Our staff is made up of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors with more than 100 years experience. Most hold advanced degrees in Counseling, Divinity, Leadership or other disciplines. We have two licensed psychologists on staff and a nurse who specializes in addiction and co-occurring disorders.

Staff

David J. Vennes, MPNA – Executive Director
David is a doctoral student in Public Administration at the Hamline University School of Business. David has a Master’s Degree in Public and Nonprofit Administration and a Bachelor of Arts (individualized in addictions) from Metropolitan State University along with a Certificate in Chemical dependency Family Treatment from St. Mary's Junior College. David has developed and restructured more than a dozen programs locally and nationally. David started his career with NuWay in 2006 as a Chemical Dependency Counselor, becoming the Clinical Director and finally Executive Director in 2008.

Denise S. McAlpin, MA, LADC – Program Director
Denise has been in the chemical dependency industry for over two decades providing direct client care in both outpatient and residential settings.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services with a Training and Development concentration and a Master’s Degree in Leadership from Augsburg College.  Ms. McAlpin has been in management and program development for the last 15 years and co-founded the Opening Doors Youth Conference in Wisconsin.

Paul Rockswold, MA, M Div, LAMFT, LADC
Paul has been in the helping professions for 15 years.  He has had a wide range of professions within that helping field : Pastor, Chaplin, Marriage and Family Therapist, and now Chemical Dependency Counselor.  Paul has been working at NuWay for a year and a half now, and feels his life has been truly blessed.

Keith P. Chase, MA, MBA, LADC, BCC
Keith has been in the chemical dependency industry for 2 years providing direct client care in both outpatient and residential settings.  He has a Master's Degree in Addiction Studies from Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies.  He has been active in supporting the recovery support communities such as AA, Alanon and Ala-teen for the past 25 years.  Prior to entering the chemical dependency counseling profession Keith spent several decades in business management positions with various U.S. and International companies.  He also holds an MBA from the State University of New York as well as Bachelor Degrees in Economics and Business Administration.

Anne Ferguson, BS, LADC
Anne is an enthusiastic and caring Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor who obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Addiction Counseling at Metropolitan State University. She has a strong desire to help educate and empower those in the recovery process and understands first hand that going through the recovery process can be challenging and uncomfortable. Throughout her career, Anne has worked with diverse populations in various settings to promote recovery for clients with both chemical and mental health issues.

Laura L. Hiller, MA, LADC, BCC
Laura is a Licensed and Board Certified Counselor. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from St. Olaf College, and received her Master’s Degree in Addiction Studies from Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies. She has worked in both primary and extended care and has a history of working with both men and women.

Tim Young, MA, LADC, BCC
Tim Young is a Board Certified, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor with multiple years of experience in the chemical dependency field. Tim has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and a Master of Arts in Addiction Counseling from the Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies.

Steven R. Lennon, BS, LADC, BCCR                                                                                                                          Steve has been a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor for 22 years and has worked in all levels of care in the addiction industry.  His speciality has been working with chronic alcoholics and drug addicts focusing on relapse prevention.  Steve also works as an instructor and assssor with DWI offenders and has been with NuWay for over 17 years.

Dr. Gregg Riley, Psy D, LP
A licensed psychologist, Gregg has a doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of St. Thomas. He completed two years of training with the Twin Cities Gestalt Institute.  With over twenty-five years of experience in substance abuse counseling in outpatient and inpatient settings with both adults and adolescents, he maintains a strong interest working with recovery issues.  In addition to work as a psychotherapist, he is an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University and teaches a course on chemical dependency. Current interests include studies in Integral Psychology and Zen practice at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center where he has been a member since 2006.

Dr. David Swarthout, Psy D –LICSW
David obtained his Psy D in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas. In addition to his private practice, he also works as a clinical supervisor of Emergency Behavioral Medicine at North Memorial Hospital. Dr. Swarthout has worked for nearly 30 years in chemical dependency and is also an adjunct faculty at the University of Minnesota,.