ATC Staff

Brian Virgin is the Program Director of At The Crossroads. As a founder and co-owner of At The Crossroads, Brian has been with the program since its inception in 2005. While working at an adolescent residential treatment center, he and Michael Alger noticed the dearth of supporting programs for the young adult population. Together, they created At The Crossroads to fill that need and help bridge the gap for families.

Brian has been affiliated with the human service field since 2003, when he began working in residential treatment at an adolescent facility. He later worked as a bilingual eligibility specialist with the Economic Services Division of Mecklenburgh County in North Carolina.

Brian is fluent in Spanish and has served as a volunteer with the Spanish Action Coalition, teaching Hispanic Youth the English language. In 2008, after starting At The Crossroads, he completed studies to become a Licensed Substance Use Disorder Counselor in Utah and retains this licensure to this day. Brian has served in all capacities in At The Crossroads and brings his passion for quality care and treatment to the residents he feels privileged to serve. Brian is married to Shannon Fischer, his wife of nine years, and together they have three children.

Mike received a BS degree in Family and Human Development from Brigham Young University, an MS degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Kentucky and an MBA degree from Arizona State University. Mike is a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of Utah.

Since 2002 Mike has dedicated his entire career to working with at risk adolescents and young adults with dual diagnosis related issues. Mike’s clinical passion and expertise is in the area of drug and alcohol recovery as well as treating other process addictions. Prior to returning to Utah and joining At the Crossroads in 2014, Mike had spent the previous two years as the clinical and program director at an extended care sober living program for young adult men in Portland, Maine.

Most of Mike’s career has been spent working as a clinician at several of the top wilderness therapy programs in the country. Wilderness therapy helped Mike fine tune his assessment skills and gain greater respect for the restorative power of nature and it’s ability to heal and transform. Mike enjoys in particular working with young adults who have come to At the Crossroads having had this experience.

Mike in an East coast transplant to Utah; born in Pennsylvania and raised in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. He has made several cross country moves during his adulthood but always seems to find himself back in Utah’s red rock country. Mike is an avid sports fan. He enjoys anything outdoors and is a firm believer in the restorative and spiritual power of nature. He enjoys spending time in the gym in his “free time” and believes that a healthy mind begins with a healthy body.

He is the father of three children who are quickly approaching the adolescent years and are sure to provide him with some challenging parenting experiences in the years ahead.

Misti grew up in Morgan, Utah on the family farm and graduated from Morgan High School, she earned her Bachelor degree from Brigham Young University in Human Biology.

She recently resigned as the Foundation Director of Building Utah Youth a non-profit that designs and promotes teen leadership/personal growth training. She enjoyed working with teens and watching them find their inner strength and potential.

She held her position with BUY from 2009 until 2014 and has seen over 500 teens go through their program. This has given her the insight and passion of helping young people.

In her spare time, she enjoys running, skiing, the family farm, sports and traveling. Her motto in life is “We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing”! In 2014, she made St. George, Utah her permanent residence.

Shannon was born and raised in Charlotte NC. She met her husband in St George Utah while attending Dixie State University in 2001. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to attend esthetics school and go on to own and operate a clothing boutique for many years here in St George. She has a love for getting to know people and embraces any opportunity to put her creative abilities to the test.

Shannon has been part of the At The Crossroads family since its inception in 2005. She has played a vital role behind the scenes and now she is truly relishing the chance to be at the forefront with all of our families and clients.

Shannon has spent years building relationships and making connections in the St. George community. She is looking forward to helping ATC clients navigate their Independence by helping with mock interviews as well as be a consistent touch point for them and remain a steady person in their support system.

Mark was born in Iowa and grew up in Illinois near the banks of the Mississippi river. He attended Western Illinois University, graduating in 2004 with a BS in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Administration. As a requirement for his degree he completed a 12-week internship in Utah at a Wilderness Therapy Program as a Field Instructor. During his very first shift Mark realized this was the industry in which he wanted to build a career. After working as a Field Instructor for a eighteen months he accepted a job in the administration. He held various positions over his 10-year tenure in Wilderness Therapy including Staff Director and Field Director.

Mark then finally pursued his life goal of becoming a therapist and went on to complete his MS in Mental Health Counseling. While working on his MS, Mark left Wilderness Therapy to seek other opportunities that would broaden his clinical experience. Mark spent 2 years working at a state-run adult residential treatment center gaining experience evaluating, diagnosing, and counseling clients with varying diagnostic criteria.

Mark is excited to be a clinician with ATC and continue to further his knowledge and experience of working with young adults. With his past experience, Mark has learned that rapport is vital to a working therapeutic alliance and creating an environment that empowers the client to succeed. This can take various forms and Mark likes to use different approaches depending on the client including Motivational Interviewing, Client-Centered Therapy, and skill development using DBT techniques.

Mark is an exercise enthusiast and a Level 1 Certified CrossFit Trainer. When he is not at work or in the gym, Mark enjoys spending time with his two children Mandolin and Langston, camping, hiking, music, sports and traveling.

Jennie Pool has worked in the industry with adolescents and young adults for over fourteen years. She graduated from Utah State University with her B.A. in Psychology, and is currently finishing up her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Jennie has spent much of her time developing with talented therapists in wilderness therapy, where she worked extensively with young adults. She has a creative approach, and in this arena she honed her skills to work to build a strong empathetic approach and therapeutic relationship with each client.

Jennie takes a holistic approach, helping clients look at deeply rooted core beliefs that often create the dysregualtion they are experiencing in the present. Trauma recovery work, associated with addressing anxiety and depression are a focus with each of her clients.

Jennie works on building an extensive foundation of beneficial coping skills, increasing a skill set to emotionally regulate, while building frustration tolerance for difficult life experiences. Included in these skill sets, Jennie helps clients work to learn life skills that help achieve long term independence.

In her approach she discusses the importance of secure attachments, and does deep relationship work. She also explores how the brain wires for experiences, both negative and positive. Each client has the opportunity to learn how to rewire for positive based experiences to create a balanced life.

Jennie loves to be outdoors and takes advantage of being in nature as much as possible. She believes we all need places we can retreat to for healing and re-connection of ourselves. She notes, “There is such calmness and serenity that can come with sitting with one’s self and exploring our depths.”

Jennie has two boys and believes one of her greatest jobs is to be present, connected, and learn as much from them as they from her. She likes to read, spend time outdoors, loves to run and be as active as possible.

My name is Ryan Forbes. I go by "Forbes" (in order to not be confused by the ocean of Ryans), but feel free to call me Ryan.

I worked in public mental health for 20 years. During that time, I developed and ran programs of:

• Supported housing
• Case management/Life Coaching
• Day treatment/Clubhouse Model
• Behavior management
• Supported Employment
• Transitional Employment
• From 2002 to 2008 I was a part of an International Faculty for the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD) (www.iccd.org) based in New York City that sent me throughout the United State to evaluate and train programs in the clubhouse model.
• Served as a Chair, co-chair and treasurer for the Utah State Coalition for Adults with Mental Illness.
• Certified trainer of Crisis Intervention Training for police officers to work with Mental Health issues.

I began doing therapeutic groups, staff development and program development with ATC in the spring of 2008 and started working fulltime with them in fall of 2013. During my initial time with ATC I functioned as the Program Director and Primary Therapist in order for us to be State and Joint Commission Certified. Since our certification I have stepped down to focus strictly as a primary therapist.

In addition to my experience with the State of Utah and ATC, I have also worked in Wilderness Therapy with Wingate as a primary therapist. I love the spiritual feel of nature and the ability to unplug from distraction and electronics. I learned many valuable lessons during my time with Wingate that has affected my induvial, family and professional approach.

The Students I traditionally work with have a history of:

• Anxiety
• Attention Deficits
• Autism Spectrum Level I
• Cognitive rigidity
• Co-morbid Substance Use Diagnoses
• Depression
• Emotional Regulation
• Executive Functioning Struggles
• Gaming, Technology, Internet overuse
• Grief and Loss
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Oppositional Defiance
• Persistent Mental Illness
• Positive Psychology

I have experienced that there are two ways to live your life; with Fear or with Freedom. The moment when each of us come to the consciousness of the question we must always ask ourselves “When will I be ready to ascend to a better level of existence?” Life requires all of us the need to declare what motivates us to be happy and enables us to find passions in ourselves. In addition, we must recognize those individuals and items in our lives that stunt our happiness, vitality, progression and have the strength to remove them. Many times, that requires of us the experience of being comfortable while others are not comfortable and vice versa.

In preparation for this question and these changes in life, I like to use simple assessments with the family system. They are; Hartman Color Code, Strengthfinders 2.0 (or VIA strengths test), Chapman’s Love Languages and the Keirsey. The results from these assessments are used to chart individual’s emotion, intellectual and personality responses for the whole family to understand how they connect together and the student to see how they affect others and are affected by others. I have experienced that with the foundation of understanding of self and others that are close to them; individuals are able to brave journey of change and development ahead of them.

During my youth I was raised in Nevada in a variety of cities and rural areas due to my parents working for State government.

I am biracial as my father is Maori and from the Waikato region of New Zealand and my mother is English born in the States. I am married to an amazing woman and we are raising 5 wonderful children.

In my spare time I love to watch rugby (My heart is ALLBLACK!), my son’s soccer games and my daughters cheer competitions. I love to spend as much time as I can with my family doing whatever we are doing. I also enjoying traveling, carpentry, yard work, listening to music and outdoor adventures.

Leslie is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. Her blend of humor, authenticity and ability to empathize help establish rapid rapport with her clients, setting the groundwork for growth and healing. Leslie has 19 years of experience working with clients of all ages in residential, intensive outpatient, in home and private practice settings.

Leslie is highly skilled at helping clients with trauma, depression, anxiety, mood dysregulation, bipolar disorder and eating disorders. Her passion and expertise lie in helping survivors of abuse heal and become empowered.

Leslie utilizes various models in her work with clients depending on their needs and what works for them. These include Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), EMDR/under supervision (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) and Experiential Therapy (i.e., Equine Assisted Psychotherapy).

Leslie has three children (ages 27, 16, 13). Their favorite things to do as a family are camp, hike, joke around with one another, eat and play board games.

In her free time, you might find Leslie enjoying the outdoors hiking, running, or walking her dog while listening to psychological thrillers or music. She loves music and will attend a live concert any chance she gets. She also enjoys theatre, cultural activities and binge watching a great T.V. series.

Tina was born and raised in Beaver, Utah. As the oldest of five children, Tina gained a true respect for hard work and service towards others.

She has been working with ATC since 2009, after she, her husband Eric, and their daughter moved to St. George. Since then, Tina has fallen in love with both her job and the Southern Utah area. She works with the ATC administrative staff, and handles clerical work, student accounts, and more.

“I think Crossroads is a great opportunity to give young adults a bright, stable, and healthy future. I really love my job; I get to combine what I do best with what I like to do, helping other people. The students are great to work with as well as my co-workers.”

Krysti grew up in California, she moved to Utah to pursue a degree in Behavioral Science from Utah Valley University. During her junior year she transferred to Washington State University where she graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Social Science. After taking a few years off for her family Krysti received her Masters Degree of Science in Psychology with a specialization in Educational Psychology.

Krysti is married with three kids. Her husband recently retired from the US military. During her husbands military career she had the opportunity to live in various states and overseas, which has been an education in itself and provided opportunities to work in different areas in the human services field.

She has worked for a private residential facility for children and adults. Krysti supervised a residential facility in the Utah Valley for six years. She has also worked for many years in the educational field. Krysti enjoys working with youth and the rewarding opportunities provided by the field of human services.

Dallas received a Bachelor of Science in sociology from the University of Utah, and is currently halfway through getting his master’s in social work. Dallas has worked in mental health services for over four years, working at residential treatment centers, and with young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Dallas was born in raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He moved to St. George to pursue his graduate education and to work at ATC. Dallas loves to work with young adults, and assist in their journey of exploration and independence. In his free time, he loves to explore the outdoors, play sports. and spend time with his family.

Jason Ayotte completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Dixie State University. He has been with the ATC team for 6 years now. In 2017 Jason helped launch our Graduate/Outpatient Program and really enjoys his new role helping our alumni as they launch into the community and try to apply their new found skills outside of ATC.

Jason enjoys spending time with his wife and 5 kids camping, and likes to play almost any sport.

He is originally from Tremonton, UT. After graduating High School he chose to serve a two-year humanitarian mission to the Dominican Republic. He enjoyed the opportunity to serve the Dominican people and help them better their lives. He enjoys the same fulfillment from helping young adults make improvements in their lives.

David is a husband and father of 3 boys. Before starting his family, David graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Speech Communication and Family Studies.

While at Utah, David was a member of the men’s basketball team and pursued a career in the sport. After numerous injuries with the NBA D-League, David stepped away from basketball and was introduced to ATC August 2017.

David is passionate when it comes to service and believes the best way to build character is through assisting those in need.

Laura was born and raised in Virginia. She has been working at ATC since 2015 and prides herself on graduating the program herself in 2012. As an ATC alumni she loves making a positive impact working with young adults on their road to independence.

Laura enjoys spending time with her husband Hayden. They married in 2018 in Salt Lake City UT and have two dogs Bambi & Leo. She also enjoys yoga, traveling, being outdoors, softball, interior decorating and fashion.

Jake is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who graduated from the University of Utah. Prior to having his private practice, he worked in the behavioral medicine unit at Dixie Regional Medical Center, and for a short while at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake.

He works with children, teens, and adults, and specializes in psychiatric disorders ranging from anxiety to bipolar disorder.

Jake lives in Southern Utah with his family.

Valerie is a registered nurse working as the medical coordinator at ATC. She attended school at Utah State University and Dixie State University, where she graduated with her nursing degree.

Valerie loves working with people and enjoys the different aspects of her job at ATC, from being involved with the students’ medical care to spending time with them in other settings. She teaches monthly nutrition classes and holds activities that encourage physical fitness.

Valerie enjoys the outdoors, sports, music, and spending time with her husband Kory and their four amusing children.

Blake was raised in Richfield Utah. Growing up, he had a realization of the need for Love and Mercy as a way of life.

Blake was in AP Psychology all throughout high school. Later in life, he aspired to expand his studies through Mysticism and Metaphysical Philosophy. Blake was approved to work in a wilderness therapy program as an understudy for 3 years, where he was made a member of the senior staff.

Blake received a Doctor of Divinity for, "accomplishments beyond academia and continual loving service" and was fully ordained as Minister and Chaplain through Spiritis Seminary and Christ University in Aransas Pass, TX on July 7, 2019.

Blake possesses a wonder and fascination for the Heart's ability to restore and enhance lives, minds, and spirits; once we let go and let Love work.

Teya grew up in northern New Jersey and moved to Utah in 2013. She has experience working in wilderness and residential facilities, where she has worked with both adults and adolescents. She has knowledge and training in a variety of approaches like ABA services, DBT and substance abuse programs.

Teya has worked at ATC since early 2019. Being an atc alumni, Teya has an insightful approach to helping young adults build healthy futures for themselves. Teya enjoys being outdoors and has a passion for art. She is a licensed tattoo artist and she’s always eager to explore new techniques and media. She values helping young adults explore different creative outlets and hobbies they enjoy.

Ethan was born and raised in Studio City, California, and enjoys spending time with his large family of nine, reading autobiographies, traveling the world, and volunteering in the community.

He got a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from BYU-Idaho in 2018, but after working for tech startups in San Francisco and feeling unfulfilled, he shifted career paths to work in the fields of addiction recovery, mental and emotional support, and family relationship building.

He was a former addict who is celebrating his 10th year of sobriety and is passionate about helping people on the path of recovery, and those who suffer from mental illness. Being a sponsor for many individuals in treatment and having two close friends, one with autism spectrum disorder, the other with cerebral palsy, he understands their struggle: the struggle of being underrepresented, over-looked, and ignored for being different.

The struggle of fitting in with society’s norms and meeting its expectations when one feels labeled as an outcast, a black sheep, an addict, or mentally challenged. He's learned that what these people need to be happy and successful is the feeling of inclusion, appreciation, and self-love. Ethan was a youth mentor at a residential treatment center for 11 months before switching over to being a life coach with At The Crossroads.

He said, "It breaks my heart knowing there are so many individuals and families currently suffering in the same ways mine did, so I want to be on the front lines of this battle. I feel it’s my calling to lessen the amount of pain, substance abuse, and family dysfunction in the world--even if it’s one child, one family, one philanthropic endeavor at a time. That's why I joined At The Crossroads."

His ultimate pursuit is to become a motivational speaker like his grandfather, John Goddard, with an emphasis on helping people make better lifestyle choices.

Kamron grew up in Troy, MI and moved to St. George in his late teens. He graduated a year early from his homeschool program and went on to obtain his Bachelor's Degree in Human Communication from Dixie State University.

Driven by a youthhood of physical frailty, Kamron was led to pursue health and fitness- initially as an enthusiast, and eventually as a professional. He is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Nutrition Specialist and Weight-loss Specialist. He loves helping people prevent and reverse their own weaknesses and is passionate about helping people transform their lives for the better.

Kamron has worked with young adults for years in a variety of settings, including at the gym, at Dixie Area Detention, and in a religious organizational setting.