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.
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, LCSW, CIP
Chief Executive Officer
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.
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.
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.
patricia mainini, LADC-I, LMHC
Vice President of Clinical Services
Patricia obtained her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology at Cambridge College and is a LADC I. Prior to joining Evoke Wellness, Patricia was the Clinical Director at Bay Cove Human Services/Andrew House, The Program Director for Crossroads Treatment Center in Plymouth MA. and the Clinical Director of WATC, New Bedford. Patricia started her career in Corrections while trying to become a Police Officer.
While working on the Substance Use Block, she took a detour from trying to become a police officer into Substance Use where she became passionate about helping individuals with SUD. At the start of her career in Substance Use, she was a counselor at MASAC at the Bridgewater Correctional Campus.
Patricia also does part-time Private Practice Counseling in Brockton MA. Outside of work Patricia loves doing craft projects, refinishing furniture, spending time with her family, her husband, 9-year-old daughter, and 2 dogs.
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.
Ana Williams
Vice President of Corporate HR & Recruiting
Ana has extensive experience in the Human Resources field. Her diverse background comes from a broad spectrum of industries such as Retail, Hospitality, E-commerce, Information Technology, and now Healthcare. Prior to joining Evoke Wellness, she was the Vice President of People Strategy and Relations at CITY Furniture.
Having experience in both Fortune 500 enterprises and start-up companies, Ana understands the challenges that arise in fast-paced environments and industry landscapes. She is a dependable leader and true business partner to her peers, customers, and associates. Ana obtained her master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Nova Southeastern University and doubled majored in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Miami. She holds two HR certifications issued by the Society of Human Resources, the SHRM-CP and PHR by HR Certification Institute.
When Ana is not working, you can find her trying out new local experiences with family. “As a family, we love exploring new cultures by traveling abroad.” Ana is an avid animal lover with a huge heart for rescues. She continues her purpose-driven life in helping others, including national charity donations through the works of amazing organizations such as Wounded Warrier, St. Jude, and World Vision.
Kurt Holt
Corporate Director of Operations
Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Kurt served four years in the armed forces. He relocated to South Florida to start a career within the recovery community. He found his calling and passion in helping others and guiding them to a sober life. He has held various leadership roles in the recovery community giving him a view of structure and hospitality in the addiction field.
As the Corporate Operations Director at Evoke Wellness, Kurt oversees the day-to-day operations of all locations, making sure that every facility is operationally running according to standards of level of care and practices. He is dedicated to ensuring that everyone that walks through the doors gets the quality of care they and their families deserve. His dedication, drive, and organizational skills combined with his leadership skills ensure the high standards of client care at Evoke Wellness.
Jesse Thompson
Corporate Admissions Director
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 Corporate Admissions Director.
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.
Jennifer Reason
National Compliance Director
Jennifer’s background in Behavioral Healthcare began more than 25 years ago, starting with her work for an insurance company processing and paying insurance claims. After enforcing policy regulations for the insurance company, Jennifer transitioned into using that knowledge to help patients receive the services they so desperately needed. Today, she is effecting true change through training, development, and program compliance.
Jennifer has managed billing aspects for multiple companies, established key policies to create changes for patient care, and developed standards to review quality of the documentation, programing, and overall development of various organizations. She has been instrumental in the licensing, accreditation, and credentialing processes. Today, Jennifer works for Evoke Wellness, LLC as a member of the Corporate team. Jennifer provides support and oversight as the Compliance Officer to Florida and Massachusetts locations and various programs covering all levels of care, working along with key members of the leadership team to ensure overall compliance. Jennifer’s commitment to excellence ensures that the highest standards of quality are in place, and exceed the gold standard set by licensing boards, accreditation bodies, and insurance organizations.
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. He relocated to escape the hustle and bustle of NYC life and pursue his dream of early retirement as a beach bum, it’s a work in progress still.
When technology stops doing what it is intended to, it is not uncommon for human beings to lose their cool. Mark’s great passion is to provide solutions to these problems in a manner that is easily digestible to the end user in a reassuring demeanor. Having earned his BA in Computer Science, he’s always known that the ones & zeros that keep the illusion of convenience alive must always be kept in check.
Before devoting his work fulltime to Evoke Wellness and becoming an integral member of the team, Mark had his own IT Consulting firm whose niche was the substance use disorder industry. Having worked in and around call center settings for the majority of his career, Mark knew his passion was for helping drug rehab businesses grow and thrive through the innovative use of informational systems.
When not in his normal relaxed office wear of a Polo & blue jeans, Mark is committed to growing his collection of specialized IT Certifications and attempting to learn new languages as his Rosetta Stone library would suggest. His personal interests include anything related to watersports, fun in the sun, outdoor living and tinkering with technology. He is most fulfilled when relaxing with family enjoying the fruits of his labor with his wife while watching their little people grow and evolve.
