a recruiter, Garrett Touey, who guided me to apply for an open position in reception to familiarize myself with the concept of inpatient treatment. I accepted the part-time position in reception (which quickly grew to full-time) and immediately found passion in the field after interacting with our patients from their first step in the door, watching them grow throughout treatment, and discharging with smiles on their faces and hope in their eyes.

In June of 2018, I was offered a position as an Admissions Coordinator. I accepted the amazing opportunity to grow my career and work more closely with the patients. I learned so much from this new position.

The immense growth I experienced as an Admissions Coordinator led me into my current position as a Primary Therapist. I am now honored to work with our patients through every step of their recovery, and being able to play a direct role in their journey has given me so much fulfillment. I can confidently say I love showing up to RCA every day, looking forward to the future for myself, the amazing staff members, and our patients!

Eli Naparstek:

Utilization Review Manager > Director of Admissions and Utilization Review > Executive Director at Danvers

I would say coming to RCA Danvers in 2016 was such an exciting time myself, I was looking for that next step in my career and was offered the opportunity to manage the UR department for a start up facility opening up 207 inpatient beds. I was able to learn all of the nuances of our program, payor requirements, and what was needed to help our patients get the care they needed to achieve long term recovery.

After a year with the company in that role I was given the opportunity merge my current position with the admissions role as the Director of Admissions and Utilization review. I was able to navigate and set up processes to make us efficient, and accessible to our patients who need treatment. One of the best parts of this role was getting opportunity to form our team which every day has me in awe of how many patients they are able to help when they need our help the most and treat every one of them with such empathy.

This year I was given the opportunity to become the Executive Director at RCA Danvers, under the tutelage of our CEO Laura Ames and the ability to continue to work with a great leadership team in a new role. Having come into this role during a global pandemic, RCA’s mission is evident as our staff have shown their dedication by coming to work every day and caring for our patients. Everyday is a new challenge and working on ways to improve never stops. I am excited for the future as we continue to grow at RCA Danvers and strive to achieve of our mission to save 1 million lives, by working with each individual that comes through our doors to achieve long term recovery.

I have loved the opportunity of being part of a growing company. I have been able to not only professionally develop but help our staff develop. Every day is meaningful as we continue to be help people struggling with addiction achieve long term recovery.

Vince Douglas:

RSS > Recovery Instructor > Alumni Coordinator > Senior Alumni Coordinator

My name is Vince Douglas and working in the recovery field to help others find what I and millions of others have found, is something I knew I wanted to do since the day I got sober. The individuals who worked at the treatment center I went to showed me love and compassion at the lowest point of my life.

In September 2018, after working with the State of Maryland as a Community Health Outreach Worker and managing a Recovery house, I started working at Recovery Centers of America at Bracebridge Hall as a Recovery Support Specialist. Within my first three months, I stepped into a Recovery Instructor role, which allowed me to teach our patients the importance of the 12 Steps. Along with the application of the steps, no matter what an individual believed, the steps gave me freedom and connection to something far greater than I could have imagined.

About three years later, my path led me to the role of Alumni Coordinator, helping patients build a community of support in person and online. This transition allowed me to take the work from inside to outside — supporting our patients in a critical time as they go from inpatient to a full life of recovery outside RCA’s walls.

In my current role as Senior Alumni Coordinator, I continue to build a sober community across multiple states and support our new members as they became alumni themselves, along with provide support to our alumni on every level I can—building our Alumni Association, hosting monthly events and daily alumni meetings, building relationships, and advocating for any individual who is in need of resources as they find their way through recovery.

I truly am blessed to be able to help individuals in recovery today. Thank you, RCA, for believing in me and my ability to carry out our vision.

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