Executive Management

R. Andrew Eckert – Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Eckert was named CEO of CRC Health Group in December 2010. Eckert is an accomplished executive who has led companies across a variety of industries. Prior to joining CRC, he served for four successful years as CEO of Eclipsys Corporation, a $520 million leader in healthcare information technology, where he helped grow the business by focusing on employee engagement, customer satisfaction and operational excellence. Eckert also was CEO of SumTotal Systems, an innovative e-learning software and services firm that was formed by the merger of two public companies, one of which he had led. Eckert’s senior executive experience began at ADAC Laboratories, a $360 million global medical technology and imaging company where he spent 11 years in positions of increasing responsibility, rising from operations director to division president and ultimately CEO for his last four years there. Eckert holds an MBA from Stanford University.

Jerome E. Rhodes – Chief Operating Officer
Jerry Rhodes joined CRC in 2003. Rhodes has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining CRC, he was the Chief Executive Officer for Comprehensive Addictions Programs Inc. (CAPs) for ten years.  CAPs was a privately held company backed by several venture capital investors that, under Rhodes’ leadership, became a national, full-service addiction treatment provider of both residential and opiate treatment. The company was acquired by CRC in February 2003. Prior to his CEO role at CAPS, Rhodes was the Vice President of Operations for two years and the Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for two years. Before joining CAPS, Rhodes was the Director of Development for Beverly Enterprises, the nations largest publicly held nursing home company, for four years. He was responsible for all new facility projects and developed over 40 facilities with an aggregate value of $120 million and the acquisition of another 50 facilities with an aggregate value of $150 million. Prior to this position, he was the Chief Development Consultant with Wilmot Bower & Associates, a nationally renowned Architectural and Development firm specializing in healthcare facilities. Rhodes also worked for Manor Care at various capacities. He holds a B.A. degree from Columbia Union College, with high honors.

Philip L. Herschman – Chief Clinical Officer
Dr. Herschman joined CRC in 2002 and brings over 30 years of experience in the health care industry to his position as Chief Clinical Officer. Prior to joining CRC, Dr. Herschman served as Chief Executive Officer of Behavioral Health Concepts, a national mental health management company that he founded in 1993. He also worked in business development for Republic Health Corporation, where he helped implement Republic’s strategy of joint venturing their acute care hospitals with physician groups. In addition, Dr. Herschman spent eight years with OrNda HealthCorp, where he was operationally responsible for three acute care hospitals totaling over 500 beds. Prior to OrNda, he served as Regional Vice President of Operations for Horizon Health, a multi-unit psychiatric management company. Dr. Herschman holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, and a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.

LeAnne M. Stewart – Chief Financial Officer
LeAnne Stewart joins CRC with nearly 25 years of experience in finance.  Previously, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Nash Finch Company, one of the country’s largest wholesale grocery distributors, and most recently she was Chief Financial Officer of Granite Construction, a publicly traded, diversified heavy civil contractor and construction materials producer.  Stewart spent nearly 10 years at Ernst & Young LLP where she managed complex transactions including the initial public offering of a major airline.

Stewart is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant, and earned her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Pamela Burke – Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Pamela Burke has been with CRC since 2005. Prior to joining CRC, Burke was a partner at the law firm DLA Piper Rudnick US LLP. Before working at DLA, Burke worked for Ernst & Young in its National Tax Office. She received her B.A. in Government from Cornell University and her J.D. from George Washington University.

Jonathan Ciampi – Vice President, Marketing, Business and Corporate Development and Strategic Accounts
Jonathan Ciampi started with CRC in February 2011. He began his career at Wells Fargo Bank and Oracle before founding his own company, nSeconds Corporation. nSeconds provided wireless and mobile CRM and sales force automation software solutions to Fortune 500 companies and had a revenue of $1 million in its first quarter of sales. While new to the behavioral health and addiction treatment industries, Ciampi is an established marketing leader. Before joining CRC, he spent eight years at SumTotal Systems, a talent management software solutions company, where he served as Vice President of Global Marketing and General Manager, and Vice President of Performance Management and OnDemand Solutions. In these roles, Ciampi was responsible for managing the company’s sales, marketing, product management and support services. As Vice President of Global Marketing, Ciampi established expertise in online advertising and lead development strategies.

David Duerst, Senior Vice President, Sales, CRC Health Group
David Duerst joined CRC in July 2011 with 20 years of sales leadership experience. Prior to CRC, Duerst spent six years with Ther-Rx Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company that markets branded pharmaceuticals. He served as Vice President of Sales, which included the launch of several products, a sales force deployment strategy, learning and development, and sales operations. He spent 12 years with Johnson & Johnson in positions of increasing responsibility within sales, marketing and business analytics. Duerst received his undergraduate degree in marketing from Kansas State University.