Meet The Team At Our Sober Living Homes In Los Angeles, CA

Sebastian has been participating in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery for over a decade, and has a passion for assisting people as they work through areas of life similar to the ones that he has struggled with. Sebastian has worked with New Life House in a variety of roles, and spent time both directing the houses and focusing on the alumni, as well as working with the clinical team at Clear Recovery Center.

Sebastian takes pride in having the opportunity to help young men transform their lives while working with their families.

Howard Barker handles all of the outreach and community engagement at New Life House. He works to spread education and awareness on issues surrounding mental health and substance abuse as well as help families navigate the difficult waters of getting a loved one help. Howard has spent the past 8 years working with young adults and their families, being a support during times of crisis.

A New Life House alumni, Howard went back to college and underwent CADC training in recovery. He has spoken on panels, in treatment centers, community centers, schools, with parents, students, teachers, law enforcement and mental health providers to give insight on issues that are impacting young people today. He works closely with the New Life House families and the management staff, helping to keep things innovative, add additional services for the guys, and deal with all of the logistics of running the New Life House programs.

Christopher began his career in 2009 in direct care, serving acute and chronic mental illness, then transitioning to serving homeless veterans. In 2012, he founded a concierge consulting firm, serving families nationally that were struggling with a loved one’s mental health and/or substance use disorder. This was when Christopher first began working collaboratively with New Life House, experiencing unprecedented results in young men’s long-term recovery. In 2016, Christopher co-founded an integrative trauma healing continuum of care. Having exited both of those companies by late 2019, he then co-founded a small non-traditional private equity fund, investing in small and mid-size businesses in a variety of industries, providing several investments support in the areas of vision development, executive coaching and management consulting, growth strategy, marketing, brand and sales strategy, and corporate culture and leadership development.

A self-proclaimed ‘survivor optimist,’ Christopher’s journey has been one filled by a metric ton of life’s experiences, building awareness, and using life’s twists and turns as the foundation of personal development. As a result, he is deeply passionate about how men experience the world and going deep into the experience of expansive masculinity. He is the co-creator of a podcast and YouTube channel, The Gut Level, which is a first-hand, real-time accounting of men’s growth and transformation that’s normalizing men’s humanity by creating connection, inspiring growth, and relieving the experience of aloneness and isolation in masculinity. Christopher is on a personal mission to be a shining light in the darkness, to bring dreams to reality, and to live a visionary life.

In addition to all of that, Christopher values nothing more than the intimate bonds he has with his friends and family; nothing would be possible without them. While travel and experiencing cultures around the world is incredible, Christopher loves the stability of home and the relationships close to home. The deepest part of his being is on fire as he trains for and goes after climbing big mountains and adventuring in the remote wilderness. He finds his truest self, totally free, in the solitude of the mountains – whether climbing, peak-bagging, or snowboarding in the backcountry. In addition to the solitude of the mountains, Christopher is a dedicated meditation practitioner and teacher humbly serving the traditional tantric hatha yoga lineage of the Himalayan Masters. His life is incredibly full and at the end of the day nothing lights up his heart as much as being of service to others and finding opportunities to impact the world.

Robert is the coordinator for both of the South Bay Houses. He has over three years of sobriety and went through the house personally. As such, he has an understanding and an appreciation for the program. His goal is to give others a similar experience as he had, and to assist in their recovery process. Outside of the recovery house, Robert is a student at CSU Long Beach.

Dave Lewis has been associated with New Life House for almost 25 years. Through the years he has been a sponsor, teacher, confidant, manager, chef, carpenter and plumber. He has had many wonderful experiences through his time as a manager at New Life House.

When not at one of the South Bay houses, you can find Dave supporting the Stanley Cup Champions the Los Angeles Kings. If it’s football season he will be sitting at home watching the Cornhuskers. More often than not, he is often giving rides to meetings nearly every night.

New Life House has brought Dave a sense of gratitude and satisfaction from watching the guys who come into the house who are beaten and broken as a newcomer to transitioning to graduation and being told they have completed the program. Dave takes great pride and joy in being a small but hopefully successful part of the process.

Liam helps manage New Life East. Going through New Life Personally, Liam understands the process of the house, and navigating the ups and downs of early recovery. Being from the South Bay, he loves going surfing, skateboarding, and being around good people. His main goal is to share his own journey of healing, transformation, and finding an excitement in life that used to seem impossible. When Liam is not at the recovery house, you can be sure to find him at the beach or the skatepark with his friends laughing and having a good time.

Dominic is the Manager at New Life West, and  is a graduate of New Life House himself. He also previously worked for Clear Recovery Center. As such, Dominic has a comprehensive understanding of the program, and a love for helping others actualize their recovery. Outside of the recovery home, Dominic is a passionate skydiver, surfer, and fisher.

John Twomey came to New Life West over three years ago from South Carolina. Since then, John has thoroughly established himself in the recovery community in Los Angeles. John considers the people he went through the program with as family, and strives to facilitate an environment wherein that too can be the case for others.

Ben Brigham is a graduate of New Life West and has over three years of sobriety. Since his completion of the program, Ben has explored multiple avenues of interest for a career, from the service industry to real estate. However, he is passionate about his recovery and the New Life House Program and wishes to help others have a life changing experience with the program as well.

Lance has been participating with New Life for 2 years, and says that some of his best memories have been from his involvement at the houses. He is from Las Vegas and enjoys having fun in sobriety, spending time with his community, and staying active.  He says that going through New Life taught him to adopt responsibility and value his relationships, and he wishes to help others with doing the same.

Irina Jodzio is the Parent Intensive and Family Group Facilitator at New Life House. Irina has an extensive background working with young adults and their families, and has been participating in the New Life House community for many years, helping the young men recover. Through a lens of clinical expertise and a belief that everyone can recover and transform their lives with the right assistance, Irina helps both families and the young men in New Life House navigate recovery, heal family dynamics, and move towards healthy and whole relationships with one another.

Dr. Martha B. Koo, M.D., a graduate of Princeton University and UCLA Medical School, is double Board Certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine and has over 20 years of experience providing psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and pharmaceutical treatment for individuals and families.

Martha has worked with the guys of New Life House for many years, and is acutely aware of the specific issues that come along with young adult men. Dr. Koo provides substance abuse therapy and medication management for clients on a specialized, individual basis. She is an active member of the American Psychiatric Association, the New Center for Psychoanalysis, the Clinical TMS Society, The American Society of Addiction Medicine, the California Psychiatric Society and the Southern California Psychiatric Society.

Dr. Josh Lichtman is an experienced psychiatrist who has been practicing for close to two decades. He is dual board certified in both adult psychiatry and addiction medicine.

He is passionate about both mindfulness and psychiatry, and seeks to blend the two. Although he primarily focuses on TMS and psychopharmacology, he is trained in various modalities of psychotherapy including CBT, DBT, EMDR, and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. He is a clinical instructor at UCLA, and has been selected to be on the list for Southern California Super Doctors for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015. Dr. Lichtman brings his extensive experience with addiction psychiatry to serving the young men of New Life House.

Scott Dohren attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a focus in Business Administration. He also holds a CADC-II certification in addiction studies. Scott has a tremendous amount of experience with both administrative and interpersonal aspects of behavioral health. His background in the field of behavioral health extends to counseling, mentorship, and admissions.

Scott’s leadership and passion in the field of wellness allows him to bring a wealth of experience and insight into working with the young men of New Life House. In his free time, Scott enjoys maintaining a healthy exercise regimen, attending concerts, spending time in nature, and traveling with his wife Karen.