Board of Directors

Andy Besser has been actively involved in the field of addiction treatment for the past 10 years. After retiring from a 25-year career as a medical malpractice litigation attorney, Andy went back to school to earn a certification as an addiction counselor.

Andy founded and operates a nonprofit intensive outpatient treatment program, and has volunteered as an addiction counselor for a Los Angeles based nonprofit addiction treatment center. He also is the Chief Financial Officer of the Burstein Company, a management and production company that represents actors, writers and directors of film, television, theatre and new media. In addition, he serves as a volunteer case evaluator for the California State Bar’s Lawyers Assistance Program, and he was appointed to a four-year term on the program’s Executive Oversight Committee.

After graduating with a B.S. degree in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University, Andy earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School. He also received a certification in Drug, Alcohol and Addiction Counseling from UCLA.

Andy has been actively involved in Alcoholics Anonymous over the past two decades. He first learned about CLARE Foundation more than 15 years ago when he spoke on an Alcoholics Anonymous panel. He also serves on the board of Beit T’Shuvah, a nonprofit organization devoted to addiction treatment.

Andy and his wife, Joannie, are parents of two children, Jordan and Carly.

James Birch is a serial entrepreneur and CEO with a track record of building disruptive businesses from inception to successful M&A exits. He’s currently, Co-Founder & CEO of DinkSmart, an innovative pickleball software platform transforming how players connect, schedule games, and compete.

He previously founded and led Cloud Cover Music to an M&A event when it was acquired in 2022 by SiriusXM/Pandora.

His business career includes working for 25 years as a video-based corporate communication specialist for advertising agencies and major corporations. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

After 7 years as Board Treasurer, Jim currently serves as Vice President of the Board for CLARE|MATRIX. He and his wife Gail reside in Santa Monica Canyon.

John Carrick is Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Integrated Capital Management (ICM). ICM is a Los Angeles-based investment management firm that is privileged to invest the commercial real estate allocation of Disney and several other family offices around the country, as well as multiple registered investment advisors, high net worth individuals, and foreign capital sources.

Mr. Carrick’s extensive experience as a real estate attorney, investment banker and principal is reflected in the execution of more than $75 billion in real estate transactions during and throughout his accomplished career. He brings invaluable insight and a powerful macroscopic perspective to ICM, with the ability to handle complex legal and business-related matters, debt and equity financing needs, and the analysis and evaluation of commercial real estate investment opportunities.

Immediately prior to forming ICM, Mr. Carrick was Senior Managing Director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF), where he advised clients with respect to both equity and debt capital formation on a project, portfolio or entity basis. He also held executive positions at Anderson Global Corporate Finance, Savills Studley and Cohen Financial. Previously, he was part of the investment banking practice at Nomura Asset Capital where he focused on debt underwriting, origination, securitization and asset management. Mr. Carrick started his professional career as a structured finance attorney in the private sector and as counsel for the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC).

Mr. Carrick received a BA from Bucknell University and a JD from The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America. After practicing law for five years, he continued his education at UC Berkeley and earned an MBA at the Haas Graduate School of Business where he was awarded the prestigious Marshall Bennett Real Estate Fellowship.

Anthony has been in the Commercial Banking field for 30 years, working for major Global and Domestic banking institutions. Most of his career has been in the middle market space, acting as lead banker for corporate relationships that involve credit, treasury management, and other banking services.

As a relationship Manager Anthony has been exposed to a diverse range of industries and business types which has given him vast experience in daily operations and capital structure of businesses.

I am passionate about helping others who struggle with substance abuse. The vision of Clare/Matrix, No life lost to drugs and alcohol, is the reason that I am willing and grateful for the chance to be of service to the organization.

Kevin Fahy is a native of Southern California who grew up the second oldest of five children in the city of Downey. Not long after high school, Kevin’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to Chicago, where he learned the trade of selling leather hides, spending three years perfecting his knowledge and skill-set.

In 1979, Kevin launched his own business, Fahy Leathers, and became a leading independent leather sales representative in Los Angeles. By 1986, he expanded his business to include importing and selling leather worldwide.

Bolstered by his appreciation for his own sobriety and a desire to help others attain theirs, he became a board member of the CLARE Foundation in 2005. He has been a part of many CLARE Foundation committees, focusing primarily on finance and facilities. Currently, Kevin diligently serves as the Chairman of the Board for CLARE|MATRIX.

Kevin resides in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Loree, and their three children, Erin and twins Ryan and Dylan.

Mark Freund is a Southern California native who graduated from UC San Diego, where he studied film and earned a B.A. degree in Communications. His love for science fiction movies and books led him to work as a visual effects artist and supervisor in the motion picture industry. He has worked on such films as Star Wars, The Matrix Reloaded, X-Men: The Last Stand, and nearly 100 other notable feature films. He is a member of the Visual Effects Society and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Now retired, Mark enjoys traveling by bicycle and giving back in meaningful ways. He has a longstanding involvement with Deaf West Theatre, and he continues working with the hearing impaired in recovery. He also regularly reads to children at local libraries.

Mark and his wife, Trice, are longtime supporters of CLARE Foundation. Mark has served on CLARE Foundation’s board committees since 2012, and he also spent more than a decade working as a volunteer for the Matrix Institute on Addictions.

Since its merger, CLARE|MATRIX has enabled Mark to continue his enthusiastic service for an organization with a mission of saving lives through recovery.

Rose Grakal is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  While she has spent the last 15 years of her professional career practicing as a therapist, the first 23 years of her professional life were in the music business focused on sales and marketing of musicians and bands at BMG, A&M, Interscope, Universal and EMI.

A native of Needham Massachusetts, Rose received her B.A. degree in Communications from theUniversity of Massachusetts at Amherst and her M. A. degree in Clinical Psychology from AntiochUniversity Los Angeles.  She has worked with children, adolescents and adults specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Systems, Attachment Theory, and substance use issues. She developed curriculum and facilitated Codependency Groups at various treatment centers in Los Angeles.  She also trained in Post Induction Therapy with Pia Mellody at The Meadows in Wickenburg Arizona.  

Rose has been actively involved in the Los Angeles recovery community for over 28 years.  She has volunteered for the last 5 years on the Clare Matrix Gala committee.  

When they aren’t working or traveling, Rose and her husband are busy training, showing, and having fun with their AKC Grand Champion Flat Coated Retriever Teddy.

Stan Janowiak is a Managing Director – Investments at Wells Fargo Advisors (Westlake Village, CA). Stan focuses on private wealth management and assisting sell side engagements for privately held business owners. Previously he was a Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley (Woodland Hills, CA). Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Stan served in the Global Private Client Group of Merrill Lynch (Chicago, IL). While at Merrill Lynch he was instrumental in the largest middle market M&A transaction in the history of the firm. He has also served in various management roles at Merrill. Prior to Merrill, Stan was an Account Executive for Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group in Chicago. For over 30 years he has provided investment consulting and private banking services to ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices, and institutions.

Mr. Janowiak currently serves on the Advisory Board of The Sheridan Road Charitable Foundation and is a member of the National Eagle Scout Association and the Breakfast Panel of the California Club. Stan also served as the President of Commuter Associates, Inc. doing business as Car 553(the last private commuter car in the United States). He was also the former President and past Director of the Young Executives Club of Chicago. His past memberships include: Board of Directors at the Clare Matrix Foundation (Santa Monica, CA), The Lyric Opera of Chicago Guild Board of Directors, Peggy Notebart Nature Museum of Chicago Board of Trustees, Elawa Farm Foundation Board of Directors, The Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago­Men’s Golf Committee. Stan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from DePaul University in 1992. A native of Chicago, Illinois he has lived overseas and enjoys golf, skiing, and all racquet sports. He currently lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife Jennifer and two children.

Jason Eric Schiffman, MD, MA, MBA is the founder of Camden Center. He is a Diplomate of the National Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He is also the founder and Medical Director of the UCLA Dual Diagnosis Program and has written extensively on the subjects of addiction, trauma, anxiety, and depression in both the academic and popular press. He completed his residency in psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He is a graduate of the MD/MBA program at the University of Southern California and received a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics from UCLA, where he specialized in syntax and semantics. Dr. Schiffman has extensive research experience in psychopharmacology and molecular biology and is the author of numerous scientific publications in these fields.

At Camden Center, Dr. Schiffman has pioneered the development of integrated healthcare systems for the treatment of psychiatric and addictive disorders that match patients with personalized treatments optimized for their unique biological, developmental, and psychological profile. The Camden model of care identifies and treats both the symptoms and causes of mental health disorders through diagnostic evaluation, feedback-based treatment planning, and the matching of patients with individualized, multidisciplinary teams of expert clinicians.