Meet Our Board Members
Brittany Bass is a proud native of Austin. She has a passion for helping others not only find recovery, but also a life of purpose and meaning. Brittany also holds the belief that healing is not a one way street, that there are multiple ways to get to healing.
Brittany is the Director of Business Development for The Last Resort in Smithville, TX, a Substance Use Disorder treatment center for men who also struggle with underlying trauma.
Aside from working and being active in the recovery industry, Brittany is a mom to an active six year old son. Her hobbies include being outdoors—the lake, the beach, or the mountains, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.
Meredith Meurer grew up in the Houston area and landed in the Austin area after college. Meredith graduated from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and also has a Master's degree in Professional Counseling.
Meredith spent 10 years of her counseling career working in adolescent residential treatment for substance use disorders as a therapist, Clinical Supervisor and Program Director. She has also worked in young adult intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs.
Meredith currently serves as the Director of Revolution Youth and Family Recovery and oversees the recovery high school and youth and family support programs. She is passionate about advocating for adolescent recovery services and non-profit programs.
Meredith and her husband, Chris, live in San Marcos, TX and enjoy spending the weekends exploring the hill country and training their Australian Shephard puppy, Beau.
My name is Layne and I’ve been working in the Behavioral Health field since 2009, and I have personally been in recovery since 2007. I am also a Nationally Certified Recovery Coach (I & I). After a relapse in 2012 that lasted three years, I got sober again in 2015. Since 2007, I have sought out and experienced many different methods of expanding my recovery and my life. I began my career as an overnight Behavioral Health Technician, moving into management, Group Facilitator, Director of Operations, Executive Director and currently, Business Development and Marketing.
Being on all sides of addiction and recovery both personally and professionally, I offer a unique perspective on the journey of recovery. I have gone from the depths of addiction and despair to becoming a husband, father, and truly connected to the world.
The things that fill my bucket are spending time with my family, strength training, playing music, camping and hiking. Getting sober was the opportunity for me to find my passions and get out there to experience the world. I believe everyone deserves the chance to get well, regardless of circumstances or resources.
Our Board Co-Secretary has held the position of Business Development Specialist at Rock Springs Hospital in Georgetown, TX, since June 18. Kyle is a proud military brat and the bottom of five children. He spent much of his childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area following his father's retirement from the Navy and is a diehard Raider fan.
Kyle has been a member of the Recovery Community for since July 2005 and has worked in the Recovery
field since moving to Austin in 2012. One of his true professional passions is helping others to understand the crossover between Mental Health issues and Substance Use Disorder. Kyle attended San Diego State University in Childhood Development and Psychology. After his time in San Diego working as a Bar Tender and Corporate trainer for the Food and Wine industry, he moved to Los Angeles to join an Investment Group where he specialized in Branding, Marketing, and Business Development. Upon
moving to Austin, Kyle redirected his background in Sales, Marketing, and Branding toward the Recovery Community.
As a father of two sons, his passion is showing them the world firsthand by traveling the world and
instilling wanderlust into their hearts. By seeing the world and experiencing new cultures and ways of
life to encourage them to grow into compassionate and open-minded human beings.
Sara is originally, born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas but made the move to Austin in 2016. She began her career in the healthcare profession with a non-profit organization where she dedicated her time to assisting adults, adolescents, and veterans with high quality affordable care. During here time with the non-profit, she held numerous positions, and was able to complete her Student Practicum in Counseling. Sara finds her ultimate passion leading families and loved ones struggling with mental health and/or substance use disorder back on their journey to healing.
Sara earned her Master's degree in Health Administration (MHA) from Grand Canyon University, Bachelor's of Science in Sociology from Grand Canyon University, and her Associates of Applied Science in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling at Tarrant County College. She also received a Certificate of Completion for Mental Health Social Work at Tarrant County College. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and a Board Member of the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals in Austin (TAAP).
Colleen grew up in a family full of addiction with a recovering father that worked in the addiction field. She started her own journey in recovery in 2010 and hasn’t looked back since. She began working in the field of Addiction Treatment in 2011 as a counselor and has been working in leadership for the last 9 years. She currently holds the position of Executive Director at Positive Recovery Center in Spicewood, Texas. Colleen is an LCDC and is on the home stretch of obtaining her Master of Science in Addiction Counseling from Texas Tech School of Health Professionals.
Colleen is passionate about approaching addiction treatment from the strengths-based perspective of Positive Psychology. She believes that clients are already at their lowest point when seeking help and that by building them back up versus tearing them down that they can find strengths in themselves to thrive in life and recovery. She is excited to be serving on a Board that is focusing on inclusivity and diversity.
Colleen has 3 amazing kiddos, 2 of which are grown. She resides in Austin, Texas with her boyfriend and 17-year-old son.
Lawrence has worked in the field of Substance Use Disorder since 2018, when he founded Spain Spain Sober Living in Austin as a result of the loss of a loved one due to both Substance Use Disorder and mental illness. After this happened, Lawrence felt empowered to serve this population and to do more for his own community. As the Diversity and Inclusion chair of Austin TAAP, Lawrence is able to connect with folks from various walks of life to help them remember that we have all obstacles to face, and to support them changing their lives for the better.
Chuck has been working in the treatment industry for nine years. He spent the first eight years of his career in operations in all different levels of care from Detox to IOP at various treatment facilities. He has also helped start three facilities from the ground up. Chuck has spent the last year focusing more on Business Development and is currently The Director of Business Development at Ranch House Recovery.
Chuck’s core belief is that it is crucial that people in the industry and staff should live by and operate by the same principles and values that we teach our patients, clients, and residents. Two core values that Chuck tries to keep close to are remaining teachable and integrity.
Prior to a career in the treatment industry, Chuck worked in the oil industry, starting as a roughneck offshore and eventually moving into sales and equipment service.
Outside of work you can find Chuck exploring nature around Austin, in the gym, running on the trail, and spending time with his girlfriend and both of their pups.
Patrick McNamee is a native Texan, who was born and raised in Houston. After graduating from Lamar High School in 1989, Patrick went to Angelo State University, and then on to a career teaching Social Studies in Ft. Worth. In 2006, Patrick finally settled in Austin, where he has gained over 15 years’ experience in the healthcare industry specializing in mental health and substance use disorder. Over the years, Patrick has gained experience working in direct care, alumni services, admissions, and business development. Most recently, Mr. McNamee has served as VP of Admissions at one of the nation’s leading Health Care Facilities, BRC Recovery. His passion for quality and customer service led him to the J Flowers Institute, where he expanded his role working with families and clients seeking the very best treatment for all healthcare related issues. Currently, Patrick works at the Arbor as Clinical Outreach Specialist. Patrick believes in personalized healthcare and focusing on the needs of the individual. His philosophy in customer service is focused on “quality and relationships”. Patrick has relationships with many of the nation’s leading therapists, interventionists, and treatment facilities, and is passionate about working with individuals overcoming overall health issues. Mr. McNamee is often quoted as saying, “seeing people recover, is the bright spot in my life”. He greatly looks forward to working with Austin TAAP, as Board Member at Large.
