The 50 Faces of CLARE | MATRIX

Donate Now In Honor of Wendy Adamson

Donate Now In Honor of Katherine & Frank Baxter

Kathrine and Frank Baxter have supported CLARE | MATRIX for over 20 years. Kathy served on the Development Committee, and Frank conducted a Back-to-Basics class for participants. They have also served on many civic and artistic organizations. Frank is Chairman Emeritus of the investment bank, Jefferies LLC. He served as Ambassador to Uruguay from 2006 to 2009. He currently serves as Honorary Uruguayan Counsel to Uruguay. Frank’s passion is education for low-income students. Kathy was a pre-K teacher and professional classical singer. She has continued to sing for charitable events and religious services.

Family is the priority for the Baxter’s. They have three children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. The Baxter’s feel CLARE | MATRIX is a superb organization because its comprehensive service is available to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, it is not limited to only the privileged.

Donate Now In Honor of Deborah K. Bothun

Deborah K. Bothun is a valued supporter and donor to CLARE | MATRIX. She first met the Board in 2002 through an introduction from Dorothy Richards. As she worked with recovering women in the community, the Clare Foundation gave Deborah hope for her future during an emotionally dark time. She fondly remembers working to modify a garage at one of the Women and Children’s houses. She brought her young son along to help paint, hang stars on the ceiling, and transform the garage into a playhouse. At six or seven years old, her son learned about giving back through the Clare Foundation.

Deborah works as an Executive Mentor. She is passionate about making a difference in the lives of successful executives who still feel “other” because of race, trauma, or dysfunctional childhoods.

Donate Now In Honor of Anderson Broussard III

Anderson Broussard is an outstanding staff member and alumnus of CLARE | MATRIX. He first came to the Clare Foundation in 1988. Newly sober, he visited the evening sandwich line on Pico Boulevard. He also stayed in a sober living house. Since then, he has worked with or around CLARE | MATRIX for all his sobriety. He has spoken on panels and sponsored men within the programs. In August 2016, he joined the team as a staff member. He currently oversees Sober Living Interim Housing.

CLARE | MATRIX allowed him to experience and work with a diverse group of staff and participants. It has kept him open-minded and teachable. Augmenting his experience with the old-school 12 Step program, CLARE | MATRIX taught him different ways to communicate with recovery and treatment in 2021. Throughout his time at CLARE | MATRIX, Anderson’s memory has stood out as the impact of witnessing mothers reunite with their children. He is proud to witness men who come off of Skid Row’s journey through recovery to work for Fortune 500 companies.

Donate Now In Honor of Ann Buck

Ann Buck has more than 40 years of meditation background. She spent many years teaching mediation as a recovery tool to the participants at CLARE | MATRIX. She studied Vipassana and the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition with Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Spirit Rock trained her as a Community Dharma Leader. As a senior student of Shinzen Young, she works as a facilitator with people across the country. Ann currently teaches for InsightLA. Since she is a retired businesswoman, teaching the dharma is her life.

Donate Now In Honor of Susan Burton

Susan Burton is a leader in the criminal justice reform movement, founder of A New Way of Life, and outspoken voice to end mass incarceration. Following the tragic accidental death of her five-year-old son, Susan’s world collapsed. Her loss snapped the final tether of resilience burdened by a past of pain and trauma. She descended into an emotional abyss of darkness and despair, but living in South Los Angeles, Susan didn’t have access to the resources she needed to heal. Without support, she turned to drugs and alcohol, which led to nearly 20 years revolving in and out of prison.

Drawing on her personal experiences, she founded A New Way of Life Reentry Project (ANWOL) in 1998, dedicating her life to helping other women break the cycle of incarceration. ANWOL provides resources such as housing, case management, employment, legal services, leadership development and community organizing on behalf of, and with, people who struggle to rebuild their lives after incarceration.

Susan has earned numerous awards and honors for her work. In 2010, she was named a CNN Top Ten Hero and received the prestigious Citizen Activist Award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a recipient of both the Encore Purpose Prize (2012) and the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award (2014). In 2015, on the 50th Anniversary of Selma and the Voting Rights Act, Susan Burton was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of 18 New Civil Rights Leaders in the nation. Released in 2017, her memoir, Becoming Ms. Burton, received a 2018 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in the category of Biography/Autobiography. Becoming Ms. Burton is also the recipient of the inaugural Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice. She holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from California State University, Northridge.

Donate Now In Honor of David Cohen

With a passion for helping and supporting others in their journey toward lifelong recovery, David Cohen brings more than 19 years of experience as a therapist, professor, clinical director, and addiction expert to his role as the Chief Clinical Officer for CLARE | MATRIX. His extensive experience working with clients, students, families, clinicians, and communities includes 16+ years in private practice, focusing on addiction, relapse prevention, and family therapies.

David collaborates with others to coordinate and integrate mental health services, while developing and implementing programs that foster sustainable health and healing. He is a nationally recognized addiction expert for his commitment to research, ethics, and best practices. With multiple print, television, and online appearances, including CNN and the Economist, David is a sought-after public speaker and presenter on substance use disorders and mental illness.

As an alumnus of the Clare Foundation, clean and sober since 1996, David has committed to offering the highest quality care to clients by addressing their substance use disorder and mental health needs. David remains enthusiastic about helping clients feel empowered in their recovery. He is equally excited to lead teams in providing dynamic, collaborative, and client-centered approaches. David fosters a strong culture of compassion, teamwork, mentorship, and integrity, which he learned first at CLARE | MATRIX.

Donate Now In Honor of Marina Forstmann Day

Marina Forstmann Day came to the Clare Foundation through Ruth King. With a particular interest in the Mother’s and Children’s Program, she joined the Board in 1996. During her term, Marina established the Friends of Clare Tribute Dinner to celebrate Clare’s work within the community. She is proud that the annual tradition continued to symbolize the close union of recovery that CLARE | MATRIX fosters.

Marina served 12 years as a Board Member. She concluded her service believing that recruiting new members is vital to bringing new life, support, and ideas to the organization.

Donate Now In Honor of Richard Cortez

Richard is passionate about recovery in all aspects of his life. He first came to the Clare Foundation as a client in 1998. In 2006, he returned to join the staff as a counselor. His coworkers describe him as the epitome of a compassionate counselor with an uncanny ability to know his participants’ needs, whether it be an extra dose of kindness and patience or a kick in the recovery backside. He has an extraordinary ability to work with participants struggling with mental health issues. His patience and knowledge of assisting young men in the program are a good lesson for all counselors and therapists to behold. His memories of CLARE | MATRIX include working contracts for LASHA, Drug Court, and SASCA.

Richard is extremely active with CLARE | MATRIX alumni, running the Alumni Group at OTP. He is a shining example of a participant who has chosen to walk in the success of sobriety one day at a time.

Donate Now In Honor of Amanda Cowan

Amanda Cowan is an example of exceptional advocacy and unwavering dedication to CLARE | MATRIX’s mission. Amanda studied in the UK, obtaining her undergraduate degree in sociology and social work. While working for the National Health Service on alcohol liaison and harm reduction pilot programs, she returned for her Master’s in addiction and mental health. Her dissertation focused on the link between opioid use disorder and the ability to assess emotional states accurately.

Amanda has worked in many substance use settings – from community-based mutual aid programs to jails, hospitals, and outpatient treatment to helping implement syringe exchanges. Amanda’s specialty is harm reduction. She provides technical assistance and capacity building to agencies and training specific to active drug users.

At CLARE | MATRIX, Amanda is Director for Outreach on one of the California State response to opioids & stimulants grants. The Hub and Spoke project focuses on removing barriers to those accessing treatment for opioid use disorder and/or stimulant use disorder, decreasing stigma, working on state policy, and ensuring equity in treatment. Amanda is Chair of the Integrated Health Committee at Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership. She works towards health equity for those impacted by mass incarceration. She is also a commissioner for Supervisor Sheila Kuehl on LA County’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Commission.

Donate Now In Honor of Sarah Doering

Sarah is an Emeritus Board Member at CLARE | MATRIX and serves on the Strategic Planning Committee. She joined in 2002 at the request of her dear friend and Board Member, Bill Blatt. The transformation deeply moves her she has observed in the lives of graduates who have continued on their sober journey. She fondly remembers the great camaraderie and sense of shared purpose during monthly dinner meetings in her early days on the Board. The teamwork at CLARE | MATRIX inspires her. She continues to be of service in the recovery community, which has given her so much in return. Those who work alongside Sarah describe her as selfless, intelligent, insightful, and compassionate.

Sarah is a native Chicagoan. She attended college in New York City and lived in Connecticut before moving to California with her young family in 1979. She built her career in the wholesale bakery business by working on corporate programs with individual pastry chefs and training sales reps. She loves being in Southern California, where a beautiful hike in the mountains or a walk on the beach is just a few minutes away. She is passionate about anything she can move on the water. It brings her great joy that her children and granddaughters live nearby.

Donate Now In Honor of Odat Elsey

Odat first came to CLARE | MATRIX 35 years ago as a patient at the Clare Foundation. There she felt the impact of kindness, support, and sobriety in her own life. Now on the other side of the process, she helps others on a grand scale. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for CLARE | MATRIX.

She is passionate about saying “yes” to life, being present for new experiences, and meeting new groups of beautiful people. Those around her describe Odat as funny, loving, kind, warm, and compassionate. She sees people she knows almost everywhere she goes because she is friendly and outgoing. Odat is always willing to encourage newcomers to recovery.

Donate Now In Honor of Noah Escort

Noah Escort is on staff at CLARE | MATRIX as a Sober Living House Manager. He first came to the Clare Foundation when he went through treatment in 2012. He says CLARE | MATRIX has not only saved his life but continues to do so by allowing him to give back and help newer members in recovery. Now that he is clean and sober, he’s become passionate about investing in the stock market and looks forward to expanding into real estate.

Donate Now In Honor of Deb Feinberg

Deb’s heart is full of gratitude for every life CLARE | MATRIX impacts, for her own sobriety, which has led her to this moment on this day, and for the visionaries who created and toiled long and hard to bring the Clare Foundation and Matrix Institute into 2021. Sometimes life delivers an opportunity we cannot turn down. For Deb, it was mid-2017, when Dorothy Richards asked if she would join the Board of what was then the Clare Foundation.

Dorothy, Pete Kastof, and Jack Rosenbaum were three influential people in her life. She feels blessed to work for an organization so dear to their hearts, and to which they dedicated so much of their time over many years. Deb is honored to be among the 50 Faces of CLARE | MATRIX, an amazing organization staffed by dedicated, compassionate, purpose-driven human beings and supported by loving and caring individuals who believe in the power of hope, a helping hand, and the miracle of recovery.

Donate Now In Honor of Erica Fisher

Erica Fisher is thankful to be one of the 50 Faces of CLARE | MATRIX. She has been sober for over 12 years and is grateful every single day for the gift of sobriety. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three daughters. Erica has volunteered in the Postpartum and Pregnant Women’s Program at CLARE | MATRIX. There, she has seen the incredible work firsthand and the courageous and strong women who enter and go through that program. As a mother, this program speaks directly to her own journey of sobriety. It allows her to give back what was so freely given when she got sober. She says CLARE | MATRIX is in a class of their own, serving those who don’t have the resources or family support for treatment and doing it successfully.

Donate Now In Honor of Mark Freund

Mark is a native of West Hollywood and a graduate of UC San Diego. He worked in Visual Effects in the motion picture industry for 33 years, retiring in 2009. A member of the Motion Picture Academy and the Visual Effects Society, he remains avidly passionate about movies and storytelling. Beyond his work at CLARE | MATRIX, Mark serves on the Board of Deaf West Theatre, an organization committed to creating great theater and storytelling through American Sign Language. He also volunteers at the Los Angeles Public Library, reading to young people. He is the father of twins, now 33 years old, and the husband of Trice Koopman for almost 40 years.

Mark credits his sobriety to the combined influence of the Clare Foundation and Matrix Institute on Addictions. At the 3rd AA meeting he ever attended, he met a group of Deaf people from a CLARE program called Signs of Recovery. They had the cleanup commitment at a large meeting and encouraged him to join them. It showed him the warm embrace of alcoholics in recovery and the value of service, a lesson that has served him well over the last 30 years. At the same time, he attended the Matrix Institute as an outpatient client. He went on to volunteer for the next ten years at one of their social support groups and as a co-leader for one of the therapists. Mark is now a member of CLARE | MATRIX’s Board of Directors and serves on panels at the Men’s Treatment Program.

Donate Now In Honor of Buzz Harris

Buzz’s first experience with CLARE | MATRIX was in October 1982, as he waited for his court-appointed counselor, Al Van Patten, to tell him what he needed to do to complete his drunk driving probation. As he stood there looking down on Pico Boulevard, the thought came to him, “I think this may be it.” He had no idea how prescient that was to become.

As recommended by his sponsor, Buzz volunteered for Clare Foundation, teaching the second offended drunk driving class he had just completed. Buzz had become passionate about life now that he was sober and had taken some workshops to assist in this journey. Most attendees saw this class as punishment, but a few were lit up by their new life sober and contributed to many spirited discussions.

Buzz also remembers a very close friend’s release from the Chowchilla Women’s Prison for multiple drug related offenses. He had heard of her troubles, and when she joined the Women’s Program at CLARE, they reunited. She now has many years of sobriety, a college degree and lives a life of AA service.

Donate Now In Honor of Jennifer Tighe Jeffries

Jennifer Tighe Jeffries is a donor and proud alumna of CLARE | MATRIX. She first came to the Clare Foundation through a court order to complete the drug court program. At the time, she lived on the streets of Venice and didn’t have any contact or custody of her son. One of her first memories was when she arrived at Clare Foundation wearing the clothes from LA County Jail. The ladies at Clare put together new clothes and shoes for her to wear to be more comfortable.

CLARE | MATRIX created the path for Jennifer to create a new life. She attended UCLA to get her credentials in drug and alcohol counseling. Since the pandemic, her work has focused on Harm Reduction in the community.

Donate Now In Honor of Dana Kelly, Jr.

Dana became a Board Member at CLARE | MATRIX in 1992 at the urging of Burt Beers. Twenty-two years later, he continues to serve as an Emeritus Board Member. For him, CLARE | MATRIX has been a wonderful way to give back and help other alcoholics and addicts achieve sobriety. It is a means to express his gratitude for the life he has in recovery. His early years at CLARE | MATRIX stand out in his memory, including serving free hot lunches to lines of people in need on Pico Boulevard. Then, as now, CLARE | MATRIX turned no one away.

Dana has been in recovery for 34 years and is active in 12 Step work. He has a wonderful Life Partner, Jeanie, of 29 years. He is proud of his family: Diedre, Gavin, Shelagh, Danielle, and Justin. Beyond his service through CLARE | MATRIX, Dana fills his time with physical exercises like walking, swimming, and weight training. He loves his work in film, commercials, voice acting, and theater.

Donate Now In Honor of Jayson Lansford

Jayson Lansford is a CLARE | MATRIX residential and outpatient programs alumnus and a current staff member. Jayson came to legacy Clare Foundation’s Men’s Residential Treatment Program homeless under the direction of the Los Angeles County Superior Courts Drug Court Diversion Program. After completing CLARE | MATRIX’s residential treatment, he transitioned into recovery housing and outpatient treatment. Upon completing his treatment, Jayson remained involved with the organization as a volunteer and was eventually hired as a full-time employee. Jayson’s involvement with the organization spans more than seven years. He has worked in the following roles: Alumni Coordinator, Employment Specialist, Marketing Specialist, and Communications Manager.

Jayson’s passion for Substance Use Disorder Treatment has led him to seek a degree in business with an emphasis in Marketing Management so that he is better equipped to understand and tell the stories of CLARE | MATRIX’s nonprofit work, as well as to contribute to an effort to shatter the stigma surrounding Substance Use Disorder and treatment. He is currently a student at Pepperdine University, where he seeks a Bachelor of Science in Management degree with plans to complete a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing.

Donate Now In Honor of Daniel Little

Daniel Little is an alumnus of CLARE | MATRIX and Peer Advocate. He attends meetings once a month to share his experiences, strengths, and hope.

CLARE | MATRIX is where he began his Intensive Outpatient Program and learned the true definition of living life on life’s terms. He started taking things one day at a time, remaining sober and free of drug use while developing a relationship with his Higher Power. CLARE | MATRIX has helped change his life for the better and taught him how to apply the 12 Steps of AA/NA to his lifestyle. He has met incredible people and made friends that relate to having the disease of addiction as he does. At CLARE | MATRIX, he discovered a new family.

Daniel made close friends at CLARE | MATRIX and attends NA meetings regularly with them. The memories he has are wonderful celebrations and accomplishments. He is proud of learning tools and gaining strength to live a new life in recovery, which has now accumulated into three years of sobriety.

Daniel is now a three-year warehouse preload employee for UPS. During peak season, he gives back by recruiting seasonal employees from CLARE | MATRIX, and Chrysalis of Santa Monica to join his team at UPS Bay Center. He is also starting a small business named Little’s Transportation, which helps individuals with learning disabilities through ride/ride-sharing opportunities.

Donate Now In Honor of Marshall May, Jr.

Marshall is an alumnus of CLARE | MATRIX. Through his time in treatment, Marshall has gotten back to living his life and can now take care of his mother. He is passionate about helping people suffering from active addiction find a way to get clean through either a program or a 12 Step fellowship. He currently works for a nonprofit organization that provides work opportunities for people who haven’t had much work experience. His biggest reward is when a person who has suffered from active addiction comes back to tell him that he has played a part in changing their lives. He says, “That’s when I experience joy on this journey.”

Donate Now In Honor of Mickey McCann

Mickey McCann was one of the three founders of Matrix Institute in 1984. He had worked with his co-founders for several years dealing with opioid-dependent patients. In 1984, the cocaine epidemic was in full bloom, and there was a lack of treatment services accommodating this new addiction. They began Matrix intending to develop a clinically appropriate and effective treatment approach.

Michael is currently a consultant with CLARE | MATRIX and on the Research and Training Committee. The Matrix Institute was his life for decades. It was challenging and rewarding and provided opportunities that were unimaginable in 1984. Back then, they had no intention of creating a “Matrix Model” or training anyone outside their clinical staff. The expansion of clinical services, the addition of a robust training component, and participation in a series of NIDA-funded clinical trials made for a rewarding and complex experience.

Michael carries too many memories of outstanding individuals in his mind and heart to try and list them. These are clinic directors, clinical staff, financial people, research staff, front office people, medical staff, administrative and executive staff, and patients.

Donate Now In Honor of Cristina Meadows

Cristina joined the CLARE | MATRIX community as a participant many years ago. Upon completion of treatment, she continued working on her recovery program and eventually came back as an employee. For many years, Cristina was the Call Center Coordinator and worked diligently to get as many people into treatment as possible. She served with compassion and empowered all incoming or potential participants to believe they could overcome their challenges.

She invested her time, energy, knowledge of resources, and full heart into every detail, big and small, to help people in need and the team around her. From answering phone calls to assisting with property searches, she would never say no and did what it took to help save lives. In 2018, Cristina received CLARE | MATRIX’s Distinguished Alumni Award for her pivotal role in transforming the Call Center.

Donate Now In Honor of Dennis Moore

Dennis is an Administrative Coordinator at CLARE | MATRIX’s Santa Monica Outpatient Center. His work allows him the opportunity to help others who were bound by drug addiction as he was 30 years ago. He joined CLARE | MATRIX from the Matrix Institute and is grateful for support and education from his supervisor, Nimra Gardley, and coworkers, Ariana Aziz, Paul Jefferson, and Richard Cortez.

Dennis is a devout Christian who believes in loving people, no matter what they do or have done. He helps everyone to the best of his ability whenever he can. He is an avid motorcycle rider and loves to take cross-country trips. For Dennis, nothing releases the pressures of life, like riding a bike in the summertime.

Donate Now In Honor of Jeanne Obert

In 1984, Jeanne Obert founded the Matrix Institute on Addictions with partners Michael McCann and Richard Rawson. As they provided one-on-one treatment to individuals struggling with addiction, Jeanne and her partners developed the Matrix Model of treatment to provide the highest level of care in the previously undeveloped treatment field for stimulant addiction. In 1999, Jeanne became the CEO of the Matrix Institute. She had fallen in love with serving the community of people in recovery after witnessing effective treatment’s power to completely transform lives.

Jeanne was Executive Director of the Matrix Institute in 2018 when the organization merged with the Clare Foundation to become CLARE | MATRIX. To her, the merger was a perfect way to bring two different, but both essential, philosophies together for the benefit of the people they serve.

The Matrix Institute and now CLARE | MATRIX has been Jeanne’s life for more than 30 years. She loves watching people turn their lives around and equally, loves teaching others how to help them do that. She feels truly blessed to have such a meaningful and rewarding job following her child-rearing days. Watching her five children, ten grandchildren, and her grown-up company makes the world a better place every day brings joy to her heart. She is humbled, proud, and grateful for all those who continue to carry the torch forward.

Jeanne recently retired from CLARE | MATRIX’s Board of Directors and is currently an Emeritus Board Member.

Donate Now In Honor of Dorothy Richards

Dorothy first came to CLARE | MATRIX as a Board Member while attending the UCLA Extension program for Alcoholism Studies Program. Her sponsor, Marina, was a Clare Foundation Board member and suggested Dorothy consider being of service by joining the Board. She served from 1989 to 2020 and then as a CLARE | MATRIX Emeritus Advisory Committee member very active in fundraising and the Annual Tribute Dinner until her passing in Fall of 2021. As a recovering woman since 1975, she found that helping those who need recovery services is the most worthwhile endeavor of her life.

In the Fall of 2015, her friends and donors, Frank and Kathy Baxter, hosted a soft launch of the Dorothy Richards Recovery Fund for Women at their home. Her passion was to empower women through an example to get sober, stay sober, and lead beautiful lives through the blessings of AA. In honor of Dorothy’s legacy at CLARE | MATRIX there is now a memorial fund set up in Dorothy’s honor benefiting the women and children CLARE | MATRIX serves.

Donate Now In Honor of Louise Roberts

Louise Roberts was a therapist at the Matrix Institute in the 1990s and 2000s. Her warmth and compassion were an attraction to the clients, which had a lasting impact on many people. Her beginnings with the organization helped her realize that her passion was working with addiction issues. To this day, she remembers most of her clients and treasures the memories. She says, “It gave me such a sense of fulfillment when my clients were able to stay sober and go on to have healthy, successful lives.”

Now, Louise is passionate about spending time with her husband and daughters. She looks forward to visiting her children and traveling through Europe.

Donate Now In Honor of Jack Rosenbaum

Jack Rosenbaum served as a Board Member for 32 years, including his term as Chairman from 2010 to 2017. His family, friends, and all those he touched through AA and recovery remember him with great affection and admiration.

One of these many individuals, Jason Thomas, shared that Jack saved his life, both literally and figuratively. He had met Jack during a very dark and vulnerable period of his life in his early 20s. Without Jack and his support, Jason doesn’t know where he would be right now. He knows that Jack’s imprint covers all aspects of his life, including his role as a father, husband, worker, and friend. Heroes can come in all shapes and sizes. For Jason, his hero was a funny man with orange hair who had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever met. Jack’s kindness, generosity, friendship, and love saved him. He will miss him deeply, and he is forever grateful to him.

Jack is remembered with great love by his three children: Debra Rosenbaum, Rick Rosenbaum, and Kathryn McRitchie.

Donate Now In Honor of Peggy and Ray Rosenthal

Peggy and Ray were born and raised in Los Angeles. Married for 33 years, they have five children and seven grandchildren. Ray was in the food business for 52 years as owner and president of King Meat, Inc. Peggy was in the fashion business, representing manufacturer’s lines throughout the country. She was also a licensed Realtor. They have always had the same goal in life: to help those in need. As major philanthropists for CLARE | MATRIX, they strongly believe in recovery and applaud the awesome work accomplished by a leading organization in the treatment and recovery industry. It has been their pleasure to be a small part of this great process.

Donate Now In Honor of Dr. Elizabeth Rossotto

Elizabeth first supported CLARE | MATRIX as a donor in 2018, after the CLARE Foundation and Matrix Institute merger. As a clinical psychologist within the LA treatment community, she has connected with separate organizations for many years. She was excited to witness the merger, and invests in its success as both a donor and a professional in the field.

CLARE | MATRIX has impacted her life by providing hope and inspiration through their very successful local and worldwide treatment of substance dependence. She has endless memories of watching individuals’ lives saved and transformed through treatment.

Elizabeth is passionate about being in nature and connected to Mother Earth. Whether it be walking, meditation, river floating, hiking, or skiing, the wilderness is a great replenisher for her.

Donate Now In Honor of Nicholas Vrataric

Nicholas joined the Board of Directors in 1994. He became the Executive Director and served from 2000 to 2016. His long service to CLARE | MATRIX was rewarding and inspirational, even as he inspired others. He found that the courage and dignity of recovery is like no other. He fondly remembers his work with the CLARE Board alongside Dorothy Richards and the Drug Court and Woman with Children programs.

Now retired, Nicholas spends time playing piano and writing. He is passionate about his grandchildren and his family.

Donate Now In Honor of Nicolle Walters

In 2014, Nicolle Walters walked through the doors of the Clare Foundation to try and start her life over. There, she found a safe place to recover from her addiction and start her journey of recovery. She had been to the Clare Foundation many times before, and throughout the years, the staff never gave up on her. The sober living facilities on Sawtelle provided a safe place for Nicolle and her daughter while she got on her feet. Some of her closest friends went through the program with her, and they are still clean and sober today.

Today, Nicolle speaks on CLARE | MATRIX’s Women’s Treatment Program panels and is an active alumnus. She is passionate about her work, which has allowed her to turn her firsthand experience with sobriety into a career. She loves being part of people’s lives who are trying to get sober. Nicolle is also the proud mother of an amazing 13-year-old daughter.

Donate Now In Honor of Ahndrea Weiner

Ahndrea Weiner started her career at the Matrix Institute as an intern in 1992. She spent the next 27 years working as a therapist at CLARE | MATRIX. She says that she is who she is professionally because of the opportunities and faith the founders gave her.

Throughout her time with CLARE | MATRIX, she recalls the clients she treated at their most vulnerable time in their life and watching them transform themselves. She also fondly remembers the opportunity to travel the globe to train people in how to implement the Matrix Model so that they can pass on the recovery tools to others around the world.

She remains passionate about being a psychotherapist who works with clients while also teaching and training up-and-coming therapists. She is currently one of the Clinical Directors of LifeStance Health, Inc., where she practices the art of therapy and uses her supervisory skills to mentor and manage the therapists who join the practice. Additionally, she implements her love of teaching as a professor in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University. Those who know her best know that her greatest passion has been living her life in Hollywood Beach in Oxnard and sharing that life with all her animals for the last 25 years.

Donate Now In Honor of Pamela Wyatt

Pamela Wyatt started her second professional career at CLARE | MATRIX three years ago, working in Admissions as an Intake Counselor. It was an opportunity she never imagined would change her life in such a rewarding way. When Pamela thinks of CLARE | MATRIX, she thinks – “life of purpose, service, and leadership.” This is her life’s mission. Helping others has always been a fulfilling desire and passion of Pamela’s.

For the majority of her professional career, she worked in the Information Technology field. She began as a Systems Analyst at Northrop Grumman. Eventually, she worked her way up to Vice President of IT at Landata Inc, a subsidiary for Stewart Title. During that time, Pamela also earned her Bachelor of Science degree and earned her Master’s degree. When the opportunity presented itself, she took on a career change as a drug and addiction counselor. It has been a rewarding and life-changing experience, as it has allowed her to make a significant difference in people’s lives. It is so rewarding to see her clients succeed in either beating an addiction or making a life-changing realization about ways to improve their lives.

Pamela has taken another step forward in becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is currently a student at Pepperdine University. She believes the specialized programs at Pepperdine University will be the experience continuum that cements her profession as a therapist, and will strengthen her life of purpose, service, and leadership.