Your Team

When a teen’s life gets off track due to significant emotional distress or dysfunctional behaviors, it is not uncommon for their life and their family’s life to unravel. My passion is to bring families the healing experiences they need to reconnect as a family and help their child put their life back together. Using nature and outdoors as our setting, we help struggling teens reconnect with their families. We also help them find happiness, and develop the maturity to handle the challenges ahead of them.

Growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, I spent much time in the outdoors of Southern Utah. Whether hiking in Zion or rock climbing in Veyo, the outdoors was a place of peace and growth. Hence as a Mental Health Professional, I believe that the best environment for healing individuals and relationships is in the outdoors.

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and have worked with teens in various capacities. I began working with adolescents as a field guide at RedCliff Ascent in 2000. Subsequently, I’ve held numerous positions at RedCliff. These include Senior Field Instructor, Field Support Manager, Assistant Medical Coordinator, Primary Therapist, Research Director. And I am currently the Executive Director for RedCliff Ascent.

As a clinician, I bring a wealth of experience. This experience includes Experiential Therapies, Narrative Family Therapy, Adlerian Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I have also worked with adolescents and families in many different settings over the years, including residential treatment, community mental health, and foster care.

My educational experience includes an MA in Mental Health Counseling and a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. My research focus is on wilderness therapy, nature, adolescent development, and counseling ethics. I am actively involved in the counseling and psychology profession and hold regional and national leadership positions. I publish and present on wilderness therapy and the use of the outdoor. This is done around the world at the national and international conference level.

When not working, I enjoy spending time with my wife (who was also a field staff at RedCliff Ascent) and four children. Living just outside of Zion National Park, I enjoy spending time in nature with the family. I also like history and art, and enjoy visiting fine and contemporary art museums when I travel.

Originally from Southern California, Jennifer came to Utah to attend both undergraduate and graduate school. She comes to RedCliff Ascent, after being an integral part of Moonridge Academy. Previously at Southern Utah University working in student development and academia for 18 years. She has received a significant amount of training in, and teaches, human development and group psychotherapy. Her experience has been diverse.

Jennifer started working with teens in 2008. It was here that she also discovered her passion for helping young people gain confidence in the understanding and expression of personal emotion. The training she has obtained over the years has given her the opportunity to fulfill many passions that feel innate to her.

Some of these include:

• Learning to integrate traumatic experiences into life. As well as letting go of the pain that may be associated with these experiences (trauma, recovery).
• Learning to achieve a positive identity as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender youth.
• Gaining a positive body image and learning to have a healthy relationship with food.
• Learning to navigate relationships with a definite sense of self and appropriate boundaries.

Jennifer not only loves working with youth but believes that strong family work is an integral part of the change process. She is trained in EMDR. And she loves educating young people and their parents on how the nervous system impacts their responses to stressful situations.

Jennifer loves laughing, traveling, trying new and exciting food. As well as exploring the outdoors, and spending time with her husband and kids.

Darcy has been a member of the RedCliff team for over 6 years. She came to us from the public school system where she taught preschool and then moved to an administrative position at the local elementary where she was for 8 years. Working with kids and families has been Darcy’s passion and focus for many years. Having struggled herself as a teen and now a mother of 2 teenage boys she brings a unique perspective to RedCliff and our families. “Sending your child away to treatment has to be one of the hardest things a parent would have to do”, Darcy says. “I want our families to know we understand and are here to help heal their families!”

Darcy has over 24 years of experience working as a mentor and sponsor with adolescents and young adults suffering from the disease of addiction. She spends many hours speaking at rehabilitation centers, treatment centers, and even local high schools to share her experience strength and hope with others. “To be able to combine my personal passion with my work is a dream job! I love that I get to give back to families what was so freely given to me when I was younger and hopeless!” explains Darcy. “RedCliff is my job but being a part of the healing in the wilderness is my joy!”

Darcy grew up in Greenbrier, Arkansas where she graduated high school and attended Arkansas College in Batesville. After her parents retired, they moved to Enterprise, Utah and Darcy transferred to Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah.

Darcy lives in Enterprise, UT with her husband and two boys ages 15 and 18. She has served on the Enterprise City Council for eight years and has run the local Easter Egg Hunt for 12 years. She feels that being of service to her community and being a part of RedCliff is her chance to pay it forward.

Stacy began working for the RedCliff Ascent family in early 2013 after graduating from Brigham Young University. Stacy has a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management and Youth Leadership. Her love and understanding of the healing powers that come from the wilderness started at a young age. She grew up in northern Minnesota near a small town. As a child, she enjoyed fishing, hiking, camping, and just being outside.

Stacy has spent her professional career working with adolescents and young adults. She spent 3 years as Women’s Program Director at a young adult transition program in southern Utah. While at RedCliff, Stacy has held many positions including Head Instructor, Field Support Manager and now Field Director. Her high warmth along with clear expectations and appropriate boundaries define her style.

Stacy met her husband at RedCliff in 2013. They have 2 dogs that join them on many camping and traveling adventures. Stacy also enjoys working on art. You can often find her working on stained glass, loom beading, and gourd carving.

Scott has been with RedCliff since 1998. After graduating from BYU in Outdoor Recreation and Youth Leadership in 1991, Scott began his career in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare. Scott’s greatest asset to the organization is his love and compassion for the RedCliff students and staff he oversees and manages.

Scott’s philosophy is simple:

“All RedCliff staff work on the same curriculum, eat the same food, carry the same pack and wear the same clothing as the students. RedCliff counselors, will not ask the students to do anything they are not willing to experience themselves.”

This philosophy has promoted respect and rapport among RedCliff students and staff. It is priceless while providing a great foundation for treatment progress. In addition to his RedCliff responsibilities, Scott is busy with a wife he adores and five children of his own.

Cheryl graduated from Brigham Young University in Accounting. She has been with Ascent Companies for 13 years.

Cheryl grew up in Southern Utah and enjoys very active family life. With three sons, including a set of twins, Cheryl keeps up by running marathons. She and her family are also avid boaters and visit Lake Powell multiple times a year.

Cheryl is a professed nerd at heart and has a passion for accounting and numbers. She also loves going on location to our different programs and supporting those staff members that are directly involved in making a difference in our student’s lives. She is so proud to work for an organization that helps families become whole again.