Meet Our Staff!
After struggling with heroin and opiate addiction and spending time in the Utah State Prison for 2 1/2 years, Tyler has been sober 8 years. He is now pursuing his Masters, and has received a degree in Psychology and is also a licensed substance use disorder counselor in the State of Utah.
Tyler donates his time at the RISE program at the Utah County Jail, is a member of the Utah County Sheriffs Office, & he is on the board of directors at the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition.
Tyler has worked at Steps Recovery Centers for 6 years and started on the admissions team years ago. He has presented at the Fall Substance Abuse Conference and told his story across the country and on several podcasts here locally. He works with several local organizations including Adult Parole and Probation and the Utah Department of Corrections to reduce recidivism to jails and prisons and increase awareness around the opiate crisis.
Tyler has 5 kids and a wonderful wife, and spends his spare time with them. They enjoy lots of sports and living in Utah close to the mountains.
Dr. Keep has been in healthcare for 36 years. He was an advanced life support medic in central California for 5 years in the early 1980’s prior to attending medical school at Albany Medical College in Albany, NY. He completed Internal Medicine Residency and Heart Failure/Cardiac Transplant Fellowship at he University of Utah followed by Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Arizona. He worked as a general and interventional cardiologist in Utah for 18 years. In 2008 his 7-year-old daughter Alissa died in a motor vehicle accident. Dr. Keep had to overcome grief induced medical issues as well as alcohol use while struggling to recover from the pain of his daughter’s death. Volunteer work as well as research, writing, and speaking on the medical ramifications of grief and loss, including adverse coping mechanisms such as substance abuse, were part of his recovery. He has spoken locally, nationally and soon internationally on the subject. It also led to working with alcoholics and addicts and becoming an Addiction Medicine specialist. He is board certified in Cardiology, a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and board eligible in Addiction Medicine. Sharing his experience, strength, and hope as well as training, medical knowledge, and research are part of his desire to “pay it forward” and help others to also recover from grief, loss, trauma and addiction.
Desmond Lomax comes to Steps Recovery with 20 years of experience in management, programming, and treatment. He recently retired as the Director of Community Programming for the Department of Corrections. His efforts in that position were recognized by the State of Utah and The Utah Fall Substance Abuse Conference when he was awarded the 2019 Patrick J. Fleming Award for contributions to the Substance Abuse community. Desmond has a background as a Clinical Director, Therapist, and Law Enforcement Officer for the past 20 years. He has been an adjunct professor for the University of Utah teaching classes in Forensic Social Work for the Master of Social Work program. He loves to present on multiple substance abuse topics and has done so throughout the country. He is a Master Facilitator for the Arbinger Institute and trains organization across the United States on having and maintaining an Outward Mindset. He has a Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Bachelors in Political Science and Sociology. He is a BYU Football Alumni who played on the 1996 BYU Football team that was ranked 5th in the country. Most importantly, he is a Husband to his lovely wife for the past 23 years and the father of 4 amazing children. He is humbled to have this opportunity to work for such amazing people.
Born and raised primarily in Utah, Jodi has fought her own personal battles with addiction. After seeking help from numerous treatment centers, Jodi finally made a sincere decision to make a change within herself and surrendered to her addiction on May 27, 2002, with a bachelors of science in accounting, Jodi began working in the addiction field eight years ago In Client Finances and Insurance Billing. She has also held positions in Admissions and Business Development, locally and as a national marketer, giving her a vast understanding and knowledge of the industry. Although Jodi’s passion to work in the treatment field was initially driven by her own personal hardships, her desire and commitment has evolved over the years, as new opportunities presented themselves. Over her years of Experience, Jodi had had the privilege of working with many individuals who suffered from a broad spectrum of personal issues, including mental health disorders such as borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and trauma. The experience gave her a newfound level of compassion, inspiring her to work harder every day, both on her self and for the patient.
• Jodi has worked in insurance billing including bringing the billing in house.
• Client financing
• Admissions
• Outreach and Marketing
• National Marketing/ Business Development for the western regional states.
• Currently the director of business development for Steps recovery and Annie’s house.
"I love working in the field of addiction recovery because I get to offer the same hope that someone once offered me. My favorite part of my job is my initial meeting with a potential client. I get to be the guy that offers them the first bit of hope that they have had in a long time. I get the opportunity to share my experiences of my crippling addiction and what I did to find the light at the end of the tunnel. I started my work with Steps in October 2016 as a sober living house manager. In February 2017 I was offered a case management position at our IOP program in Orem. In July of 2017, I was promoted to my current position in Marketing and Admissions. The only special training I have received for my career is my personal experience. Throughout my addiction and even in my recovery I have learned a lot of hard lessons, but what I gained was wisdom. This has served me well in my position. In my free time, I like to spend time with my 10-year-old daughter and other family. I love softball, concerts and traveling."
Wendy Jensen is an accountant at Steps Recovery. She loves life and being outdoors. Spending time with her grandchildren is her favorite past time. Wendy's son was shot and killed while selling pills to some friends, so she is very passionate about and supportive of the clients here at Steps. Her favorite parts about her job are the hugs, and seeing families heal and once again have hope that their loved ones are not lost.