Ian Koch, MS, LCADC, CAS

Executive Director

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 his 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.

When Ian is not helping others, he can be found spending time with his wife or running with their dogs Wilma and Charlie, and you will most certainly find him kitesurfing at the beach year-round, regardless of the temperature!

Dan Miranda, BS, ICADC, CAP

Program Director

Dan Miranda is the newest addition to the Surfside Structured Sober Living team. 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. He is currently back in school pursuing a Master’s Degree in Addiction Studies. Dan is a Certified Addictions Professional in the state of Florida and holds an International Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor’s credential. 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.

Nick Geissler, BA

Community Outreach

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 become 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.

DJ Brown, BS

Operations Coordinator

Growing up in Southern New Jersey, DJ recently moved to Ocean City, after living in New Hampshire since 2016. He is passionate about recovery and is excited to help others recover in the same area where he use to use drugs and drink and where he first attempted to get sober.

He began using alcohol and other drugs at the age of 13 and it quickly began to escalate throughout high school and into college. He graduated Seton Hall University in 2010 with a BS in Business Marketing, and went on to have an internship at Sirius XM radio in New York City. After college he worked in Market Research for Pinnacle Foods, but his addiction quickly spiraled out of control. After spending 7 years living in North Jersey, he moved back to South Jersey in full blown heroin addiction. His alcoholism and addiction brought him to multiple car accidents, arrests, lost jobs, ruined relationships with loved ones, overdoses, and a spiritual rock bottom. After multiple failed attempts at treatment through IOP, Detoxes, and inpatient programs, he went to an inpatient treatment center and went on to live in Structured Sober Living.

After spending 7 months in sober living and putting an honest effort into the 12 Steps he began to have an experience and developed a passion for helping others. He began to sponsor other men, take speaking commitments, and be of service to others. Having scrapped his desire to pursue a career in Marketing, he began to work for the sober living home he previously lived at and then went on to become a 12-Step Coordinator and Case Manager at an IOP facility. While working there he was able to connect with clients based on his unique experience and carry the message of God and the 12 Steps.

DJ enjoys spending time with family, his girlfriend and his dogs. He can be found surfing somewhere along the East Coast, Snowboarding throughout the North East, playing Ice Hockey, basketball, skateboarding, hitting the gym and going to concerts. He is looking forward to being active in the South Jersey recovery community and bringing his passion and upbeat attitude back home.

Jared Shedrofsky, BS

Senior Recovery Specialist

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.

John Pelikan

Recovery Specialist

At 24-years-old, John was living in a rooming house surrounded by prostitution, drug dealers, and crime. From the age of 17 he battled with addiction, homelessness, and multiple attempts at treatment. His methods of treatment included detox, inpatient rehabilitation, intensive out-patient, and medication assisted treatment. Each time, however, John could not surrender to the fact that if he was to stay sober, he would be required to make some drastic changes. His ability to get and stay clean was the result of putting time and effort into his own recovery.

During his active addiction, John had grandiose ideas such as continuing his education at the age of 18. His addiction had progressed past the point of being able to attend college with any success, so within the first semester he dropped out of all his classes. 7 years later, John enrolled back into college to begin attaining a degree in Social Work. His passion for helping others had been identified and he set out to achieve his goals. Putting all into his education that he had put into his recovery, he has sustained a 4.0 GPA, and received multiple awards; including the Dean’s List. More recently John was certified as a recovery coach.

John’s philanthropic work extends past the point of Surfside Structured Sober Living. You can often find him reaching out to others who are like him, living where and how he was. He won’t hesitate to tell you it is one of his hobbies. Conversely, if you were to go to the bowling alley, beach, boardwalk, or local fitness center, you would find him making the most out of his freedom in sobriety. More recently John got a puppy!

Brian Licata

Recovery Specialist

Brian’s addiction began and ended in New Jersey with stops along the way in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, California and almost every state in between. Having been a patient at most of the in-patient facilities in the tri-state area, Brian’s final stop was at Surfside.

Prior to beginning his recovery, Brian’s innate interest of all things lead him to work as a Congressional Page in Washington, D.C. during his Junior Year of high school.  Following his completion of the Page Program, Brian interned for Major League Baseball and a multi-media company on Capitol Hill.  Upon graduating from high school, Brian fell victim to typical undergraduate peer-pressures.  In his freshman year of college he was introduced to prescription opiates.  In the following nine years, Brians addiction brought him to homelessness, financial dereliction and complete separation from his family.

Throughout his addiction Brian’s family was the motivation he needed to continue on.  After 15+ failed attempts at recovery, Brian was living in East Camden surrounded by scenes of addiction, prostitution, and theft.  In a final attempt Brian consulted his father for help.  This call for help led Brian to the completion of a 28-day in-patient program.  After tapping his parents financially for the last time, Brian asked his Grandmother for help.  Brian and his Grandmother Adele, found Surfside Structured Sober Living.

Since Brian has come to Surfside he has changed tremendously. Not only did Brian become an active member of the recovery community but he became a leader at the house.  Brian now finds himself able to manage his own finances, personal relationships and has even continued on in pursuit of his undergraduate degree. We asked Brian to take our House Manager position because of his exemplary leadership, solid work ethic and his innate ability to connect with people. Lastly, Brian has been certified as a Recovery Coach to which provides additional skills and training to our team.

Scott Hansen

Recovery Specialist

Scott was born in Lewisville, Texas in 1990. Adopted at birth to two loving parents, Kevin and Terry, and raised in Bergen County New Jersey with an older brother, Chris. Excelled in sports and school and even went as far as to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Baseball career at Don Bosco Prep, class of 2009, led to a Division 1 offer to Lehigh University. First semester at Lehigh is when Scott started to do more than just drinking and occasionally smoking marijuana. Long adderall benders and experimentation with other drugs, coupled with excessive drinking led to a suspension from the baseball team and eventual departure by sophomore year. A second opportunity to play Division 3 baseball was was also thrown away by more partying and careless illegal activities. Scott’s parents sent him to several therapists to get to the root of the problem, but never got the help needed because he was never fully honest about his circumstances. His life spiraled while he lived in a delusion.

Between 2011 and 2016, I was in and out of work, in and out of school and in and out of trouble, including 4 arrests, a handful of treatment facilities and a stay at a psychiatric hospital. In October, 2016, I went on my final run, which ended with yet another arrest. The next day I was sent to my last inpatient rehab for 28 days and upon discharge, entered Surfside. Scott stayed for 5 months, even though he made it through all of the phases in a little over three months. Scott thrived in a structured environment and Surfside was what he needed in a time where he didn’t know how to take care of himself. After those five months he became the first resident in the Phase 4 (step down house) where he acted as the house manager for another 3 months until he finally moved out on my own.

Within his first year of sobriety, he successfully completed my first IOP program, got off of probation, had his license reinstated, and enrolled back into college. He is currently psychology major at Stockton University with a 4.0 GPA since resuming his studies in the summer of 2017. His projected graduation is fall spring 2019. From there he hopes to pursue a graduate degree in sports psychology. Scott also spends his time as the Head Junior Varsity coach for Holy Spirit High School and hopes to continue working with guys in this arena.