Meet the Team

Dr. Tatum

CEO

Matthew Tatum, PsyD received his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology. Early in his career, he played a key role in helping develop two integrated behavioral health departments for Federally Qualified Health Centers in Fresno County. In 2015 he assumed the Executive Director role at First Steps Recovery. There he grew a single, six bed residential drug and alcohol treatment center into a six bed detoxification facility, 16 bed residential treatment center, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program, and 30 bed sober living program. Expanding services such as this is a passion and life’s work for Dr. Tatum. His goal for Sierra Meadows is to expand services to the entire Central Valley and be able to provide care for all those in need.

Stephanie Patrick

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Stephanie Patrick-Calvillo, MSN, PMHNP-BC is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, with training and experience treating patients with psychiatric disorders across the lifespan and across practice environments; including inpatient and outpatient settings. Her education includes a Master of Science in Nursing degree with a focus on Executive Healthcare as well as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialization from the University of St. Louis. Stephanie provides personalized, compassionate, and comprehensive care for patients. When not caring for patients Stephanie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and collecting plants.

Jason Christopherson

Clinical Director

Jason Christopherson, PsyD, MSCP, ABPP earned his B.S. from the University of Utah and graduated with his Psy.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in 2013. He completed his internship and residency at the Sullivan Center for Children in Fresno, California. Dr. Christopherson is one of only two practicing American Board of Professional Psychology certified clinical child psychologists in the Central Valley.

Alicia Alva, MS

Vice President of Operations

Alicia comes to Ascend Behavioral Health with more than 10 years of experience leading programs supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities and mental health diagnoses. After graduating with her BA in Social Work from CSU Fresno and launching her career with a national family home agency, Alicia pursued her MS in Marriage, Family and Child Therapy at University of Phoenix. Prior to joining Ascend, Alicia was the Executive Director of Operations at Central Valley Training Center, where she led behavior management and crisis response programs to success across the Central Valley. Throughout Alicia’s career, she has developed an unrelenting passion for supporting people who might otherwise go unsupported. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and cheering on her two handsome young boys at their soccer games.

Brandi Owens

Business Development

Brandi has spent nearly 20 years in Business Development working in banking, nonprofits, and healthcare. She has a long history of building trusting relationships with her partners and works to understand the needs of all parties to create mutually beneficial strategic alliances. Brandi has always taken an active role in community support while volunteering with a variety of organizations. Outside of work, Brandi enjoys playing golf and vacationing with her husband and two daughters and love traveling on weekends and watching their girls play softball.

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