Meet Our Team - Granite Wellness Centers

Executive Management Team

Victoria Blacksmith, Chief Executive Officer, GWC & GWC Foundation

Victoria Blacksmith is first generation born in the US, her people originate from Guadalajara, Mexico. Victoria holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is currently a Clinical Psych. Doctoral Candidate. Victoria is passionate about research and addressing existing and historic inequities experienced by minority populations. Victoria’s research is focused on decolonizing mental health, which is the restoration and acceptance of cultural practices and values that were once abandoned, removed, or outlawed because of colonialism.

Victoria is an Organizational Consultant whose clients are primarily minority-owned non-profit organizations. During her career, Victoria has served as the Executive Director for the Friendship House Association of American Indians, working with individuals experiencing substance use and co-occurring disorders. Victoria served as a Supervising Detention Officer for the Yolo County Department of Probation for a decade, working with incarcerated youth and youth involved in immigration proceedings. She earned Officer of the Year and Supervisor of the Year awards in 2013 & 2016. Victoria proudly serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Granite Wellness Centers and Granite Wellness Centers Foundation and provides individual psychotherapy in private practice in Sacramento, CA.

 

  Eric Smith, CADC II, Compliance Director

Eric joined Granite Wellness Centers in February of 2008 as a counselor providing services in DUI, Adolescent, Outpatient, and Co-Occurring Disorders programs. Throughout his years of service with the organization, Eric has provided valuable services in local high schools and rehabilitative services in Juvenile Hall and through the Beyond Bars program at the county jail. Eric received multiple degrees in Health and Human Services through Yuba College and holds degrees as a Chemical Dependency Counselor and Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialist. Prior to joining Granite Wellness in 2008, Eric worked in a number of programs through other Northern California rehabilitation services.

 

Medical Staff

Dr. Neal Mehra, MD, MBA, Medical Director

Dr. Mehra completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry & Cell Biology at UC San Diego, graduating first in his class. He went on to receive his medical degree from UC Davis School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency in Neurology. He earned his MBA at UC Davis Graduate School of Management where he was awarded the Innovator Fellowship & Scholarship in Healthcare.

With expertise in the clinical, business, and technological aspects of healthcare, he served as a Senior Consultant at Ernst & Young, LLP (now EY), where he developed clinical quality improvement initiatives for national health insurance companies and major medical groups. Dr. Mehra has managed several medical groups and has served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Strategy for large multi-state physician groups located in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Dr. Mehra has also served as Medical Director for three of the leading Addiction Medicine treatment organizations in the Sacramento area. Since January 2021, he has been honored and excited to serve as the Medical Director of Granite Wellness Centers.

He has an ongoing professional interest in increasing efficiency and quality in the delivery of healthcare, including through the integration of technology and telemedicine. Clinically he has a passion for and specializes in promoting wellness and treating addiction, through a patient-centered approach. Dr. Mehra feels the basis upon which all other principles are ultimately derived is the Doctor-Patient relationship: a partnership in the effort to improve your health, wellness and happiness. Vital to the success of our partnership is a relationship based on mutual respect, honesty, trust and open communication.

Dr. Mehra enjoys traveling with his wife, skiing/snowboarding, bicycling, reading, as well as all aspects of technology. One of his guiding principles is that “challenges make life interesting, overcoming them makes it meaningful.”

Dr. Alexa Colgrove Curtis, PhD, MPH, FNP-BC

Dr. Curtis has over 30 years of experience as a family nurse practitioner (FNP) caring for underserved populations in rural communities throughout California. She is a rural and adolescent health expert and a waivered Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) provider.  She is published in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the Journal of Rural Health, Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, Journal of Addiction Medicine and Substance Abuse, among others. Dr. Curtis is the Director of Nurse Practitioner Programs at the University of San Francisco where she teaches data analysis, epidemiology and advanced assessment and health promotion.

Gabriel Ramirez, Physician Assistant

Gabriel Ramirez is a nationally certified physician assistant specializing in addiction medicine at Granite Wellness Centers. He obtained his BA in medical anthropology and completed his medical training at the University of Washington. He has worked with the underserved population for most of his career including primary and urgent care setting. He has also partnered with a local physician in Oxnard, California to treat patients in advance wound management and recently served in the U.S Army Reserves as Medical Officer. He is certified by the National Commission for Certification of Physician Assistants and is a past member of Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society. He has recently obtained his X waivered certification for substance abuse treatment.

Leadership Management Team

 

Tammie Angove, ICADC, CADC II, WTS, IS, Grass Valley Residential Program Manager

tangove@granitewellness.org, (530) 273-9541 Ext. 244 or 243

Tammie started her career with Granite Wellness Centers in 2010 founding and starting the Parent Leadership Empowerment Group (PLEAG). In 2011, Tammie obtained a support staff position at Hope House Residential Treatment facility for women and children providing services to women struggling with SUD and family court cases with Child Protective Services. In 2017, Tammie accepted the role as Program Manager of the Grass Valley Residential Treatment facility. Currently, Tammie is Program Manager of Hope House treatment facility for women and children where she continues to work closely with families, clients, clinical staff, courts and county agencies to continue the fight against the impact of substance use disorder.

 

Janet Baker, Auburn Residential Program Manager

jbaker@granitewellness.org, (530) 885-1917 Ext.194

Janet joined Granite Wellness Centers in June of 2011 while taking college courses to become a drug and alcohol counselor. She has held various positions within our organization, including Counselor and Facility Coordinator. Janet currently serves as Program Manager for Auburn Residential, where she continues to work building healthier and stronger communities, helping families become whole again, reuniting parents with children, and displaying that there is hope after addiction.

 

 

Christine Findley, CADC II, ICADC, Residential Services Director

cfindley@granitewellness.org, (530) 273-9541 Ext. 207

Chris began with Granite Wellness Centers in 2002 maintaining multiple roles within the organization. Chris has spearheaded a number of projects for CoRR/Granite Wellness leading to her stepping up into the position of Program Director for all Granite Wellness Centers’ residential and detox programs in 2017. Chris maintains and promotes integrated family programs that facilitate an atmosphere of positive growth and change for men, women, and children seeking treatment from the impact of substance abuse.

 

 

Christina Frye, CADC II, CDVF, Grass Valley Residential Program Manager

cfrye@granitewellness.org, (530) 271-1140

Christina began working as the counselor clerk for Granite Wellness Centers in 2007 and has worked her way up to Serenity House Program Manager. She has seen the agency grow through the years and help in many endeavors over the years including Beyond Bars in Nevada and Placer County. She is a Nevada County Native who takes pride in helping others.

 

 

Cindy Middaugh, CADCII-ICADC, Grass Valley/Truckee Program Manager

cmiddaugh@granitewellness.org, (530) 273-9541 Ext. 202

Cindy started working in Hope House residential 4 months after it was opened in 2001 while it was Nevada County Substance Abuse and Community Recovery Resources. She left and returned in 2012 to Hope House. She has since moved to Outpatient and worked closely in many areas with Courts, standalone assessments, CPS, Coordinator of our Mother’s in Recovery program and facilitating The Beyond Trauma groups for women. She is currently the Program Manager for Grass Valley and Truckee Outpatient.

 

Nathan Rude, CADC II, Roseville/Lincoln Program Manager

nrude@granitewellness.org, (916) 782-3737

Nathan began working at the Sierra Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SCOADD) in February 2004 joining Granite Wellness Centers in 2011 when the organizations merged.  Nathan worked more than four years in the residential facility as House Manager and transitioned to DUI program in July of 2008.  Nathan became site coordinator in November 2011 and began to oversee the Outpatient Program in September 2014 and has been serving as Program Manager since 2016.

 

Barbara Rudolph, CADC II, Action Team Program Manager

brudolph@granitewellness.org, (916) 884-0579 Ext. 2252

Barbara has been working in the field since 2017 and is currently the manager for the ACTion Team Program. She enjoys promoting change and growth while staying true to client-centered care. Her goal is to continue to support the LGBTQ and culturally diverse communities.

 

 

Heather Slattery, Recovery Residence Manager

hslattery@granitewellness.org, (530) 718-4685

Heather began with Granite Wellness Centers in 2015, and has held various positions within our agency. She currently is the Recovery Residence Manager for all sites. Heather loves to watch the miracles of others as they learn to live free from active addiction, reunite with their families and their children and gain their independence for a brighter and more fulfilling future.