Our Leadership

Ronda Disch

Ronda Disch
MA, LPCC

Executive Director

Kelly
Cornell

MA, LPCC

Program
Manager

Mike
Cheney

MA, LPCC

Program
Manager

Heather
Roberts

MA, LPCC

Clinical Services
Manager

Administrative Staff

Sara
Heisel

Practice
Manager

Nycole
Wiek

Business Support
Manager

Kayla
Gauthier

Administrative
Assistant

Amariah
Nix

Client Account
Specialist

Erin
Diver

Administrative
Assistant

Clinical Team

Alison
Smetana

MSW, LICSW

Since then, her career has spanned from working with men with cognitive impairments or serious and persistent mental illness in a community-based agency to the Minnesota Department of Corrections’ prison-based treatment program. Alison enjoys helping her clients find success and happiness following an offense, and has experience identifying and addressing the unique needs of her clients to support individual and community safety.

Nakumbe

PhD, LPCC, LADC

He has extensive clinical experience working with all gendered adults, juveniles, and their families in a variety of settings and in the areas of drug addiction and forensic mental health. Since 2012, he’s provided treatment, therapy, care coordination services, and court testimony to adult offenders and adolescents that have engaged in problematic sexual behavior. His treatment approach is rooted in attachment-based therapy, motivational interviewing, schema therapy, CBT, DBT, and trauma-informed mindfulness. Dr. Nakumbe is intentional about providing culturally competent care to diverse and LGBTQ clients. He’s most often described by his clients as an insightful therapist who utilizes a humorous and direct approach that is both affirming and compassionate. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Nakumbe is an international motivational speaker and conducts training on topics related to mindfulness, relationship conflicts, addiction recovery, and understanding risk & protective factors in culturally diverse family systems.

Samantha
White

MS, LADC

She began working with Alpha Human Services in 2018 as the residential Administrative Assistant. Now, she is an Outpatient Therapist for AEBH. She looks forward to continuing to develop her professional practice while at AEBH.

Steve
Draminski

MA, LPCC

Since 2009, he’s provided treatment, therapy, care coordination services, evaluation and court testimony to adult offenders and adolescents that have engaged in problematic sexual behavior.  His treatment approach is rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy, trauma-focused techniques.  He has extensive experience working with compulsive behaviors, intrusive thinking, anxiety, and trauma.  Stephen’s approach is strengths-based and client-centered and focuses on the inherent value of humans and the power within each of us to bring about our own change.  His use of humor and his straight forward approach has been successful in engaging with clients and creating a safe and positive environment to work on change.

Tara
Osborne

MA, LMFT

She has been working with men that have engaged in problematic sexual behavior since 2005. She was a clinical supervisor at Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). She currently works as a release planner for the Department of Corrections. Tara is a MN State Board Approved Supervisor for marriage and family therapy.

Kou
Yang

MS

He earned an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Metropolitan State University and his graduate degree in Community Counseling from St. Cloud State University. His graduate internship was working in an outpatient sex offender treatment program, where he worked with individuals and families and facilitated sex education courses. After graduating with his master’s, he worked in various sectors serving people who experience serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) within underserved communities. For the past seven years, he has worked in non-profit organizations, which has led to extensive work with different cultural backgrounds within the community. Kou is passionate about working with clients and assisting them on their journey to being self-sufficient by creating support, hope, and faith. He believes these are foundational for anyone who wants to change and become a contributing individual in their community. He also believes that everyone deserves a second chance and can thrive with the proper foundations to assist them along the way.

Andrew
Hull

LP

Andrew completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota, where he provided psychological services to individuals diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness. Prior to internship, Andrew worked for the Minnesota Department of Corrections for six years as a licensed professional clinical counselor, providing mental health services to the incarcerated population. Andrew is excited to gain additional experience working with those who have offended and provide services to assist clients in reaching a more meaningful and fulfilling life in the community.

Nisreen
Abuhadid

MSW, LGSW

Most of her experience involves working with vulnerable adult populations with mental health conditions and children K-12 in the school setting. Her most recent work involves working with court-ordered guardianship. Since 2017, Nisreen has helped support individuals by offering a high-quality person-centered approach to care and decision making. Nisreen takes pride in knowing she has made a positive change in someone’s life and believes it’s essential to treat each individual unique based on their needs. She appreciates learning about diverse cultural backgrounds and likes to incorporate a strengths-based approach when working with clients to underline their true potential.

Samantha
Sheeran

PsyD, LP

She has extensive experience working with adult males that are incarcerated in state prisons.  She also has worked at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) both within the treatment facility and at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Moose Lake (DOC Site).  She is interested in continuing to work with adults that have committed sexual offenses, focusing on providing treatment although has extensive experience conducting psychosexual evaluations as well.  Her mental health experience has been working with those that have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, psychosis, and personality disorders as well as concerns related to trauma, grief and loss, life changes, and establishing positive supports.  Dr. Sheeran mostly focuses on providing a safe and validating environment in her therapy sessions and hopes to also bring some humor to her meetings. 

Halie
Rostberg

PsyD, LP

She works full time as a psychologist for the Minnesota Department of Corrections and works part time as an outpatient therapist at Alpha Emergence’s office in Coon Rapids. 

Eric
Melby

MS, LPCC

He has been working with people who have engaged in problematic sexual behaviors for the past 16 years. He currently works in the Department of Corrections after spending time with the Department of Human Services. Eric has been trained in the areas of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, TruThought, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Informed Therapy, and Behavior Therapy. He also has experience working with adults experiencing crisis or trauma.

Eric believes that people are the best conduits to helping themselves and others and pull from a broad range of experiences. He spent four years teaching social studies at the high school level, and also spent five years working with juveniles involved in the justice system employing the Positive Peer Culture program.

Michelle
Nielsen

MA, LPCC, LADC

She graduated with her
Master’s Degree in Addiction Counseling from Hazelden Graduate School for Addiction Studies. She has
experience working with adolescence, adults, couples, sex offenders, and incarcerated individuals. In
addition, she is trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) through EMDRIA. At
this time, she is pursuing further EMDR certification. Her areas of expertise are trauma, addiction,
depression, anxiety, suicidality, severe and persistent mental illnesses (i.e., schizophrenia, major
depression, etc.) and mindfulness techniques.

Alex
Zustiak

MA, LMFT

He initially went to work for the Minnesota Department of Human Services before transferring to the Department of Corrections. While working in corrections, he worked in mental health and sexual offender treatment with men and women. He returned to the Department of Human Services in 2017 and currently reviews treatment progress for clients petitioning to be discharged from their civil commitment. Alex started working with Alpha Human Services in 2015 and has subsequently facilitated a variety of conventional, specialized, and aftercare groups. He is excited to continue his work with Alpha Emergence. Alex takes a positive approach to treatment and assists his clients in seeing themselves as more than just their offense. He stresses individual responsibility and challenges his clients towards stability in all aspects of their life, not just sexuality. He strives to form strong therapeutic relationships with his clients and helps them develop a healthy and fulfilling outlook for their lives.

Hawa
Sirleaf-Harris

Most of Hawa’s experience involves working with vulnerable adults, kids and families from diverse backgrounds.
Hawa takes great pride in ensuring her clients mental health improves and that she provides quality care from the start of treatment until successful completion. Hawa is new to treatment for sexual offending but enjoys empowering and building confident young men and improving how they see themselves in the world.

Tara
Katchmark

MA, LADC

She pulls primarily from CBT and has a strengths-based
approach. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and taking walks with her dog. She also enjoys reading and educating herself on the most up-to-date evidence-based based practices. Tara wants to help clients gain more self-
awareness and provide an environment that empowers them and helps them to feel safe and understood.

Zohra
Ruona

MA

During graduate school, Zohra completed her clinical internship in Alpha Emergence’s Intensive Outpatient Program.

Zohra has a passion for facilitating rehabilitation and community reintegration. With a focus on trauma-informed care, Zohra utilizes evidence-based interventions to support clients in addressing harmful behaviors. Committed to promoting safety and accountability, Zohra collaborates with individuals to navigate the complexities of their circumstances, guiding them toward a path of healing, responsibility, and healthy relationships.

Care Coordinators

John
Heisterkamp

Nefertiti
Bryant