Your Staff

Andrea has always known that she would be involved in some aspect of therapeutic services. While pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Family Science at Brigham Young University, she volunteered at The Women’s and Children’s Crisis Center as well as the Utah Valley Crisis Line. Once she graduated from Brigham Young University, she completed a graduate certification from the University of Utah as a certified addictions counselor.Her 22-year journey in the adolescent treatment industry began as a direct care staff and then a supervisor in a Residential Treatment Center for adjudicated adolescent males. She was then promoted to the Director of Individual Residential Treatment, a program that is tasked with placing adjudicated males from a Residential Treatment Center setting into the homes of approved and trained families.Andrea then transferred to Redcliff Ascent, a premier therapeutic wilderness program for struggling teens. She began her role as a member of the Redcliff Ascent Management Team as a Parent Liaison and was promoted to Assistant Executive Director. In 2002, Andrea became the Executive Director of Redcliff Ascent and served in that capacity for 12 years. During her tenure as Redcliff Ascent’s Executive Director, she served as vice-chair for the Outdoor Behavioral Health Council from 2011 – 2013, an industry association that promotes program standards, ethics, and risk management as well as facilitating outcome research of the efficacy of wilderness programs.In the fall of 2011, Andrea co-founded Evolving Women, an industry association for women in the adolescent therapeutic industry. Evolving Women’s mission is to provide networking opportunities, professional development, and service. The organization continues to grow in membership and influence for some of the industry’s most talented women.In April of 2013, Andrea left her beloved post at Redcliff Ascent and was given the remarkable opportunity to lead a dynamic team as the Executive Director of Discovery Ranch for Girls. Set on a 66-acre ranch with a lake, riding arena, barn, and homey living spaces, Andrea began learning more about the intricacies of providing outstanding treatment a Residential Treatment setting.Andrea is dedicated to providing a program that is safe, therapeutic and effective for students and families. She and her husband have two boys, two dogs, and two cats and enjoy the outdoor life in Southern Utah.

Dr. Brian Daniels has been at the ranch since 2015 and has worked in residential settings since 2005. He is a graduate of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Child and Adolescent Track and completed his APA-accredited Predoctoral Internship at OhioGuidestone in Brook Park, Ohio. Dr. Daniels has specialized foundational training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and utilizes DBT in individual, group, and family therapy. Brian has expertise in treating teenagers and families experiencing complex challenges including relational traumas, adverse childhood experiences, and disrupted attachments. Dr. Daniels specializes in treating Borderline Personality Disorder, emotional dysregulation, interpersonal distress, and assisting families in rebuilding relationships. His background in child development lends to a comprehensive approach to attachment work in therapy. Brian’s theoretical orientation is integrative with foundations in psychodynamic, developmental, and humanistic theories. Dr. Daniels’s professional interests are in the areas of wilderness therapy; the role nature plays in self-discovery, relationships, and youth development; play based modalities; relational and strengths-based approaches to therapy; subjective experiences and phenomenological research; and developmental and object relations theory.Prior to working at Discovery Ranch for Girls, Brian gained experience as a therapist working with young adults in a wilderness therapy program. He fulfilled his practica as an Advanced Therapy Extern at the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School at the University of Chicago, as a Therapy Extern at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, and as a Diagnostic Extern at the Counseling Center of Lakeview. Brian contributed to When Diagnostic Labels Mask Trauma. In addition to his internship and work experience, Brian has performed comprehensive research in the field of clinical psychology and residential treatment, including publications, professional presentations, and conference presentations. Brian received his B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University, his M.S. in Child Development from the Erikson Institute, and his Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.You can read his dissertation here: Adolescent Subjective Experience of Wilderness Therapy: A Phenomenological Approach Brian is a member of the Utah Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, and the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Brian enjoys going to concerts, arts and culture events, camping, mountain biking, hiking with his dog Rex, rooting for the Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers, and exploring the vast wilderness of Southern Utah.

Sarah began working at Discovery Ranch for Girls in 2015 as a Residential Mentor. She is glad for her time spent working directly with students and grateful for all that she has learned from her various positions. She has thoroughly enjoyed working with families in Admissions and is happy that she gets to continue in that role as the Admissions Director.Sarah herself is a mother and feels that she can put herself in the shoes of the parents who are making the difficult decision to place their child in a treatment facility. Her favorite part of working at Discovery Ranch for Girls is seeing the progress in the girls’ relationships, and the change in their demeanor as they go through the program and become strong, purposeful young women.

Matt Crosby began working with troubled youth in 1998 when, as an undergraduate student, he took a part-time job working with juvenile sex offenders. In the fifteen years since, he has worked for a variety of residential treatment programs helping teens and adolescents struggling with a range of issues.Matt has held a longtime fascination with the effectiveness of residential treatment, and the differences in approach for those programs that actually facilitate meaningful and long-lasting changes in young people’s lives. He is passionate about making Discovery Ranch for Girls one of those programs. As part of the original team that started Discovery Ranch, Matt helped design and implement their unique and highly successful approach to treatment. He is a strong believer in the power of experiential activities and adventures, and in working with animals, as agents of healing and change.Matt is also a writer and teacher. He has an MA and an MFA in English and Creative Writing and has taught writing courses for years at the college level. He and his beautiful wife are the parents of three little boys, ages 5, 3, and 8 weeks. They also have a wonderful little beagle, Sally, two years old, who is a money pit and constant headache. She’s for sale!

Janet is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She and her husband David, who also works for Discovery Ranch for Girls, have lived in Cedar City, Utah for the past 15 years. They have 2 daughters and 4 granddaughters. Janet joined Discovery Ranch for Girls after serving as the office administrator at The Midwest Center for Attacking Anxiety and Depression. Janet is the HR Director at the ranch and with her southern accent and readiness to help offers a warm welcome to all our guests and residents. She loves to hold “crawfish boils”, spend time with her family, and spoil her cat, Bob! She and David have been married for 32 years.

Lee Bingham is currently the Equine Director at Discovery Ranch For Girls. Equine therapy can be a strong part of your daughters therapy. There are many experiential learning opportunities at our more than 60 acre location! The girls will have the opportunity to work with horses, calves, cooking, swimming, fishing, boating, climbing and ropes courses, yoga, hiking, winter activities and so much more. To learn more about our Equine Therapy program click here: Equine TherapyLee has never known a life without horses or cattle. She was raised on a local ranch here in Cedar City, Utah. Taking the reins of her own horse, at three years old, sparked her love for these noble and trustworthy animals.Her rodeo career began at the age of nine, competing in junior rodeos, then on to high school and college. She earned two National High School Goat Tying Titles and one National College Title along the way. Lee volunteers throughout the state offering private goat tying lessons to youth.She earned her bachelor degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Southern Utah University in 2002.Lee values hard work, honesty, and integrity. She enjoys watching the girls at the ranch develop these skills from working with the horses and calves. The most fulfilling piece of her job is watching the deep relationships the girls build with the animals and waiting for that “in the moment” teaching experience to unfold between them.Lee loves spending time with her husband and their three boys. They enjoy working and riding on their ranch, farming, camping, fishing, hunting, team roping, golfing, and playing basketball and baseball.“We reach goals one step at a time. We cannot be perfect today or tomorrow but we can be better than we were yesterday.” —Author Unknown–

Elizabeth Grant is thrilled to join the fantastic team at Discovery Ranch for Girls as the new Academic Director. She has been working to improve learning and lives for students with learning differences, giftedness and 2E for more than thirteen years in California and Colorado. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Science in Mild/Moderate Special Education from Brigham Young University and earned a Masters of Education in Prevention Science Practice from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Her particular focus has been on striving to mitigate anxiety in students with learning differences in order to support wellbeing and successful life transitions. Elizabeth is certified in Special Education, Gifted and Talented Education and Twice Exceptionality in the state of Colorado.Elizabeth loves to visit her four children who live throughout the US and France and she enjoys yoga, singing in choirs, cooking, hiking, art, gardening and exploring locally and going on worldwide adventures.

David has been a member of the Discovery Ranch for Girls team since May of 2016. Initially, David came to work at Discovery Ranch for Girls as a mentor and was promoted to a position as a Residential Supervisor. David has always viewed the therapeutic process as being multi-faceted with adventure education being at the heart of the process of change that clients embark on while at Discovery Ranch for Girls . In 2009 he completed his Master’s degree which focused on the impact of adventure and challenged based programming on the ability of adolescents to overcome diverse and challenging experiences. As Recreation Director David’s goal is to continue to enhance the effectiveness of programming through extensive collaboration with the clinical team as well as developing exciting adventure programming to such as skiing, snowboarding, winter sports, outdoor survival skills, extended river trips, climbing, and canyoneering trips. David views adventure education and peak experiences as effective means to truly empower the young women at Discovery Ranch for Girls.Prior to Discovery Ranch for Girls David established a strong reputation as a wilderness therapy professional and served as Field Director for New Vision Wilderness (NVW). Under his leadership at this nationally recognized wilderness treatment program, he proudly contributed to a 200 percent enrollment increase during his tenure through several program development initiatives, marketing, and outstanding communication with consultants, parents and most importantly, enrolled clients. In 2010 David moved to Ireland where he served as the Program Coordinator for the Arts for Peace Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to community outreach, development and the development of healthy recreational opportunities for Irish youth.When David is not leading groups of youth into the backcountry or facilitating activities, he enjoys rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, canyoneering, skiing, backpacking, and canoeing. David, his wife, and their dog – in the fall of 2016 – paddled 2300 miles from the source of the Mississippi in Northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

I fell in love with theatre and music as a child, and experienced the transformative power of the arts through my teenage years. After high school, I continued my education in the Performing Arts at Weber State University, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts, as well as a Bachelor of Integrated Studies in Physics, Math, and Computer Science.Over the past few years, I have gained professional scenic and prop design experience with Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative on various projects, including the Disney Wish and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I have worked professionally as a character performer in Utah, and worked in Entertainment at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.Joining the Discovery Ranch for Girls team is an honor and a privilege. As a teen girl, the arts gave me hope for my future and the impact I could one day leave on the world. I am so thankful to be part of the story of hope, healing, and self-discovery being written in the lives of these young women.