Meet the Riverside Recovery Team

Our Staff

Take The First Step

Our experienced, compassionate admissions staff at Riverside Recovery of Tampa will guide you through every step of the admissions process. Many of them have gone through recovery themselves or are experienced in the mental health and substance abuse field. From your initial contact with our center, to your intake assessment, the admissions staff will bring you through our doors and on your way to recovery.
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Kirk Kirkpatrick

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Kirk is a native Floridian, born at Eglin Air Force Base, where his father was a fighter pilot in the Air Force. His family moved to Tampa once his father retired. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and played football for Steve Spurrier. After his brief NFL career, Kirk worked for Merrill Lynch as a Financial Trader. In his 30’s, Kirk fell into addiction and lost everything. He caused a trail of destruction for many years. Finally, seeking help, he jumped into a life of recovery. Kirk’s life began improving and he thought there had to be a better way to treat those suffering from addiction. To treat people with love and empathy, and eliminate the stigma of addiction in recovery. Everything from the colors, smells and ambiance was created with recovery in mind. Kirk has 3 daughters, Olivia (20), Bella (18), & Graysen (9).

Elizabeth Stockton

Chief Administrative Officer & Co-Founder
Elizabeth was born and raised in Ketchikan, Alaska. After graduating high school, she moved to San Francisco and attended the University of San Francisco’s McLaren School of Business. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Management & Marketing. Elizabeth struggled with addiction for the majority of her adult life. It took her several attempts at various treatment centers to find a successful life in recovery. Meanwhile, her friends and loved ones were dying from this disease and she could not understand how she managed to make it out alive. It has become her mission in life to create a treatment center that truly helped individuals recover from addiction. She founded Riverside Recovery in 2016 with partner and fiance Kirk.
Michael Sore

Dr. Michael Sore, MD

Medical Director
Dr. Michael Sore is Riverside Recovery’s Medical Director. He has a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the
University of South Florida. Dr. Sore has been working in emergency medicine for 35 years. He started as a technician, working his way up to physician. Currently, Dr. Sore is the Medical Director of Emergency
Medicine at several Tampa Bay Area medical facilities. Dr. Sore has seen the devastation that substance abuse disorder causes individuals and their loved ones. The life-saving emergency care he would provide rarely resulted in any meaningful recovery. This led to Dr. Sore developing a passion early on in his career for trying to improve those outcomes. Dr. Sore has the opportunity to make a meaningful difference and the resources to provide an exceptional level of care in a safe, effective manner. These key components, statistically, have proven to lead to a higher likelihood of long-term sobriety.

Samantha Allberry

Vice President of Operations
Growing up in Hudson, Florida, Samantha was no stranger to the opioid epidemic or the many people struggling with substance abuse in her personal and professional life. She has been working in the addiction industry since she was 18 years old. Starting in reception and quickly working her way up. 
Samantha has a passion for making a positive impact on someone’s life, it drives her to work harder and improve herself. To have a CEO and Co-Founder open their doors for your ideas, welcome individuals to disagree, and invest in employees is rare. It is that outlook towards employees and a team that builds great companies.

Louise Wallowitz

LMHC, CAP, ART® Certified – Director of Family Services

Louise is Riverside Recovery’s Director of Family Services. She has 30 years of experience, and her passion speaks for itself. Louise initiated the family program at Hyde Park Counseling, a center in Tampa, Florida. This is where she spent 22 years as the Director of Clinical Services before joining Riverside Recovery. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Certified Addiction Professional.

Christian Sicignano

RN, Director of Nursing
Christian is a Registered Nurse and he has moved into the role of Director of Nursing at Riverside Recovery. In addition to his responsibilities here, Christian works at St. Joseph’s Hospital in the Pediatric Emergency Care Department. He is passionate about helping others and is an asset to Riverside Recovery.

Michael Hamm

Facilities Manager
Michael has worked in Facilities Management for 18 years. Before coming to Riverside Recovery, Michael worked for the American Cancer Society. He was responsible for several buildings in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area. He is an avid fisherman and holds the unofficial world record for most days consecutively fished in a row at 2,017 days. Michael’s goal and passion is to ensure the safety and for the clients who choose Riverside Recovery to change their path in life. He enjoys creating an enjoyable atmosphere to make sure each client feels as comfortable as possible while they work through their struggles.

Lauren Whittman

ARNP
Lauren received her Master’s in Nursing from South University here in Tampa, Florida, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Like many others at Riverside Recovery, addiction has impacted her life and is the reason she is here. During Lauren’s early 20’s, she lost a very close friend to addiction, it has become a passion ever since. In addition to her personal life, Lauren has been on the front lines of addiction in her career as well. With three years of emergency room experience caring for those affected by the disease. And 4 years of Gastrointestinal experience, seeing first hand what effects addiction can have on the body.
Dr Glenn Currier

Dr. Glenn Currier, MD

Mental & Behavioral Health Advisor
Dr. Glenn Currier serves Riverside Recovery as a Mental/Behavioral Health advisor. Dr. Currier received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his residency in Psychiatry at Yale University. He serves as Chair and Professor of the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of South Florida. Dr. Currier is a board-certified community psychiatrist and mental health services researcher with long-standing interests and expertise in emergency psychiatry, acute interventions and out-patient behavioral health services. Dr. Currier is a member of many professional psychiatry organizations, is the recipient of many awards including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Lifesaver Award “for distinguished contributions in research” and is involved with multiple clinical trials of both drugs and services interventions. Dr. Currier brings over 25 years of experience in his role as advisor to the Riverside Recovery of Tampa mental health care team. In addition to consulting with our mental health care team, he also provides guidance and educational lectures to our medical staff with an emphasis on psychiatry best practices in behavioral health/substance abuse settings.

Tara Kapinos

M.Ed, Ed.S, NCC, LMHC, ART® Certified – Therapist
Tara is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Riverside Recovery, she specializes in addiction treatment
and is certified in Accelerate Resolution Trauma Therapy. She has a Master of Education and Education
Specialist degree from the University of Florida. Tara’s experience is in treating chemical and process
addictions. She believes in being a part of a client’s treatment throughout the entire process. The client’s
well-being is her main priority.

Steve Eckstein

BS, CAP – Discharge Planner
Steve is a Certified Addiction Professional and graduated with his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education
from Bowling Green State University. Steve has 7 years of experience working with clients in substance
abuse. He finds it rewarding and reaffirming to witness this transformation of those who embrace the
process and to have the opportunity to participate in that process.

Jotham Fady

Admissions Supervisor
Jotham is a native Floridian. He is in recovery and similar to many other stories at Riverside Recovery, that is how Jotham found himself working in the addiction industry. Jotham has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida. His experience prior to Riverside Recovery includes working in psychiatric emergency care and detox for 8 years.
Riverside Recovery of Tampa
4004 N Riverside Dr., Tampa, FL 33603
(800) 871-5440
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