Shoreline team

Executive Director

Maryanna Staerk, MPH, MBA, RDN

Maryanna Staerk, MPH, MBA, RDN is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for behavioral health and helping people become their best selves. She received her Master’s in Public Health Administration from Loma Linda University and her Master’s in Business Administration from Western Governors University.

Maryanna has twelve years of leadership experience in a wide variety of healthcare settings, ranging from acute care hospitals, nursing homes, inpatient behavioral health hospitals and large hospital systems. She has also run a private practice for the past three years, focusing on nutritional genetic predispositions and mental health. She has also been teaching nutrition classes for both inpatient and outpatient behavioral healthcare facilities. 

Maryanna has been described as exceptionally inclusive and encouraging of her employees, and truly believes strong happy teams are needed to provide excellent patient care.

In her free time, she grows food for her family of four and raises chickens. Someday she hopes to have her own small farm, growing and raising all the food her family needs.

Clinical Practice Director

Sheena Gill, PsyD, CEDS

Dr. Sheena is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist who has been working with eating disorders since 2014. She received both her masters and doctorate in psychology at Loma Linda University. Dr. Sheena has experience working with diverse populations of adults, adolescents, and families at various levels of care including inpatient hospitalization, residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), and traditional outpatient. As a clinician, she takes an integrative therapeutic approach by utilizing client-centered and humanistic principles to deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Family-Based Treatment (FBT) interventions. She prioritizes developing a therapeutic relationship with clients and their families to help them reach their treatment goals.

Dr. Sheena previously worked at Shoreline and helped develop our first residential treatment program, by utilizing both her clinical expertise and experience working in other treatment programs. She is passionate about promoting inclusive and culturally appropriate care for those who struggle with eating disorders and looks forward to being instrumental to the continued growth of Shoreline.

In her free time, Dr. Sheena enjoys spending time with her family, playing with her dog, and baking like she is the next Food Network star.

Clinical Director

Stacy Korfist LMFT, CEDS-S

Stacy comes to Shoreline with over 20 years of experience working in the behavioral health and eating disorder field. Stacy is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS-S) and Approved Supervisor through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp). She is passionate about integrating wellness, experiential and trauma-informed elements within treatment.

She received her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Loyola Marymount University and her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Arizona State University.

Stacy has received diverse and advanced training alongside several highly respected thought leaders in the field. These include Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Interpersonal Neurobiology, Family-Based Treatment, Attachment Mastery Program, The Body Positive, Brené Brown’s shame resiliency, Psychobiological Couples Therapy (PACT), ADHD Parent Educator and is a Certified Multiple Addiction
Therapist (CMAT). Stacy is known for her ability to integrate cutting-edge therapeutic interventions within the highly complex pursuit of eating disorder recovery.

Stacy operates from a strengths-based and interpersonal approach and values connection, community, and compassion when working within a team. This carries over to working with our clients, families, and loved ones. Eating disorders create isolation and disconnection, but we can heal in relationship, connection, and shared hope.

Director of Health Services & Nurse Practitioner

Nnenna Abaeze DNP, RN, FNP-C, CNL, PHN

As the Family Nurse Practitioner for Shoreline, Dr. Abaeze incorporates evidenced-based practice with a holistic approach. With over 5 years of experience in behavioral health, maternal health, and primary care practice, her goals include improving healthcare inequities through continued education, public awareness of disparities, and nursing excellence. Dr. Abaeze is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice and Masters of Nursing Science both from the University of San Francisco. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Health Policy and Sociology from the University of California Irvine. In addition to Family Nurse Practitioner certification, Dr. Abaeze is also certified in Clinical Nurse Leadership and will be completing a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner certification by the summer of 2021. Throughout her service as a Clinician, Dr. Abaeze has remained passionate about uniquely connecting with patients and their families and always prioritizes their care, physical and psychological safety. She aims to treat the whole patient by creating obtainable goals set for and by them. She values teamwork and believes that with the fierce collaboration of her team members, each patient’s personal goals can be achieved.

Dietetic Clinical Supervisor

Marissa Kent, MS, RDN, CDCES

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Master’s in Community Nutrition
Certificate in Intuitive Eating
Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

Marissa received a degree in food and nutrition from California State University, Long Beach. She has been practicing in Orange County in the field of dietetics for over two decades. Marissa’s experience includes and is not limited to, eating disorders, diabetes treatment, and prevention as well as integrative and functional nutrition. She has a private practice in South Orange County.

Marissa participates in her community and acts in a supervising role to nutrition students and fellow dietitians nationwide.

Marissa has experience collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team to help her clients who have a poor relationship with food and their body. Marissa enjoys educating people about the importance of nutrition regarding metabolism, digestion, and balance through individualized counseling and group education. She stays current in the field with continuing education, webinars, and supervision groups.

Lead Registered Dietitian

Brianna Ballard, MS, RDN

Brianna Ballard, MS, RDN, is a Registered Dietitian who earned her Bachelor of Science in Food and Nutrition from University of North Florida and a Master of Science in Nutrition and Health Promotion from Simmons University. Brianna completed her dietetic internship with Wellness Workdays with a Health Promotion Concentration. She has worked in the dietetics field for over five years in a variety of positions working with clients in universities, hospitals, and retail settings. She is very passionate about nutrition and loves connecting with people over food. Brianna integrates Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size philosophy into her daily practice.

Primary Therapist

Taylor Pyle, AMFT, APCC

Taylor is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor. She earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University. She has experience working with clients with substance use and addiction disorders, domestic violence and sexual assault survivors and perpetrators, depression, anxiety, BPD, and PTSD. She uses a family systems and trauma informed approach, as she believes addiction is not involving just the client but also involves the family system. She also integrates CBT, DBT, ACT, attachment, experiential, and mindfulness to tailor to what the client needs. She also has training in CPT and is certified in EMDR. Taylor values having a strong therapeutic alliance and rapport with clients to allow clients to explore their authentic sense of self without any judgement. Her goal with clients is to empower clients to make the changes they want to make and to provide hope to clients that change is possible if they are ready to challenge themselves in the discomfort.”

Primary Therapist

Amelia Lewis, ACSW

Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Trinity College. Amelia’s specialization in global practice with immigrants and refugees has led her to develop a holistic approach that prioritizes cultural humility and focuses on the individual clients’ experience. She draws from her research and work surrounding trauma resilience, identity development, and community to inform her trauma-informed, client-centered, affirmative care. Amelia practices through an attachment lens, integrating aspects of solution-focused therapy, psychodynamic theory, mindfulness, and evidence-based approaches including DBT and CBT to best suit the individual clients’ needs. More than anything else, Amelia values the importance of developing a strong therapeutic relationship in which the client can feel safe to explore and express themselves without judgment. By highlighting resilience and helping to foster hope, Amelia helps her clients recognize that their goals are attainable and change is possible.

Therapist

Heidi Pena, AMFT

Heidi is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. She obtained her MA in Clinical Psychology: Marriage and Family Therapy. She has a range of experience working with Adults with a dual diagnosis within mental health, treating adolescents with substance abuse and dual diagnosis within residential treatment, and adolescents with eating disorders. Heidi’s approach uses person-centered therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Her goal is to assist her client in understanding themselves better and learning that they are not their diagnosis. She uses an empathetic approach to build rapport with her client. Her most crucial phrase is always to stay curious about her clients.

Nurse Administrator

La Keiia R. Penson, BSN, RN, MPH

La Keiia received her Bachelor of Science from California State University, Dominguez Hills and obtained her Master of Public Health from the University of Southern California. What started out as a career in public health quickly pivoted as she found herself gravitating towards mental health initiatives.

La Keiia has been working in the mental health field for 3 years. Her passion for the field stems from her belief that mental health is the foundation which allows everyone to be the best person that they can be. Through her work as a mental health nurse, La Keiia has worked tirelessly to destigmatize mental health in underserved communities. She hopes to continue bridging the mental health gap through expanding her knowledge and expertise to better serve individuals living with mental health disorders.”

Operations Manager

Lauren Greenage

As the business manager for over 8 years, Lauren has been an integral part of the expansion and inner workings of Shoreline. After acquiring a degree in criminal justice while living in Arizona, Lauren moved back to California to pursue a career in Healthcare Administration. She brings over 20 years of administrative expertise and business management experience to Shoreline. Over the past few years, she has had a hand in many different aspects of administration including but not limited to network contracting and negotiation, human resources, payroll, accounts payable, collections, and a myriad of other duties. Her goal is to make sure that the wheels of the Shoreline bus keep turning and that everything runs as smoothly as possible for both staff and clients. Everyone at Shoreline knows that if they have a problem, they can come to her for support and or a resolution to their issue. In Lauren’s time off, she enjoys baking, playing fetch with her dog, and battling all her friends in trivia games.

Registered Dietitian

Emily Meyers

Emily is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with experience in infant and maternal health, long-term care, and eating disorder recovery. She first became interested in nutrition as an athlete and later to connect with others and care for herself. Emily received her bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and completed her dietetic internship at Virginia Tech with a concentration in leadership and nutrition policy. Her nutrition philosophy is rooted in an all-foods-fit mentality and intuitive eating principles. She aims to guide her clients to find peace with foods and body by providing compassionate, evidenced-based nutrition counseling. Emily is delighted to be part of the Shoreline team and honored to hold space for clients to explore their relationship with foods and body.

Milieu Manager & Activity Program Leader

Ethan Pearson

As the Milieu Manager and Activity Program Leader, Ethan brings his passion for helping others, creative problem-solving skills, and empathy for clients and staff to the team at Shoreline. He received his Bachelor of Psychology from California State University Los Angeles and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University specializing in LGBTQ+ Affirmative Care. Ethan has spent the last six years in mental health and education. His most recent professional experience involved overseeing the milieu of a 166-bed acute inpatient psychiatric facility. Before that, he worked as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault as a certified sexual assault counselor. His current role focuses on staff development and education and spearheading the activity program at our RTC locations. Ethan is an avid food lover and hopes to help our clients reframe their perspective and relationship with food towards a more positive one. In his free time, Ethan loves spending time with his family and two cats, going to the theater, and creating culinary masterpieces in the kitchen.