Meet The Team

ORANGE COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT CENTER

D’Amore Healthcare’s Executive Management Team continues the advancement of private, quality, affordable mental health.

Additionally, our Orange County Residential Psychiatric Treatment Facility has strengthened its executive management team. This has shown early positive results with a significant success rate. These appointments and their staff play a key role in advancing D’Amore Healthcare’s mission of serving thousands suffering from mental health disorders.

Our Leadership Team

Leadership

Rick Cortese - Founder

Originally from Chicago, Rick fell in love with California while serving in the United States Marine Corps. After his service, he moved back to Chicago until 1978, when Rick relocated to Costa Mesa, California and eventually to Huntington Beach, California. Early in his career, Rick worked as a counselor at Phoenix House. Quickly, he enjoyed the rigor of social services. Although his success took him in different directions, Rick knew he would work in recovery services again for two reasons: one, he loved it and two, he was determined to give back. In 1986, Rick’s life took a dramatic turn for the good when his recovery began. His plan to pay it forward was underway.

In 1995, Rick married his lovely bride, Vicki. They are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, Nicole who attends college in San Luis Obispo and Noelle, studying in Santa Barbara. After years of labor and success, Rick sold his company in 2012, beginning his new journey: looking for the perfect team. In Rick’s words, “It has taken me 3 years, but I have found the best 2 people to create the best in recovery.”

Rick Cortese

Founder

Jennifer Carpenter - Chief Operating Officer

Jennifer serves as the Chief Operating Officer for D’Amore Healthcare and has 18+ years of experience working in the recovery field. She is a Certified Treatment Executive (CTE) and holds credentials in the behavioral health field, including certifications as a Qualified Mental Health Specialist and a Certified Admissions and Marketing Specialist with CCAPP. Before landing at D’Amore Healthcare, Jennifer worked for a local nonprofit organization as the Financial Administrator before finding her true passion in Admissions. Jennifer’s own personal journey has led her to want to help others struggling with mental health and substance abuse and allows her to be the point of contact with individuals and their families looking to start their recovery.

Jennifer is responsible for making sure that clients are aware of the individual care they will receive while at D’Amore Healthcare, the screening and assessment prior to admission, and following through with the patient’s intake from start to finish, including discharge planning. Jennifer strongly believes that “your present circumstances don’t determine where you go; they merely determine where you start.”

Jennifer Carpenter, CTE

Chief Operating Officer

Gary Tucker - Chief Clinical Officer

Gary has a personal history of long-term recovery from addiction and has experienced struggles with mental health issues with close family members. These experiences inspired him to become involved in helping others who face issues with addiction and mental health. However, he felt that he could not abandon his career as a businessman. In 2009 an opportunity arose that allowed Gary to return to school, which led him to become a licensed psychotherapist.

He has now worked in the field for approximately 16+ years. Gary finds his work to be incredibly fulfilling: “I can say without hesitation that the last 15 years have been the most emotionally rewarding of my life. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say being a part of someone’s journey dealing with mental health and addiction issues brings a sense of fulfillment that is hard to put in words.”

Gary Tucker

Chief Clinical Officer

J. John Emma - President & Founder

John has over 30+ years of experience working in both non-profit and for-profit businesses. In the first 20 years of his career, John directed $18 million in growth and acquisitions. Today, John brings his wisdom, accounting expertise, and operational transparency to ensure D’Amore’s ethical and fiduciary practices.

John has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from San Diego State University and a Chemical Dependency and Compulsive Disorder Certification.

In his spare time, John volunteers at his church and the recovery ministry hangs out with his sons, and enjoys crossing items off his bucket list, which includes traveling to all 30 major league baseball stadiums.

J. John Emma

President & Founder

Cherise Tejada - Chief Financial Officer

Cherise graduated from the University of California, Irvine, earning her BA in Psychology. While completing her studies, Cherise focused on at-risk populations within the psychology department, concentrating on how she could best help others through training and policy development to ensure patients received top-level care. She went on to earn her MBA with an emphasis in Finance, further expanding her expertise in organizational management and financial strategy. Cherise has brought this expertise to D’Amore Healthcare, implementing crisis, culture, and developmental training to our staff, as well as applying her financial acumen to support the organization’s growth.

In her free time, Cherise enjoys spending time with her family, making memories, and baking or cooking fun new recipes! Her favorite quote to live by is, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Cherise Tejada

Chief Financial Officer

Admissions

Amanda Moss, AMFT - Medical Liaison/Care Administrator

Amanda Moss started working in the behavioral healthcare industry in 2012. Amanda enjoys helping people and changing lives, and she believes that it is truly the biggest blessing. Amanda graduated from California State University, Long Beach in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Community Health Education obtained a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2023.

Amanda has been with D’Amore Healthcare since 2017. She has held various positions in D'Amore from NACHT BHT, BHT II, Human Resources Manager, Operations Manager, and is now the Medical Liaison/Care Administrator. Being part of this graciously redundant environment has been life-changing for her. She has always had a passion for helping individuals and wanted to find a rewarding career to do so. She is glad to be a part of the D’Amore team. “Here we don’t come to work, but we come to care.”

Amanda Moss, AMFT

Medical Liaison/Care Administrator

Kevin Saysana -Admissions Coordinator

Born and raised in Orange County, Kevin moved to Riverside County, then spent a couple of years in Arizona, before eventually moving back to Orange County after he was honorably discharged from the military. He is a US Marine Corps combat veteran who served from 2007 to 2011, in both Iraq and Afghanistan. After his service, he earned his BS in Criminal Justice from Argosy University in 2015.

However, his passion for helping people combined with his love of physical fitness drove him to pursue his personal training certification. Kevin’s compassion, personable character, and life experiences led him to join the D’Amore team as an Admissions Specialist. Since April 2019, Kevin has used his knowledge and personal experiences to reach out to those in need as a strong client advocate.

Kevin has been happily married since 2018 and currently has two dogs, a cat, and a snake. His hobbies include the gym, gardening, and cooking. He enjoys learning about the study of emotions and his favorite author is psychologist Paul Ekman.

Kevin Saysana

Admissions Coordinator

Kassandra Acosta, MA - Admissions Specialist

Kassandra started working in the mental health field in 2019 and, since then, has continued her efforts to help people of all backgrounds. Kassandra graduated with her Bachelor’s in Psychology from California State University Fullerton in 2022 and obtained her Master’s in Psychology from The Chicago School in 2024. She has been with D’Amore since October 2021 and began as a BHT I, then transitioned to a BHT II before landing her current role in Admissions. Being part of a community that fosters an environment of positive mental health for individuals is very important to Kassandra. She is very proud to be a part of the D’Amore team.

In her free time, Kassandra enjoys going to the gym, traveling, spending time with her cat, lizard, and dogs, and being with family and friends!

Kassandra Acosta, MA

Admissions Specialist

Daisy - Admissions Licensed Therapy Dog

A visit to D’Amore’s Admissions office is not complete without meeting me. I am one of the friendliest and most caring team members and once you’ve been greeted by my warm smile, you can’t help but instantly fall in love with me. I consider D’Amore my second home and treat anyone who walks through the door like they are my family. As the Admissions office therapy dog, my role here is to listen to your problems, lessen your anxiety, and love you unconditionally.

I earned my service dog certification from UC Barkley, where I majored in Pavlov’s Behavioral Psychology with a minor in Canine Resources. Since graduating and joining the D’Amore team, I spend most of my free time rolling in grass and begging for treats.

Daisy

"In loving memory"

Administration/HR

Benjamin W. Smith - Compliance Director

Ben comes to D’Amore from the mountains of Colorado. He earned a B.A. in Religious Studies from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2006 and began his life in recovery in Los Angeles in April of 2010. After starting that journey, Ben eventually relocated to Orange County to go to the Whittier College School of Law, completing his J.D. in 2016. As a person in recovery pursuing a legal education, Ben was intrigued by the role of the law in mental health and substance abuse treatment. He found that many nuances of that relationship are not discussed widely and feels strongly that people who live with those challenges should have access to all the tools available to them so they can be successful at rebuilding their lives. He has chosen to start that by helping to protect and nourish a place that provides loving care for those who are at their most vulnerable: D’Amore Healthcare.

Ben joined the D’Amore team in November of 2016 and has worn several different hats, including Behavioral Health Technician, BHT Supervisor, Advocacy and Compliance Manager, and now serves as our Compliance Director. He has been privileged to see the company grow and blossom in that time.

Benjamin W. Smith

Compliance Director

Whitney Garcia - HR Manager

Whitney, a native to Los Angeles, moved to Long beach 4 1/2 years ago and received a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of California Irvine. ZOT ZOT! It is with D'Amore that she was provided her first glance into the mental health field where she thrived as a behavioral health technician, a Supervisor on the weekends, and now supports the team as the Human Resources Manager.

As someone who values building resilience and skill development inside and outside the facilities, Whitney has a lot of respect for the varying experiences we each have and where we go from there. She prioritizes boundaries, solid foundational care, and compassion when training and onboarding staff that will provide support to someone's loved one. When she is not learning something new or searching for a coffee shop that she hasn't visited, Whitney is passionate about fitness, vinyl records, and traveling.

Whitney Garcia

HR Manager

Edie - Licensed Service Dog

Hi! My name is Edie and I work in the D’Amore Healthcare business office. My early life was pretty rough (I don’t like to talk about it much) and eventually I ended up as a “third chance” dog at the Irvine Animal Shelter in early 2019. I was so anxious then that I wouldn’t even walk out of my cage to meet my new people when they came to adopt me!

Fortunately things started to look up from there when I got adopted. I’m still a little nervous and shy when you first meet me, but I’m warming up and once you get to know me you’ll see that I’m a spunky and sassy little pup!

When I come to the office (I’m lucky that I can work from home a lot of the time) everyone likes to drop by and visit with me. I’ve slowly come more and more out of my shell and I like to tell people that there is always hope for a better tomorrow if you just remain open to the possibilities that are out there.

These days I spend my free time lounging on the couch, going for walks, or lying in the sun. The brightest days are ahead!