Mary Ellen Stewart was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Seattle University and her MBA from Seattle International University. She began her career as Inservice Director for Providence Hospital and has also worked as a staff nurse at Highline Medical Center.

She has worked at Schick Shadel for over 30 years, first as a staff nurse, then Director of Nurses, then as Administrator and finally as Vice President of Operations for seven Schick facilities. After a brief retirement, she has now returned as Chief Executive Officer and is again enjoying the family atmosphere at Schick.

Mary Ellen is married and has traveled the world with her husband. She has five children and six grandchildren and is an avid sport's fan, often spending weekends at High School sport's events. She is now looking forward to assisting the hospital in their plans for growth and expansion.

Dr. Davis completed medical school at the University of Washington School Of Medicine (UWSOM) in 1976.  He attended residencies in Psychiatry and Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the UWSOM and UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine (UWSPHCM), respectively.  Dr. Davis received his MBA in General Management from the UW Graduate School of Business, Executive MBA Program.

Dr. Davis was a Clinical Professor in both the UWSOM and UWSPHCM from 1987 to 2000.  These positions included teaching medical students and supervising graduate school students.

 

After a ten year fulltime clinical career devoted to Addiction Medicine as the Medical Director of Schick Shadel Hospital in Seattle WA, Dr. Davis left fulltime clinical practice as the first Fulbright Professional Awardee in the Middle Eastern theater.  He was chosen through the Fulbright Program for the Gulf Cooperative Council (the six member states of the Arabian Peninsula ) to design and implement national and regional prevention and treatment programs for substance use disorders (SUDs) for native citizens of these countries.

 

Thereafter, Dr. Davis consulted internationally under the sponsorship of the USAID, USIA and DEA for governments in Europe, Africa and Oceania .  The general mission of these consultations was to assist governments in aligning the current state of scientific knowledge about  SUDs with social and public policy decisions.

 

Dr. Davis then embarked on a ten year career as a senior executive in the nascent but burgeoning managed care industry.  He held positions as Medical Director, Provider Relations’ Director, and Business  Development Strategist with a number of companies including Pacific Health Plans, Managed Care Washington, CIGNA Healthcare NW, and CIGNA Behavioral Health.

 

Preceding and during this period Dr. Davis was a consultant surveyor for the JCAHO in its Hospital Accreditation Programs.  In addition, dating early to this period and continuing Dr. Davis was a consultant surveyor for the NCQA.  He enjoyed a number of positions in the NCQA assisting with program training/education, product development, accreditation policy decision-making and surveying.

 

The next ten year period saw Dr. Davis as an independent consultant after a two year stint as a senior healthcare consultant at Milliman  & Robertson (now Milliman USA).  His consulting portfolio, national in scope and diverse in content, concentrated on quality of care and service, medical cost management, and systems’ liability in healthcare organizations.

During this thirty year period Dr. Davis maintained clinical attending privileges in Addiction Medicine at Schick Shadel Hospital. He has maintained his American Society of Addiction Medicine certification since 1986 and was recently awarded the American Board of Addiction Medicine certification. Dr. Davis returns to a new fulltime role at Schick Shadel Hospital as Chief Medical Officer beginning in 2010.

Dr. Dandala completed his Bachelors of Science in Microbiology and graduated cum laude from the University of Arizona. He then matriculated into the American University School of Medicine in the Netherlands Antilles for his basic sciences training; finishing his clinical training in Chicago with the University of Illinois affiliate programs.

Dr. Dandala completed his general psychiatry residency training at the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from the Brookdale University, he became a subspecialist at the University of Washington in their addiction psychiatry program.

After graduating from the University of Washington, Dr. Dandala joined Schick Shadel Hospital. He is a member of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Psychiatric Association.

When he’s not working, Dr. Dandala enjoys riding motorcycles and spending time white water rafting and hiking with friends and family.

Dr. Ralph L. Elkins, was born in Walterboro, South Carolina. Dr. Elkins received his B.S. in Science and Literature and his M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Auburn University. He then completed a Ph.D. in Biopsychology from the University of Georgia, where he graduated with distinction. Dr. Elkins was also inducted into the University of Georgia chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi Honor Societies.

Dr. Elkins was a Research Psychologist at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, from 1970 to 2008. During the past five years Dr. Elkins has served as an Addiction Therapist at the VA Medical Center. He also held faculty appointments in the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry from 1973 to 2008. Dr. Elkins has served as a funded visiting scientist at the Max Plank Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, and as a part time faculty member at Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia.

Dr. Elkins is a recognized leader in the field of Counter Conditioning and conditioned response. He participated as a Research Psychologist and Coordinator of Research; as well as conducting psychology research in conjunction with the VA Medical Center and the medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He also served as a funded principal investigator on NIDA and NIAAA grants as well as on VA Merit Review Awards.

Dr. Elkins has authored and co-authored numerous publications in national and international medical journals as well as lecturing and presenting at many national and international scientific meetings.

Ms. Fisher graduated with a BA from the University of Washington, continuing on to obtain her counseling certificate and Masters of Business Administration Degree.

A former graduate of the Schick Shadel Program, Ms. Fisher was also on the non-profit board the Keyboard for two years. In 1985, she came to work as a counselor at Schick Shadel Hospital and was later promoted to Assistant Director of Counseling.

After leaving Schick Shadel in 1990, Ms. Fisher returned in 2006, and was later promoted to her current position. She has worked at various recovery centers accumulating 23 years of clinical experience in the field of substance abuse.

Ms. Fisher holds Addiction Counseling credentials from the states of Washington and Colorado, as well as the National Addiction Substance Abuse Counselors (NAADAC).

Ms. Fisher is on the board for the Washington Chapter of NAADAC (CDPWS).

Mrs. Lota Ventura graduated from St. Paul College of Manila, Philippines and has been practicing nursing for 36 years.  Lota has been married for 34 years and has three wonderful children and 5 grandchildren.

Mrs. Ventura was a Nurse Supervisor and Supervising Nurse Instructor in the Philippines as well as an Industrial Nurse for a mining company, and worked at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, New York.  From 1994 to 2001 she was Director Nurses and Case Manager for a hospital in San Antonio, Texas as well as a Field RN for Community-Health Programs.

Mrs. Ventura joined Schick Shadel Hospital in 2002 and has worked in all areas of nursing at the hospital.

Lota loves working at Schick Shadel Hospital and enjoys working with the patients helping them make a new beginning, free of addicitons from drugs and alcohol, with a fresh outlook on life.  She feels it is a privilege and pleasure to ba part of helping people change their lives.

Ms. Elaine Oksendahl joined the Schick Shadel staff in 1987 as administrative assistant to the CEO and Chief of Staff. She received multiple promotions with ever-increasing duties and responsibilities due to her administrative ability and desire to learn all aspects of hospital operations. During the 18 years that she has been employed at Schick, she has served as Human Resource Director, Performance Improvement Coordinator, JCAHO/DOL Survey Coordinator, Privacy Officer/Compliance Officer and Associate Administrator.

Prior to working at Schick, Ms. Oksendahl worked in several administrative positions in manufacturing, education, criminal justice and owned a family business.

Ms. Oksendahl was raised in western Montana as a small town minister’s daughter. She credits her upbringing with the deep compassion she feels for people who suffer from addiction. She still loves the slow pace of rural America and commutes daily across the Puget Sound by ferry. She lives on the Kitsap Peninsula with her husband and son, a parrot, an elderly cat and a loveable dog. In her spare time, she enjoys do-it-yourself home projects, gardening, reading, traveling and cooking for friends.

Dave Wick began his career at Schick Shadel Hospital in 1965 as part of a team of researchers. In 1971, Mr Wick transferred to the admissions department, where he was promoted to assistant director of admissions, eventually taking on the dual role with patient services coordinator.

After four years of searching for a buyer, Mr. Wick helped coordinate the sale of the hospital to a group of former patients in 2002. He served as a liaison between the hospital and the new owners, then assisted in developing the Schick Shadel Foundation.

A state certified alcoholism counselor from 1977-2000, Mr. Wick graduated from Highline College in Des Moines, Washington and from Seattle University’s Alcohol Studies Program. He has two children, Carron and Ron, and four grandchildren.

Mr. Scott Miller has spent his 23-year professional career in various accounting and finance positions. He spent 13 years with an international public accounting firm specializing in various industries including gaming, high technology and cable television. After leaving public accounting he has been the CFO and/or Controller for two separate construction-related companies, an internet company, a monorail company, and a technology development company.

Mr. Miller grew up in Denver, Colorado and after nine years in Denver following graduation from Brigham Young University, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. He and his wife are the parents of three daughters. Over the years he has spent most of his free time raising his daughters and traveling to soccer tournaments. Mr. Miller has coached little league baseball and youth soccer.