Our corporate leadership team has decades of combined experience in successfully treating people struggling with addiction. We come from various walks of life and understand the toll that substance abuse has on families in our communities. Many of our team members are in recovery themselves and can relate to the struggles of trying to get sober. Learn more about Evoke Wellness so you can start the journey to recovery with our professionals.
Neil McKinnell
Chairman of the Board
Neil McKinnell, the founder and Chairman of the Board for Evoke Wellness, has over 25 years of experience creating and leading successful businesses in e-commerce, real estate, manufacturing and distribution, and healthcare. As a seasoned executive, Neil’s ability to balance strategic decisions, financial discipline and a hands on approach to leadership has markedly helped Evoke Wellness establish a concrete foundation needed for its earned success.
Michael Duggan, MSW
Managing Partner
Co-founder of Wicked Sober, Intervention Services which was acquired by Recovery Centers of America. Michael has a master’s degree in social work from Simmons College and is a Licensed Certified Social Worker in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Michael has extensive history working in startups and was responsible for the inception of Recovery Centers of America’s Westminster program. Michael is a person in long-term recovery who has worked in the recovery community to smash the stigma of addiction by working on several campaigns including the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services State Without StigMA campaign.
Dr. David Kashan, MD
Chief Medical Director
Dr. Kashan is an attending psychiatrist as well as the medical director of Evoke Wellness at Hilliard and Evoke Wellness at Cohasset. He attended Bucknell University for undergraduate studies and A.T. Still University for medical school. Addiction and mental health struggles have impacted several of his close friends and family members throughout his life. Accordingly, it is his mission to make sure that those afflicted with these conditions receive the best treatment possible. He is extremely proud that the stigma associated with mental health and addiction is finally on the decline. “Life is hard and it is okay to not be okay. Personally, I see the ability to ask for help as a sign of strength rather than weakness. My goal at Evoke Wellness is to ensure optimal patient care, which means treating symptoms in a way that minimizes side effect burden and utilizes the least number of medications necessary to alleviate those symptoms. It is truly an honor to be able to treat and restore hope to patients who have so much to offer the world if just given the right tools to do so.”
Christopher Foster
Chief Operating Officer
Christopher began working in the behavioral health industry in 2009 and has over ten years of executive management experience. Christopher’s c-suite expertise ranges from single-site to enterprise-level organizations with 20+ sites. His specialties include strategic leadership, performance improvement, budget management and accountability, and compliance.
Christopher earned a bachelor’s degree in human services from Springfield College and has a master’s in health administration from Cornell University. He currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors of the New Hampshire Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors Association.
Sherita Chang
Chief Revenue Officer
Sherita Chang has always been devoted to helping those who are struggling with mental health and substances abuse issues. She has over 10 years experience in working with patients who have co-occurring disorders of alcohol or substance use disorder and mental health condition. Sherita has excelled both as a clinician and an organizational leader. She has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the behavioral field that brings the ability to maintain all facilities at the level of care that meets the highest standards. With her extensive clinical background, Sherita was able to master revenue cycle management (utilization review, billing and collections); while advocating passionately for our patients. Today, Sherita is focused on maximizing our facilities operational and financial efficiency; while working collectively to build and implement long-term growth across the organization. Sherita earned her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree from the illustrious Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Belkys Jimenez
Chief Financial Officer
With over 14 years in the healthcare industry Belkys is a financial executive with a progressive career history and diverse experience in accounting, cash management, performance reporting, and financial and market analysis. A collaborative team player known for coordinating with senior management teams to provide recommendations for annual business plans. Known for attention to detail, analytical problem solving, and excellent communication skills.
Before joining the Evoke’s team, Belkys held Director level positions with United Healthcare, Molina Healthcare and Aetna, where she implemented financial processes that helped increase revenue and reduce cost. Belkys earned her Certified Public Accountant title in the Dominican Republic and a master’s in business administration from Saint Thomas University.
James Hull
Chief Marketing Officer
James Hull is a seasoned leader in the behavioral health industry, with over 12 years of focused experience in driving profitability and digital advancement for various behavioral healthcare organizations.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with renowned addiction treatment organizations, including serving as CEO at one of Florida’s largest treatment facilities. Transitioning into affiliate marketing, he founded a company that emerged as a leader in the addiction space.
Hull specializes in developing award-winning marketing strategies across paid search platforms. His expertise lies in crafting tailored online approaches, from cultivating initial audiences to executing comprehensive marketing campaigns, all while meticulously measuring return on investment.
Outside of work, Hull is a devoted father involved in local volunteer efforts through his community and church. He resides in West Palm Beach, FL, with his wife and two sons.
Sharon Ploss, LCSW
Executive Vice President
Sharon obtained her Master’s in Social Work from Wheelock College and is a Licensed Certified Social Worker, LCSW. Prior to joining Evoke Wellness, Massachusetts as the Executive Director she was Program Director at Spring Hill Treatment Center and Program Director at Spectrum’s New England Recovery Center and The Charles J. Faris Recovery Center. In previous locations, Sharon provided an array of treatment for those in early recovery with both commercial insurance and Mass Health products.
Additionally, Sharon was Division Director with the Bridge of Central MA where she oversaw multiple programs that provided services to help adults struggling with mental health needs live within the community successfully. Preceding Sharon’s managerial roles, she has served extensively within the clinical field as an emergency mobile psychiatric clinician, behavioral and family engagement therapist, clinician who provided treatment with adults experiencing persistent mental illness.
Outside of work, Sharon enjoys cooking, exploring new places, and spending time with her family.
Jesse Thompson
Chief Brand Officer
Born and raised in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, Jesse’s strong desire for helping others began early on. As someone who loves helping those in need, Jesse finds working in the substance abuse industry particularly rewarding stating, “Working in this field makes a positive difference for those battling addiction as well as for society as a whole.” Jesse has been a part of the Evoke Wellness family since 2018.
Jesse began his employment at Evoke Wellness Florida, and more recently has transitioned to Evoke Wellness Massachusetts location. Through sheer hard work and dedication Jesse has been able to learn and grow within the Evoke Wellness family, he started out as a Behavioral Health Technician, earned the role of Director of Alumni Services at Evoke Wellness Florida prior to taking on the position as Director of Admissions at Evoke Wellness Massachusetts. Jesse has shown the true value of learning the company roles and expectations In his many chosen positions throughout the company which has led to his newest role as Chief Brand Officer.
Jesse has been able to incorporate his personal experience with the disease of addiction as well as everything that he has learned working in the substance abuse industry. The most rewarding part of his career is seeing a patient successfully complete treatment, and move onto a healthy mental, physical, and spiritual life of recovery. During his spare time, Jesse enjoys spending time with family and friends, helping others, traveling.
Matthew Royer
Vice President of Admissions & Alumni Services
Born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Matthew found himself in the substance use and mental health space after moving to South Florida to get the help he needed to battle his own addiction. He has experience spanning all different departments. Starting off as a tech, it did not take him long to move up to his next role in Case Management and Discharge Planning. His hard work and dedication over the years has continued to advance his career to the Admissions side and he has held multiple Director roles in one of the most important steps of the recovery process, helping people make the commitment to change their life when they are at their lowest point. “I like to analyze data and it’s one of those monotonous things that needs to get done and I thoroughly enjoy doing it.”
sharmia poitier
Vice President of Medical Affairs
Sharmia started her nursing career as an LPN in 2009. She has over 10 years of experience in mental health and substance abuse which she uses to provide excellent care to her patients. She started with Evoke Wellness in 2018 as a Nursing Supervisor. Her consistent leadership, organization, and training skills truly make her an asset to this company.
In 2022 She was promoted to the position of VP of Medical Affairs. In her current position, she works closely with the Director of Nursing and Physicians to maintain quality nursing care. She is currently pursuing her RN degree and plans to continue her career with Evoke Wellness once that is achieved.
Mark Fortune
Corporate Director of Information Technology
Mark is a common NY transplant here in South FL, he was born on the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad & Tobago and then grew up in Brooklyn, NY before relocating to SoFlo.
He’s been on the ITS Leadership Team since 2019 working to create and deliver services that enhance learning spaces, client experiences, and operational excellence within the organization.
Mark is a thoughtful leader who combines strong business acumen with a deep understanding of advancing organizations through cutting-edge information technology. He brings more than 12 years of professional information security and technology experience in the behavioral healthcare industry to Evoke Wellness.
As Evoke’s CDIT, he oversees numerous operational initiatives including IT service management, network infrastructure, learning and collaborative space technologies and IT program and project management.
