Our Team
christopher von elten, MD
Dr. von Elten graduated from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and completed his residency program at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine and has been treating individuals with substance use disorders since 2011 when he co-founded Blackberry Ridge inpatient treatment center with Dr. Jewell. He is married with three children and enjoys soccer, fishing, and playing guitar.
Noel Jewell, MD
Dr. Jewell graduated from the West Virginia University’s School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Virginia. He is double board certified in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. He co-founded Blackberry Ridge inpatient treatment center in 2011 where he also served as the Psychiatric Medical Director. Married with two kids, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and golf.
Robert Trimarche, MPAS, PA-C
Robert received his Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) and Physician Assistant certification (PA-C) from St. Francis University in 2004. He initially started his career in Pinehurst, North Carolina, working in Neurosurgery, then transitioned to Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep medicine. Robert is currently working in Urgent Care and Addiction medicine. Prior to Physician Assistant school, he was a licensed Physical Therapy Assistant in Florida. Rob now lives in Lynchburg with his wife and three kids. They enjoy all things outdoors.
KIBBLE H. KESSICK, RN, MSN, FNP-C
Kibble was raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She graduated with honors from Clemson University in South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN). After graduation, Kibble spent 17 years practicing as a critical care nurse in a variety of specialty fields. She then went on to obtain her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and is certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C). Kibble is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners as well as the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners. Since moving to the Charlottesville area in 2008, Kibble and her husband, Jon, enjoy spending quality time with their daughter and son, traveling as a family, and being actively involved in Portico Church in Charlottesville.
William Manning, LCSW
Willie is a trauma informed Mental Health and Substance Abuse counselor and therapist, and the director of Addiction Allies therapeutic services. His passionate belief in person-centered, empathy-based, individualized care sets the tone for the clinical programming that complements the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) at Addiction Allies. Willie specializes in group therapy and individualized counseling in the context of trauma and substance abuse. He also is a passionate advocate for mindfulness-based stress reduction (MSBR), and practices this by spending time with his family and animals, by looking to nature, and playing tennis and hockey.
Nathan YOUNG, MS
Nathan has worked as a clinician in the Mental Health and Substance Abuse treatment field since 1992. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of New Mexico, and a Master of Science (MS) in Counseling and Psychotherapy from the Adler Graduate School in Minnesota. He has experience working in a variety of Mental Health and Substance Abuse settings and capacities: large-scale residential, community-based non-profit, inpatient psychiatric, corrections/correctional-medical, community services board, and outpatient. His clinical passion is helping individuals struggling with opioid addiction. Nathan lives in Louisa County with his wife, two sons, one dog, two cats, and three fish.
Kierra ferguson, LPN
Kierra worked for many years as a medical assistant, prior to getting her LPN in 2019. She provides care coordination for Addiction Allies, helping people to connect with additional resources in the communities we serve to help promote and sustain physical health, mental health, and recovery for our clients..
Haivon Miller, PRS
Haivon is a Certified PEER Recovery Specialist/Office Manager at our Lynchburg office. Haivon suffered from opioid use disorder for ten years before finding her passion for recovery when she achieved sobriety in 2017, using her personal experience and education Haivon helps support people in and towards recovery. In addition to coordinating the needs of the Lynchburg clients, she runs a weekly ZOOM based PEER support group meeting..
Corey Adkins, PRS
Corey is one of our PEER Recovery Specialists for the Lynchburg Office. After recoverign from opioid and stimulant addictions Corey was awarded custody of his neice and nephews. Corey takes pride in his PRS certification and his goal is to help others in his community who struggle with mental health and substance use disorders.
Lauren Manning
Lauren is our friendly point of first contact for Addiction Allies. A conciensus and supportive voice for new patients looking to establish services, she helps to connect people in need with services quickly and efficiently. Lauren worked for many years in the veterinary field. She enjoys time with her family and her many pets.
Bret Decker, LDAC, CAS, LSATP
Bret is a licensed addiction counselor LSATP in VA, and a LDAC. in MN. He has served patients in multiple states for many years. Bret obtained his Master’s in Addictions from Hazeldon Graduate School of Addiction Studies and is a Certified Addiction Specialist through the American Academy of Healthcare Addiction Providers. Bret facilitates PHP and IOP groups and also implments TSF and EMDR for 1:1 trauma therapy. Bret has national gambling disorder certification. He enjoys teaching and has taught internationally. Bret is also an accomplished actor, you may have seen him in on television in the docudrama “Evil Lives Here…Terror in the Wildrness” amongst other roles and various commercials.
Tess McCormick, BA
Tess received her bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Virginia in 2023. She is passionate about helping underserved populations and those struggling with mental illness. She provides care coordination services to our patients, helping them to connect with important resources within the community and maintain their sobriety. Additionally, she is a research associate with UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies and works at an equine facility on the weekends. She currently lives on a farm with her cat, Roo, and enjoys riding horses and spending time with friends and family.
Brent Robbins PMHNP-BC
Brent Graduated from the University of Virginia with a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) degree in 2024. He has over 20 years of nursing experience, including eight years working at a substance abuse treatment center in Texas. Brent got sober in 2012 and uses his personal recovery, experience, and education to reach patients struggling with addiction. Brent and his wife enjoy hiking and spending time together outdoors.
Kasey Ellis, PRS
Kasey provides Peer Recovery and Administrative support for our Charlottesville and Fishersville offices. Kasey has been in recovery for over two years following a sixteen year battle with addiction. She is dedicated to helping and supporting others with substance use and mental health disorders.
Christy morris
Christy works providing client support for Charlottesville office. She has been in recovery for close to 14 years following an 18 year battle with addiction. She has a background in non profit work where she assisted others in in reaching their personal best. Christy has a passion for helping others. She is pursuing her Peer Recovery Certification.
Denzel Carter
Denzel provides support to our clients in our higher intensity PHP program, providing orientation, discharge planning, and mentoring. Denzel’s compassion and empathy comes from watching members of his family struggle with addiction. Denzel also enjoys mentoring local youth.
AIDAN MARICH, LPC
Aidan received his Bachelors in Psychology from Misericordia University in 2014 and his Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University 2018. He has provided services to a wide range of clients ages 5-80 with various mental health issues for the past 6 1/2 years. Aidan specializes in Trauma-Informed, Addiction, Family Systems, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. In his spare time, Aidan enjoys working out, going to concerts, and spending quality time with friends.