Ian Koch began working in the mental health field in 2003 at age 20.  While completely delusional and ignorant to some of his own issues, he got his start working with teens at a youth center while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work.  He had a strong desire to help others but was completely unable to help himself.  He had been in major trouble since age 12 and was even asked to leave Valley Forge Military Academy at age 14. He continued to appear in court rooms around the east coast and eventually got clean on March 7, 2005.  His desire to reach his hand out to others increased and he continued working with youth suffering from mental illness.  Around 2 years sober, Ian moved into the addiction field.  Ian obtained a Master’s Degree in Community Mental Health from Southern New Hampshire University and a Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Care from Saint Michael’s College.  He is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor in multiple states and has received a National Certification as an Addiction Specialist from the American Academy of Health Care Providers. Over the past decade, Ian has worked in various aspects of addiction treatment, including intensive outpatient, residential, medication assisted treatment, detox and private practice.  He has also worked in sober living, provided interventions, run family programs and case management for clients.  His extensive knowledge and experience ignited the desire to create Surfside Structured Sober Living to provide a critical resource that the community lacks.  Ian is adamant that clinical resources are important, which is why Surfside utilizes these services in the community, but he believes the key to lasting recovery is participating in constructive action through a supportive and encouraging environment. More recently, in 2017 he received “An Appreciation for Outstanding Service” in 2017 at the Tuerk Conference and more recently the “Ashley Addiction Treatment Innovator Award” in 2019 at the NCAD East conference. When Ian is not helping others, he can be found spending time with his wife or with their dogs Wilma and Charlie, and you will most certainly find him kitesurfing at the beach or at Surfside’s newest addition Saltwater Athletics.

Dan Miranda joined the Surfside Structured Sober Living team in the winter of 2017. He recently moved back to New Jersey after living in the south for about a decade. Dan has been working in the substance abuse field since 2009. He is a former United States Marine with a passion for fighting the domestic war against the opiate epidemic. He holds degrees in Psychology and Human Services along with additional seminary training for graduate school and has earned a Master’s Degree in Addiction Studies. Dan is a Certified Addictions Professional in the state of Florida and more recently became a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor in the state of New Jersey. His passion is working with those struggling with addiction and assisting them to find a new way of living. Dan has been counseling families and addicts on a private level for years and prides himself on helping families heal. Dan has worked at every level of care in treatment from detoxification all the way down to outpatient. He has been in an executive role and a program director at several facilities. Dan’s versatility and passion for  recovery are part of what makes Surfside so special. His role in our extended care structured sober living focuses on the life development component of our comprehensive program. Dan’s educational background and his personal recovery has placed him in a position to become a motivational speaker for over eight years and has worked with many men to aid them in the pursuit of living by spiritual principles. Dan even held the role of pastor and spearheaded a church that was focused on the recovery community in Florida during his time there. When he is not helping addicts, he is spending time with his wife and is very family focused.

Growing up Nick was active in sports and went to Western New England University to study History and play baseball. His dream was to play professional baseball but after having 2 surgeries on his shoulder, Nick, just like many other had his first introduction to opiates. With baseball out of the picture he started working towards helping shape the minds of youth. While working on his Master in Education he got a job, working at Bonnie Brae, a residential facility for adolescent boys.

Nick grew very interested in the mental health field and moved to a  job at Trinitas Regional Medical Center working in the child/adolescent/MICA PHP and IOP. While working there he shifted his educational focus to a Masters in Mental Health Counseling. During this time Nick’s addiction progressed from drinking to becoming heavily involved with prescription pills. Nick tried many different avenues to figure out what was wrong with him and how to fix his problem.

After attending 2 rehabs, ER visits, psych wards and individual counseling. Nick thought he had the world figured out but quickly realized his score card read zero. Nick finally decided to try something different and did not return home. He went to a Structured Sober Living in Southern New Jersey and stayed for a significant time. While there he got involved in the recovery community and with the guidance of staff started to rebuild his life.

Nick now works with Surfside Recovery Services Inc. as our Community Outreach Liaison and also helps out with Recovery Coaching when necessary. Nick has completed his Masters Degree in Mental Health counseling and was recently trained as a family interventionist. Nick is an instrumental member of the recovery community and can often be found helping some of the residents at Surfside. When he is not working you can find him relaxing on the beach, working out in the gym or spending time with his family and friends.

Jared came to Surfside at 24, and was our 3rd resident in the program. His family was not willing to let him move back to New York with them and took a chance on Surfside during its infancy. He came to us late May of 2016 following another failed semester at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a degree which was started in 2009. Jared’s struggle with addiction started in high school, and brought him to new lows through this seven year period in Colorado. Ever since he was a kid he never was able to commit himself to much, having serious trouble initiating anything productive. The only thing that seemed to draw him into action were drugs and alcohol. At 26, Jared’s life is vastly different, through completing Surfside, working a recovery program and now helping others. Jared has now been a Surfside employee since November of 2016, and is a valuable member of the staff. He has completed all his classes and received  a Bachelors degree in Psychology, from CU Boulder. His Psych background brings a unique approach to interacting with residents, with a strong belief in constructive criticism. Jared also received an opportunity for additional training and became a certified recovery coach. Jared is very active, playing arguably too much golf and can often be found in the gym. He also loves to ski and snowboard, and has previously worked on a ski mountain in Vermont. If Jared was not working at Surfside he claims he would be a dog breeder, although he wouldn’t sell any of the dogs. He hopes to bring a recovery dog into the Surfside family very soon.

Andrew joined the Surfside team in January of 2019. Andrew hails from Southern Maryland, right outside of Washington DC. He has been an athlete for most of his life, even earning an opportunity to play baseball at Johns Hopkins University. Much like athletics, drinking and drugging captivated a big part of his life. Starting out as a “weekend warrior,” he eventually became a daily drinker and drug user. While in college, injuries forced Andrew to end his baseball career, and he spiraled into a deep depression. He withdrew from life, spending weeks at a time in complete isolation from the world. For many years, Andrew was completely hopeless and returned to the booze and drugs to cope. After college, Andrew worked in the non-profit sector and then in the financial world, but neither were able to curb his drinking and drug use. He began to live the double life- trying to make people believe he was doing better than he was. The double life eventually brought him to his knees, with nowhere to live, and no money. From this rock bottom, Andrew began his journey in recovery. He made it to a long term 90 day addiction treatment program and then completed another 7 months in extended care.

At Surfside, Andrew oversees any business development projects- including fundraising, data collection, digital marketing, and content creation. You may recognize his name from various Surfside articles and blogs. Although not in his job description, he enjoys coming by the Surfside houses and hanging out with the residents and offering assistance as needed. In his free time, Andrew loves Crossfit, the beach, reading and writing, and his favorite DC sports teams.

Thomas  was born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, but spent summers and holidays on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  A good student, Thomas was active in musical theater and choir. For college, Thomas attended The George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he studied international relations and geography. Thomas was also active in his fraternity, and that meant fraternity parties and mixers, which meant drinking. After college, Thomas attended the University of Virginia School of Law. For many of his peers, law school was an excuse to return to party antics of college. But for Thomas, is was an excuse to never leave it. Alcohol slowly became a constant companion in his life, and his studies suffered. After barely graduating law school, he moved back to Atlanta, where a DUI derailed his eligibility to take the bar exam.

Born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, Mike grew up in your standard, All-American  family with two parents and an older sister.  He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, working hard in school, and playing sports.  Like many high school kids, Mike found alcohol as a fun escape on the weekends. While attending Providence College, his drinking intensified, and he started to experience the mental, emotional, and physical consequences of heavy drinking.  As his grades steadily declined, Mike decided to keep on drinking to escape.  After 4 years of college, he had nothing to show for besides a list of regrets, broken relationships, and a serious drinking problem.  He spent two years digging himself deeper into an alcoholic hole as opportunities came and went.  The anxiety and depression brought on by heavy drinking and the reliance on the substance to make him feel normal had placed him in a vicious cycle.  Mike started his journey in recovery at age 24 but was not a first time winner.  After about 9 in-patient rehabs, 3 detoxes, numerous IOPs, and every other possible option health insurance provided for him to get sober, he found himself hopeless and defeated in his battle to get sober.  He decided to give it one more shot and found himself at Surfside.  Through Surfside’s recovery program and the 12-Step Fellowship, he has found a new way of life. Mike recently started classes at Stockton University in hopes to finish the degree that he once thought was a lost cause during his drinking.  In a short time, sobriety has brought him a new lease on life. He shows up every day to achieve his goals and tackle any challenges in his way.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Ryuta moved to Whitehall, PA at 12 years old, where he developed a passion for sports, particularly baseball and wrestling.  He attended Bloomsburg University, and graduated as a member of the baseball team with a degree in Business Administration. In college, Ryuta’s drinking appeared to be under control, as he kept his partying and binge drinking to the weekends, and focused on school and athletics during the week.  After graduation, Ryuta started working in marketing and sales and found some success. However, his drug habit took on a more prevalent role in his life, and he became a daily drinker and drug user. Slowly but surely, he realized he needed help, and he attended his first rehab in 2018. But it did not stop there. He soon relapsed and found himself hopeless and homeless, completely incapable of accepting long term sobriety.  Along the way, he damaged relationships with his friends and family, with no end in sight. Eventually, he gave recovery one more shot, and in the process, found Surfside!

After 7 months of treatment and long term care, Ryuta found the discipline and structure he needed in his life.  He now faces his problems head on and accomplishes goals he sets for himself. As a support staff at Surfside, Ryuta is passionate about helping Surfside residents find enjoyment in life and experience everything that recovery has to offer.