Blog Archives

Chris Thompson is Green Hill’s Facility Coordinator. He is currently pursuing a degree, where he is majoring in electrical systems technology. His professional career includes working with general contractors, electrical contractors, and realtors. Ultimately, that is where his understanding and experience for property maintenance was developed.

Christopher has spent much time in the field of carpentry, learning from his father at a young age, and eventually going on to work for himself before the pandemic. Currently he is enrolled in the Electrical and Applied Engineering program at Wake Tech. This fall will mark the 2nd semester on his journey to becoming a well-rounded tradesman.

​​Christopher hopes to bring value to the operations of the Advaita Collective and Green Hill by ensuring facilities are optimal for clients and team members to thrive. He looks forward to bringing the offices and residences to the best version of presentation possible, allowing clients and employees alike to feel at home. Chris stated “I’d like to help maintain an environment that will foster and promote healing. There’s no place like home.”

Megan King is the Admissions Coordinator at Green Hill. As Admissions Coordinator, Megan spends a lot of her time speaking with the guardians of potential clients or the clients themselves. Along with working in the Admissions department, Megan coordinates with the Clinical team to ensure the best possible outcomes for clients.

Megan was born in Maryland but has spent half her life in Garner, North Carolina, where she first discovered her passion for both writing and helping others. A 2019 graduate from Meredith College, Megan received Bachelor’s degrees in both Communications as well as International Studies. During her final year at Meredith, Megan was the communications intern at a local Chamber of Commerce, where she performed duties including Social Media management, administrative assistance and event planning. Since graduation, she has worked full-time at a mission-driven women’s boutique.

In addition to immersing herself in the clinical field at Green Hill, Megan is currently working toward joining the Masters in Social Work program at George Mason University, where, upon completion, she hopes to practice as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. Megan cares deeply about social justice issues, believes that proper mental healthcare should be accessible to everyone and fights to be a part of the solution to this deeply rooted problem of inaccessibility.

If you can’t find Megan, she has likely got her nose stuck in a sappy rom-com novel, completely lost in a true-crime podcast, or sipping coffee watching New Girl for the 9th time. She loves to write and tap into her creative side in any way possible. A secret dream of hers is to participate in an improv-group and/or have a stand-up comedy act. People describe her as empathetic, passionate, and driven.

Education

Meredith College (Raleigh, NC) — B.A.

Troy Skisak is a Program Facilitator at Green Hill Recovery. He works directly with clients by ensuring transportation to meetings, distributing necessary medications, and checking in on them throughout their recovery journey. Troy is currently a senior at NC State University majoring in mechanical engineering.

Troy previously spent two years at Texas State University. “I didn’t gain much except for some college experience and unfortunately, a heroin addiction,” Troy explains, “This eventually led me to Green Hill, initially as a client, where I retained the record for the longest running residential client. While at Green Hill I was able to gain the skills necessary to stay sober and put my life back on track. With tremendous support from staff, I put my life together, later working my way through Wake Tech Community College and into the NC State mechanical engineering program which I am very proud of.” Troy’s return to his collegiate pursuits brings him immense joy.

Regarding his work as a Program Facilitator, Troy uses his own experience to deeply connect with the clients. “Being a former client gives me a unique perspective and ability to connect with the current clients,” Troy explains, “I understand a lot of what they’re going through and am able to share with them what I used to get through these issues while I was a client here. I am also able to somewhat influence how the program looks by explaining what I think were the most helpful parts of the program while I was in it.”

“Including my time as a client, I’ve actually been a part of Green Hill longer than anyone here except for Tripp,” Troy adds. Although Green Hill is a huge part of his life, he has many hobbies and interests that he honed in on and developed during his time as a client. “I’ve got a dog named Harley who is my baby girl and whom I love more than anything. I’m a pretty big baseball fan and am very interested in lots of complex science and physics which govern the way the universe works.”

Education

NC State University (Raleigh, NC) — B.S. (2023)

Josh Olesiuk serves as the Outpatient Coordinator at Green Hill. As an Alumni of Healing Transitions, a 501(c)3 nonprofit recovery facility in Raleigh, he has first-hand experience in recovery that is so valuable when working with clients. Outside of his role at Green Hill, he is a very active and engaged member of the Raleigh AA community. Josh holds a BA in Psychology from The State University of New York at Fredonia

A firm believer in the 12 Steps, Josh ties traditional recovery principles to more modern approaches to connect with the young men at Green Hill. When talking to Josh you can hear his passion for recovery loud and clear. “I believe in meeting people where they’re at and deeply loving them until they learn to love themselves,” Josh explains “I truly feel you can have a fun life in sobriety.”

Understanding everyone has different life experiences and aspirations, Josh takes the time to get to know the clients at Green Hill personally so he can empower and support them more effectively. “My main desire is to help others find their own path to success in recovery, even if that looks different from mine.”

Education:

The State University of New York (Fredonia, NY) — B.A.

Dr. R. Dewayne Book is the Medical Director at Green Hill Recovery, having joined our team in the late spring of 2022. Dr. Book specializes in addictive disorders (such as substance use and alcohol), having studied neurobiology and biochemistry to understand chemical brain functions. This knowledge informs his well-rounded, individualized approach to treating patients struggling with addiction, an approach that also includes medication management, psychotherapy, patient education, and social network development. Dr. Book also offers Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at Advaita Integrated Medicine. TMS is often used when a patient has treatment-resistant depression and has previously tried other treatment methods and modalities.

Dr. Book received his medical degree from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia. He was the outstanding resident of the year during his residency at the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center.

Working in a variety of settings and having a private practice since 1999 has led him to have over 30 years of experience treating patients with a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Prior to coming to Advaita Integrated Medicine, Dr. Book was the Medical Director of the Addiction Recovery Center at MindPath, and was the Medical Director at Fellowship Hall for 10 years.

Dr. Book received the ROCK Sleyster Scholarship from American Medical Association as well as the Fredrick B. Glaser Award from the Governors Institute. He was president of the NC Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) chapter, a guest editor of the NC Medical Journal, and served as an adjunct faculty member at Duke University Medical Center.

Education:

Mercer University School Of Medicine — M.D.
University Of Georgia School Of Social Work — M.S.W.
Louisiana State University — B.S.

Marcus Shumate, LCMHC, LCAS is the Clinical Outreach Director at the Advaita Collective, which includes Green Hill Recovery and Advaita Integrated Medicine. Marcus is a North Carolina native who grew up in the Eastern part of the state. He has functioned in various clinical roles and provided individual therapy, family counseling, group counseling, and supervised the professional development of staff. Throughout his career Marcus has cultivated various relationships between treatment systems towards coordinating care for individuals.

Marcus holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Gardner-Webb University and a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner-Webb University. Marcus has previously worked in residential SUD treatment working with a broad clinical demographic through various roles. Eventually, he helped develop a Young Men’s Program where he led the implementation and development of clinical programing and curriculum, provided clinical supervision, and oversaw clinical care and management of staff.

Marcus is passionate for innovation in the field of SUD treatment and challenging assumed constraints. As Marcus and his professional interests have evolved, he’s become increasingly interested in how various biases evolve and become limiting for individuals and the field as a whole. This has fueled his interest in the ways in which contemplative practices can help penetrate these biases. Additionally, he has deep rooted interests in human flourishing that began in his undergraduate experience when he was first introduced to different texts from classical philosophy. Given his interests in all things related to human flourishing, Marcus was drawn to the alignment he experienced with Advaita Collective’s mission.

Marcus currently resides just outside of Asheville, NC. He loves the beauty of Western NC and spending as much time as he can outside with his three dogs. Marcus is a big advocate for trying new activities that he’s likely to be bad at. He’s been a life-long enjoyer of the martial arts and views them as pathways for improvement and confronting unhealthy aspects of ego. He enjoys spending his free time on the mats training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, or wrestling. He loves food, cooking, and almost all sports. If you happen to find yourself around him for more than a few minutes he will likely force a reference to the latest podcast episode that’s caught his attention.

Education:

Gardner Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC) — MA, EDs. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Gardner Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC) — B.S.. in Psychology

Dr. R. Dewayne Book is the Medical Director at Green Hill Recovery, having joined our team in the late spring of 2022. Dr. Book specializes in addictive disorders (such as substance use and alcohol), having studied neurobiology and biochemistry to understand chemical brain functions. This knowledge informs his well-rounded, individualized approach to treating patients struggling with addiction, an approach that also includes medication management, psychotherapy, patient education, and social network development. Dr. Book also offers Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at Advaita Integrated Medicine. TMS is often used when a patient has treatment-resistant depression and has previously tried other treatment methods and modalities.

Dr. Book received his medical degree from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia. He was the outstanding resident of the year during his residency at the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center.

Working in a variety of settings and having a private practice since 1999 has led him to have over 30 years of experience treating patients with a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Prior to coming to Advaita Integrated Medicine, Dr. Book was the Medical Director of the Addiction Recovery Center at MindPath, and was the Medical Director at Fellowship Hall for 10 years.

Dr. Book received the ROCK Sleyster Scholarship from American Medical Association as well as the Fredrick B. Glaser Award from the Governors Institute. He was president of the NC Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) chapter, a guest editor of the NC Medical Journal, and served as an adjunct faculty member at Duke University Medical Center.

Education:

Mercer University School Of Medicine — M.D.
University Of Georgia School Of Social Work — M.S.W.
Louisiana State University — B.S.

Corey is the Clinical Director providing leadership, supervision and quality assurance to the clinical teams at the Advaita Collective, which includes both Advaita Integrative Medicine and Green Hill Recovery. Corey holds a Masters in Social Work from University of South Carolina and a B.S. in Community Health Education from UNC-Wilmington.

Prior to obtaining her Masters, Corey worked under the Governor’s Crime Commission Grant in Wilmington, NC aimed at reducing recidivism in youth through after school programming. This lead to a nomination in 2015 as one of Wilmington’s Women to Watch. While receiving her Masters, Corey worked as a research assistant with South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health publishing research on best practices, access, delivery models and current implications for policy related to Behavioral Health and Substance Use delivery systems in South Carolina. During Corey’s four years with Carolina Outreach she served as a Community Support Team Lead, Site Director for both Raleigh and Durham Sites and the Director of the Behavioral Health Urgent Care. While at Carolina Outreach Corey co-created and implemented a new delivery model for medication management services aimed at increasing access to care, reducing provider burnout and reducing no-show rates.

Corey brings a variety of experiences including almost 10 years of program development and implementation, research, inpatient and emergency department social work, Community Mental Health enhanced services and clinical leadership. She is trained in ACT, CBT, CPT, mindfulness based strategies and intensively trained in DBT. Corey believes in utilizing a relational approach to both her clinical practice and her leadership. She aims to assist individuals and supervisees closest to their authentic self by aligning their goals and purpose with their innermost values for increased work and life satisfaction.

Corey believes human empowerment is intrinsic to whole-person care and that we, as practitioners, are the lucky guides in the human process towards flourishing. Corey hopes her role at the Advaita Collective will create increased access to high-quality, whole-person care in Behavioral Health and Substance Use treatment while also focusing on developing clinical sophistication within her clinical team.

University of North Carolina at Wilmington (Wilmington, NC) — B.S. Community Health Education
University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) — Masters in Social Work

Michael is a founding member of the Advaita Collective team and currently serves as the company’s acting Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Michael is responsible for managing the financial resources of the firm to ensure that it can continue to fulfill its missions and serve patients. Michael is also responsible for ensuring financial controls and reporting on behalf of all firm stakeholders.

Michael graduated from Duke University with a BA in Psychology and an MBA from the Duke University, Fuqua School of Business. Prior to working at the Advaita Collective, Michael worked at Phoenix House of New York, an adult-focused substance abuse treatment and vocational training program. Michael has been a part of the Advaita Collective family for six years and has served in a variety of roles, most recently as Chief of Staff.

Michael is passionate about building, and growing, organizations that provide healthcare in a responsible and sustainable manner. He believes that access to mental health and substance abuse care are fundamental to supporting longer-term positive outcomes for both individual patients and entire health systems.

As Chief Financial Officer of the Advaita Collective, Michael hopes to continue to develop and grow an organization committed to delivering high-impact mental health care while properly aligning stakeholder’s interest with patient outcomes. One day, Michael hopes to start a venture fund for small businesses led or staffed by young adults in recovery from substance abuse.

Education

Duke University, Fuqua School of Business (Durham, NC) – M.B.A.
Duke University (Durham, NC) — B.A. Psychology

Nick Slovak is the Executive Director of the Advaita Collective, which includes Advaita Integrated Medicine and Green Hill Recovery. Nick sees his primary responsibility as giving the staff at Green Hill the tools they need to provide compassionate and innovative care. Nick holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern Maine in political science and a minor in international relations. He is currently working to complete a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Prior to his work with Green Hill and the Advaita Collective, Nick served as the Program Coordinator at Foundation House – an extended care sober living facility in Portland, Maine. In that position, Nick developed and implemented academic and vocational modules, alumni programming, and a variety of experiential and adventure-based therapies. Most recently, he worked at the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) – the largest J1 visa sponsor in the United States. At CIEE, Nick coordinated international exchange programs for over 20,000 high school and college students from 50 countries.

Professional passionNick is passionate about empowering young people to make a successful transition into emerging adulthood. He has direct experience with both the perils of addiction and triumphs of sobriety. His own recovery journey has been paramount to his work mentoring emerging adults through early recovery, giving him a firsthand understanding of the challenges faced by newly recovering emerging adults returning to an academic setting. Nick believes in a holistic approach to recovery and in the importance of a balanced lifestyle.

Originally from Long Island, NY, Nick comes to Raleigh from Portland, ME. He is an avid adventurer and outdoorsman who enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, and snowboarding. He is a Registered Maine Guide, and has led multiple expeditions through the mountains and waters of Maine and New Hampshire. He is a strong proponent of the healing power of the outdoors and is always eager to share this passion. Nick is also an ardent traveler having visited four continents and over 15 countries. Nick lives in Raleigh with his partner Whitney and his dog Sheppy.

Education

University of Southern Maine (Portland, ME) — B.A.