Who runs these treatment programs?
On the first pass through 486 treatment locations, I mostly looked at details a directory can count: programs, schedules, photos and addresses. Then I went back to three location pages and looked at the people listed there. Their biographies led from special education to psychiatry, community mental health and public service.
I didn't interview anyone. These profiles come from provider biographies and public records. They tell us something about people's backgrounds and job titles, but not who a client at that location would meet.
Birmingham: Mary Elizabeth Akinaka
Alsana’s Birmingham PHP/IOP location lists Akinaka as vice president of clinical services. The location record describes six to eight hours a day in PHP and four hours in IOP. Her biography says she studied collaborative special education at Auburn, then clinical mental health and marriage and family counseling at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Alsana says Akinaka has worked in eating disorder care and with the organization for nearly a decade. She also appears on Alsana’s alumni page , where she talks about helping former clients stay connected while making their own choices.
I still can't tell from the page whether Akinaka works with clients in Birmingham or mostly across the organization. That's something I'd ask before choosing a program.
South El Monte: Jahan Khan and Stephanie Olvera
Clear Behavioral Health’s South El Monte page lists Dr. Jahan Khan as Mental Health Division Medical Director. Khan was born in Karachi and grew up near Chicago. He studied biology at Northern Illinois University, went to Windsor University for medical school, then trained in adult psychiatry at the University of Toledo. His biography says he later completed fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry, and community and public mental health psychiatry, at Case Western Reserve University.
He has led psychiatric emergency services, pediatric care and adult psychiatry residency training. Clear’s El Monte page also lists local program director Stephanie Olvera. Khan’s title covers the mental health division; Olvera runs the local program.
Olvera directs Clear’s El Monte IOP for adolescents and adults. Her biography says she has spent more than ten years in mental health, working in schools, psychiatric hospitals, California regional centers and community services. She has also held leadership roles with Los Angeles County and state agencies, and has a bilingual certification for Spanish-speaking populations.
That certification is useful to know about, but it doesn't tell me whether the program offers groups or individual sessions in Spanish. I'd ask Clear what language options are available now.
Shreveport: Brian Hollins
Uprising Addiction Center lists Brian Hollins as CEO . At a 2004 Shreveport City Council meeting , Hollins introduced himself as the Fire Department’s chief training officer and a pastor. He also spoke about a community revitalization project in Mooretown.
A 2025 paper on methamphetamine recovery later thanked Hollins and Uprising colleagues for helping recruit study participants. The researchers ran the study; the center helped connect them with people in care. Uprising’s IOP page says sessions run three hours, three times a week, with group, family and individual sessions.
I’d still want to know who leads those sessions and who clients see regularly.
Staff pages tell you who holds a title and what they've done. They don't always say who works at the location or who a client will see each week. That's the next question I'd ask.