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Management

Akua Mind Body > About Us > Meet Our Team > Management

Our Management Team

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Stephen Mercurio

President

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Stephen Mercurio

President

Stephen’s unwavering commitment to excellence is the hallmark of his position as the President at AKUA Mind and Body. His work in Drug and Alcohol Treatment has become a staple in the industry. His experience ranges from hands-on work with clients as a Case Manager and Director of Academic Development to Administrative positions directing programs and facilities. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and is an Internationally Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. Stephen believes that the best way to honor his commitment to quality of care for every AKUA client is to support his team of Directors, Clinicians and Technicians, so they may dedicate themselves to the work of transforming lives.

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Andrea Dressler

Director of Outreach

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Andrea Dressler

Director of Outreach

Andrea has a passion for ensuring behavioral health services are readily accessible for individuals that are seeking care. She has twenty plus years serving in Healthcare with a graduate degree in Nursing from Washington State University. She worked as a Behavioral Health clinician and community outreach advocate. Andrea passionately believes it takes a village to care for one another and support all those in need.

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Minjin Eduard

Assistant Controller

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Minjin Eduard

Assistant Controller

Minjin Eduard, Assistant Controller held many important roles at AKUA including Director of Revenue Cycle Management. Minjin graduated from California State University-Fullerton and is a CPA Candidate. With over 8 years of professional experience, and over 4 years of experience in Revenue Cycle Management and Accounting, Minjin brings process improvement, project management, and leadership skills to AKUA. She built AKUA’s Revenue Cycle Department since joining the team in 2016 and is an accomplished leader with excellent work ethic. Minjin is passionate and dedicated in supporting the clinical team and helping our communities.

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Rebecca Palmer

Compliance Officer

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Rebecca Palmer

Compliance Officer

Rebecca brings many years of experience to AKUA with a wide array of insight into the field of behavioral health and addiction services. Her passion for helping others lead her to behavioral health treatment, right out of college, where she has operated in the capacity of Supervisor, Administrator, Project Specialist and Executive Trainer. Rebecca’s strengths include best practice implementation, workflow enhancement and data management, which help her to excel in various quality improvement and compliance efforts. Rebecca is deeply invested in improving the quality of AKUA’s team through project planning, comprehensive root cause analysis, corrective action planning and organization wide training. She is passionate about the behavioral health industry and is consistently looking for ways to improve upon AKUA’s internal practices.

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Catherine Pare

Sr. Finance Manager

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Catherine Pare

Sr. Finance Manager

Cathy Pare has over eighteen years experience in Finance and Accounts. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Columban College and is responsible for managing Akua’s banking relationships. Cathy works closely with our financial partners and auditors, and utilizes her experience and professional knowledge in the preparation and presentation of Akua’s financial information. “Focus on being productive instead of Busy” – Tim Ferris

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Connie Antenorcruz

Human Resources Director

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Connie Antenorcruz

Human Resources Director

Connie Antenorcruz is a compassionate professional with more than fifteen years’ experience in leading operations, planning, developing and evaluating personnel and labor relations strategies including policies, programs and procedures to address the organization’s human resource and accreditation requirements. She considers herself a life-long learner, which has prepared her for the challenging position of Human Resources/Accreditation for AKUA Mind and Body. Connie has keen and innovative insights in the areas of talent management, organizational development, and building and motivating teams. Connie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and a Master of Science in Business Administration.

Board & Advisors

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Kenny Dewan

Founder & Number ONE Fan of the Best Clinical Team in California

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Kenny Dewan

Founder & Number ONE Fan of the Best Clinical Team in California

Kenny Dewan, is the founder of AKUA Mind & Body and of MondayOne. Kenny is an accomplished leader, motivational speaker, and a business executive. With over 30 years of business experience, Kenny brings a vast array of knowledge, passion, and leadership skills to AKUA. He is also a popular motivational speaker who has been interviewed by Forbes and Builder & Developer in regards to his philosophy and business acumen. With the assistance of the best clinical team in California, Kenny has created an open, collaborative culture at AKUA, which has directly translated into an environment of health and healing for all clients. With an unparalleled commitment to excellent and active fostering of ownership across all levels of the company, Kenny has helped AKUA become a Leader in Mental Health & Addiction Treatment.

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Raj Takhar

Board Member & Senior Vice President Strategy Provider Integration

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Raj Takhar

Board Member & Senior Vice President Strategy Provider Integration

His Role at Huntington to lead Corporate Strategy including Joint Ventures, Alliances, Payer Strategy including Network Affiliation(s), and to oversee relationships with Aligned Physician Networks who operate in San Gabriel Valley on a Global Risk basis. In addition, he is responsible for Physician Integration which includes directing and leading the Strategy and Operations of Huntington’s Foundation Model: 1206(L). He has over Twenty Five (25) years experience in Physician Delivery Operations, including Medical Group Model and IPAs, mergers and acquisitions of Delivery, network development and management of Physician Networks assuming Global Risk.

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Suzanne Richards

RN,MPH,MBA,FACHE

Board Member

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Suzanne Richards

Suzanne Richards is currently serving as the CEO of SMR Healthcare Management, Inc providing healthcare consulting and owner of ACASA Senior Home Care Orange County providing senior home care to our community. Prior to this, Suzanne spent six years as the Chief Executive Officer of Healthcare Operations for an Orange County multi-hospital system and the CEO of an Orange County regional trauma center.
Named Businesswoman of the Year in 2017 by the Orange County Business Journal, Ms. Richards is an accomplished healthcare executive with a diverse background in management and direct patient care. Throughout her career spanning more than twenty-five years, she has added significant value to the organizations and people she has served.

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Karen Hiteshi

Healthcare Strategist, Advisor, Transformer

Board Member

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Karen Hiteshi

Karen joins Akua with 30+ years of experience in managing operations and revenue for healthcare organizations. Her expertise ranges from treasury management and capital allocation to executive team building and performance coaching. She led mergers and acquisitions involving $350M+, engineered business turnarounds, and created Independent Physician Associations and Physician Hospital Consortiums accepting Medi-Cal, Medicare and commercial insurances. She not only managed, but also retained a health client portfolio of 5000+ physician groups. Most recently, she led the sale of a telemedicine provider for on-demand and scheduled behavioral health services. Karen also serves on the board of Amvi Care Health.

Recovery Starts Here!

If you or a loved one is struggling with a depressive disorder or substance abuse & addiction disorder, AKUA Mind & Body can help. Our helpline is available 24/7 and our Admissions Counselors will help determine which program is right for you.

The AKUA Mind & Body solution

AKUA Mind and Body is a full-service treatment program that offers a wide range of “east meets west” treatment modalities for many different populations struggling with codependence disorder and other mental health and substance use disorders. AKUA Mind & Body treats co-occurring disorders and works diligently with each client and their family to ensure that treatment is specifically tailored to their needs, and not just their disorder.

AKUA’s Treatment Approaches

Trauma-informed therapy
Brainspotting
Yoga and Meditation
Family therapy

Group therapy
Dietary and nutrition counseling
Individual therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Dialectal behavioral therapies (DBT)

Insurance Coverage

AKUA Mind and Body understands the financial burdens that addiction and mental health treatment can have on an individual and their family. As a result, AKUA works closely with most HMO, EPO and PPO insurance plans including AmeriHealth, Humana, Allcare Health, Highmark, UPMC Health Plan, and are In-Network with Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna, Health Net, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Magellen, HMC Health Works, Tricare, Western Health Advantage, Prime, Multi Plan, Triwest, and more.

In-Network With

Anthem Insurance

Aetna Insurance

Cigna Insurance

Beacon Health Option

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Magellan Health Services

HMC Health Works

western health advantage

Multiplan Insurance

Most PPO Policies Accepted

Optum Insurance

Humana Insurance

United-healthcare Insurance

Ameri-health Insurance

UPMC Health Plan

Allcare Insurance

24/7 ADMISSIONS HELPLINE

1-888-240-0450

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20271 SW BIRCH ST, STE 200, NEWPORT BEACH, CA, 92660

1-888-240-0450

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