About Us

I was born in Baltimore to a loving family and was raised in Towson and Bel Air, MD. After college, where my destructive lifestyle really took root, I spent the next 12 years working in corporate America. If judged on outward appearances I seemed to have a good life; I became very good at hiding behind masks and conveying the “all is well” image to others. But inwardly, I struggled with anxiety and feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and sought escape from my inner turmoil through drugs and alcohol. 

As a chronic & progressive disease, substance use disorder took an increasing toll on my life over the course of 20 years, culminating in homelessness and incarceration. I became so consumed by shame and self-loathing that I could no longer face my family or friends. In 2002, I reached the depth of my despair, living in abandoned buildings in the worst part of the city, surviving each day just to feed a raging addiction. I reached bottom behind bars in the Maryland Penitentiary. But the gravity of that adversity became the catalyst for my surrender. After my release, I finally admitted my powerlessness and asked for help. I spent a year in a spiritual recovery program, rebuilding my life and discovering my purpose. I found a deep and profound sense of healing by using my own journey to help others like me, and I have been doing that ever since. 

Over the past 17 years I’ve learned volumes about addictive behavior and recovery. Unlike common perception, the path to wellness is not linear; it’s an ongoing process filled with successes and setbacks. I’ve found that the most effective way to build a foundation in recovery is by living in a restorative community that combines clinical interventions with a strong focus on spirituality and social determinants of health – the things that determine the quality of a person’s life as a human being. That’s our model at Summit.