BELLEVUE OUTPATIENT EATING DISORDER PROGRAM

Lisa Strub, MBA, LICSW

Lisa joined Center for Discovery in 2022. She is the executive director for both the Bellevue outpatient and Washington virtual programs. Lisa brings over 20 years of behavioral health experience along with operational, strategic and executive leadership. She graduated with her master’s degree in social work from the University of Denver. After graduation, she provided emergency and clinical assessments to children and families along with ongoing therapy services. Lisa reconnected with the University of Denver and became an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Social Work. Through professional development, she became the COO and CEO of two psychiatric hospitals in Denver. Lisa continued her advanced learning by graduating with an executive master’s degree in business from the University of Colorado. Lisa relocated to Washington over a year ago. When not at work, she enjoys exploring everything Washington has to offer, along with enjoying her passion for hiking, biking, attending concerts and everything else in the Pacific Northwest.

Miranda Gralton

Samantha Castellanos McKenney, CD

Samantha is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified dietitian with a bachelor degree in nutrition and dietetics from Griffith University, Australia. She has practiced as a dietitian in Australia, Canada and now the United States, and is grateful to be here supporting others in the eating disorder recovery journey. She takes an anti-diet, Health At Every Size® approach with Intuitive Eating principles at the core of her nutrition philosophy. Samantha is also a registered yoga teacher and uses her skills and knowledge to support patients in becoming more self-aware, self-compassionate and improving mind-body connection.

On weekends, Sam likes to explore the mountains, hiking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. She loves to cook and share meals with friends, go camping, travel to new destinations and spend time with friends and family. Samantha dreams of a world where people can be at peace with themselves and with food and is passionate about empowering patients to make this happen.

Riley Smith

Riley has been working with Center for Discovery since 2018. She started as a diet tech, and through that work, was inspired to become a Registered Dietitian. Riley has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of North Florida, and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a minor in Psychology from the University of Central Florida. She completed her dietetic internship in various settings across the nation including Florida, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Washington. She completed her internship while residing in a renovated school bus that took her across the country for these rotations. She ultimately found home in Washington state. Riley’s experience includes partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and residential settings for eating disorder treatment. She spearheaded and lead a virtual meal support group for teens in recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is passionate about helping others heal their relationship with food. She uses an intuitive eating and HAES approach to guide help clients to food freedom. She believes that all people deserve to make peace with food. In her free time, she loves to travel, camp, hike, rock climb, practice lyra, and snowboard in the winter.

Julie Allocco

Julie has been working with the outpatient Center for Discovery facility in Bellevue since 2022 as a dietetic intern. She received her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from California State University, Chico and completed her dietetic internship through Seattle Pacific University. Her love for the nutrition field stemmed from her passion of cooking, health and education. Julie is an advocate for embedding the principles of mindful and intuitive eating throughout a patient’s journey towards having a positive relationship with food. Her goal is to have Health At Every Size ®️ and Intuitive Eating principles be the foundation of her practice. She is also focused on increasing her cultural competence and inclusivity by understanding and collecting more information from the patient’s upbringing and cultural norms in households. In her free time, Julie enjoys trying new recipes from different cuisines and exploring new areas of Washington. She enjoys spending time outdoors as much as possible, whether it’s going for a walk in her neighborhood, exploring new hiking trails or heading to the beach. She is also a huge fan of self-care and enjoys spending time at home with her cat Pudding and watching romantic comedies.

Natasha Tomich

Natasha (she/they) is a licensed mental health counselor associate in Washington and joined Center for Discovery in 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian languages and cultural studies from the University of the Pacific and earned a Master of Education degree in clinical mental health counseling from Seattle University. She completed her internship at Seattle Counseling Service, the oldest LGBTQIA+ counseling agency in the world. Natasha practices from a harm reduction lens and integrates the principles of Health at Every Size ® into her work. She is particularly drawn to dismantling systemic fatphobia and strives to incorporate the impact of social and cultural experiences into recovery. They utilize an eclectic modality of therapies grounded in the Internal Family Systems framework. Natasha came to the field with lived recovery experience and is both personally and professionally invested in fat liberation across identities and experiences. Outside of work, Natasha is often found hosting dinner parties, creating kitchen magic, learning languages, traversing the southern Swedish countryside and making music.

Pepper Snider, LMHCA, NA

Pepper started working at Discovery Behavioral Health in 2013 as a milieu counselor and returned in 2018 as a diet technician. She is now an eating disorder associate therapist as of 2022. Pepper received her MA in clinical mental health counseling with a specialization in trauma from Antioch University New England. Her passion for working in the field is derived from eating disorder advocacy and lived experience. Pepper feels purposeful in this work and describes it as a sparkly feeling. She looks forward to feeling sparkly as a therapist at Discovery Behavioral Health. Pepper enjoys spending time with family, friends and her cats. She loves visiting the ocean, going to old rock concerts and crocheting.

Rebecca Aronsen, RD, CD

Rebecca has been working at Center for Discovery since 2013, starting out as a diet technician at a residential facility, and currently working as a registered dietitian in the outpatient setting. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington. Rebecca entered this field to help others cultivate a better relationship with food and their bodies by using the All Foods Fit philosophy, Intuitive Eating, and Health at Every Size ® concepts. She has attended various workshops including the Be Body Positive Facilitator training, and exposure response prevention in which she incorporates into her work. When not at work, she is enjoying new motherhood to her daughter, playing with her pup named Chewy, and all things outdoors including hiking and gardening.

Jessica Gaul, MA, LMHC

Jessica has been the clinical director at Center for Discovery treating adolescents, adults and families impacted by eating disorders since 2022. Jessica is a licensed mental health counselor and earned her BS in applied human biology from Seattle Pacific University, her MA in mental health counseling from Antioch University, and will earn a Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision from Antioch University in spring 2023. Jessica started working with people struggling with eating disorders in 2018. Jessica’s other clinical interests include EMDR, active-duty military and veteran community, and as a trained doula, working in counseling practice with people who are concerned with pregnancy and new parenthood. In her free time, Jessica enjoys all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer, listening to podcasts and reading.