Our Team
We Help Boys Through their Present Struggle, and Prepare Them for What Lies Ahead
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Leadership and Clinical Team
Andrew Larsen, LCSW
Executive Director
Andrew earned a Master’s degree from the University of Utah in Social Work. His passion for helping teens with mental health needs is evident in his varied professional experience. Prior to joining the Monuments team, Andrew worked for a residential treatment program as a youth therapist and Weber School District as a Mental Health Specialist.
He was also a member of the Stabilization and Mobile Response Team for youth mental health crisis. He has been a Youth Trauma-Focused Therapist for Weber County Human Services and a Counselor for the State of Utah Juvenile Justice Services. In his early years, he worked as a Field Guide for an adolescent wilderness therapy program. Andrew truly understands the challenges that teens face in today’s world.
Andrew enjoys fishing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, playing basketball and the piano, gardening and baking.
Steve Day
CEO & Founder
Dr. James Palmer
Psychiatrist
Dr. Palmer grew up in small town Utah but has had wonderful opportunities to complete schooling all over the country from undergrad at the University of Utah, medical school at Des Moines University with classwork in Des Moines and clinical training in Cleveland, OH, general psychiatry residency with Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in Phoenix, AZ, and child/adolescent psychiatry fellowship with Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
He is very grateful for all those who have shared hundreds of accumulated years of experience as patients and mentors. Training in such diverse environments has taught him to learn to work as part of a team and understand a person as a whole. This helps him provide a caring, informed, and evidence-based practice for wide ranging mental health challenges.
James’s first clinical experience came even before medical school as a residential line staff. In that capacity, he came to appreciate the comprehensive nature of a residential treatment team in facilitating stabilization and growth. He does not take lightly the trust implicit in his work to be a member of the treatment team. This perspective has driven him to be an accomplished psychopharmacologist but also to understand people are much more than their psychopharmacologic profile. He approaches his work with an individualized application of this understanding to support a person’s growth toward their potential. Currently, James works across a continuum of care in inpatient, residential and outpatient settings and appreciates the role that each can have in fostering growth.
Throughout these years of education and training, James continues to hold that his most grounding and stabilizing influences have been his family and appreciates whatever time he has with them.”
Aaron Cluff, CMHC
Clinical Director
Aaron started working with adolescents and young adults 21 years ago. Initially, he worked in residential treatment helping people with comorbid mental health and substance issues and later with troubled youth and their families in a county SED (severely emotionally disturbed) program.
In 2009, having moved home to the Southern Utah area, Aaron began working in wilderness therapy where he was able to combine two of his passions: his love of nature and his desire to help others. Continuing with these passions, Aaron joined the Monuments team in 2019, where he engages in relationship-based experiential therapy to help adolescents and families set goals, make changes and find long term success.
Aaron believes in the basic goodness of people and that everybody can make healthy changes. Establishing positive relationships with students and helping them increase their awareness are key elements to the success that he has enjoyed with students.
Aaron loves spending time in the outdoors and appreciates the healing effects that nature offers. His primary passion in life is his wife and children, with whom he lives on a small farm in Southern Utah.
Kristi Gilbert Ouahib
Academic Director
Kristi comes to Monuments with a unique blend of experience in corporate, public, and private education. Kristi spent 25 years in the high-tech industry as a professional writer, trainer, and instructional designer. She also ran her own company that provided instructional design services, content development, and content delivery systems for corporate education, training and certification programs.
After 25 years in the high tech industry, Kristi retired so she could “do something that mattered”:
“Reflecting on my personal experience, the people who have had the most significant effect on my life outside my own family have been teachers. Elementary, middle-school, high-school, church, music, sports, and college teachers have profoundly impacted my life experiences, world view, values, and sense of identity—for good and for ill. I remember my teachers more than any celebrity, actor, musician, or politician of my era.“
Her first year of teaching, her principal made her department chair of the English and Foreign Language department. During her tenure, her department raised their state testing scores by 15%, and they built programs such as a school Renaissance Fair, a robust Shakespeare Program, Poetry Out Loud, and Project-Based Learning (PBL).
As Academic Director at Monuments, Kristi’s primary objective is to help students learn how they learn, how to be successful in school, and how to advocate for themselves so they are empowered to successfully direct their own academic program:
“I tell our students that I work for them. Once they own their education, school is a whole other experience!”
Liz Blaha, LCPC
Director of Admissions and Outreach
Liz joins Monuments following almost ten years in the mental health field in a variety of roles and settings. Liz attended DePauw University in Greencastle, IN where she developed her passion and love for Psychology and working directly with individuals to help them process past trauma and find their passion in life. She then went on to get her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Governors State University.
While in graduate school, Liz began her career by working in direct care roles in two different residential treatment centers. It was during this time that Liz realized the joy she found in working with adolescents. Liz is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois, and her clinical experience includes case management and individual and family therapy in short-term and long-term behavioral health programs with a focus on teens struggling with mood dysregulation, trauma and eating disorders. In addition to her clinical experience, Liz also worked in business development, admissions and marketing roles for residential and wilderness programs.
Liz’s strength and passion lies in her ability to authentically and intentionally connect with others to understand their needs and provide hope and solutions to families. Liz will provide guidance and walk alongside families and referral partners throughout the admissions process at Monuments.
Liz lives outside Chicago with her husband, precious daughter and their French Bulldog named Frankie. In her free time Liz loves to travel and spend time with her family and friends-preferably outdoors.
Please reach out to Liz with any questions about the admissions process at lizb@monumentstc.com or at 708-703-0171.
Stephen Marten, LMFT
Primary Therapist
Stephen obtained his master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Gonzaga University and has worked in a variety of settings including school, outpatient therapy with adolescents and families and residential treatment. Stephen’s wide array of interests and experience help him connect with others and relate to them through their journey together with a goal towards helping families and clients lead a happier and healthier life. Stephen’s passion is working with families to help adolescents and parents find common ground and joy in their relationships.
Through his training in Family Systems and Attachment Theory, Stephen believes that building (or rebuilding) the relationship and communication skills between children and caregivers helps with both attunement and empathy towards one another.
Stephen lives in Parowan with his wife and three kids who are his main passion and greatest joy. They have shared many amazing adventures together! He has a plethora of interests and is always searching for new ones. Stephen is a Certified Equine Therapist and loves working with horses and has trained his own wild mustang; a passion he enjoys sharing with the students at Monuments. Feel free to ask him about his interests and adventures as there is certainly not enough room to put them here!
Brand Bonsall, CMHC
Primary Therapist
Brand joins Monuments following many years of working in wilderness therapy with adolescent young men. Brand utilizes a strengths-based, mindful, and attachment focused approach in working with clients. Brand believes that people have strengths and are experts in themselves, and that a therapist is a guide to help clients discover their own truths. He understands that having a value system is a healthy way to live life and helps students to identify their own values and live an authentic life. Brand enjoys spending time with his clients and applies his many life experiences to relate and build connections with others. Brand finds joy in discovering new people, new stories, and new adventures. He plays as hard as he works and many of the students he works with begin to discover that fun, play, and work are not exclusive!
Brand specializes in working with adopted students and students with an attachment wound or trauma. He is also passionate about working with the BIPOC population. Identity formation is an important aspect of working with these populations and Brand helps his clients to understand that there are many ways to live an integrated and healthy life.
Brand is a believer in the ability of the outdoors to heal, which is one of the reasons he felt drawn to Monuments.Through his previous experience as a wilderness therapist he saw first hand the power of the wilderness to encourage healing. He frequently works with students outdoors and helps them to implement mindful presence and a connection with the outdoors in their lives.
Outside of work, Brand loves exploring all that the Southwest has to offer. You can find him hiking, snowboarding, dancing to live music, practicing outdoor yoga, and enjoying any opportunity to be outdoors. Brand is a new father and is enjoying the challenges, experiences, and joy that fatherhood brings. He enjoys teaching his family about the beautiful southwest, going for bike and scooter rides, living room dance parties, hugs, snuggles, and lots of laughter!
Christin Jesson, RN
Nurse
Christin began her career as a nurse in 2014, initially focusing on geriatric behavioral and mental health. After spending time over the winter volunteering with the boys at Monuments Treatment Center, teaching Dutch Oven cooking classes, she was so impressed by the students and team mentality at Monuments she changed her career focus to adolescents.
Christin is excited to bring to Monuments her passion for holistic nursing, which is utilizing nursing knowledge, theories, evidenced based practice and intuition to recognize and care for the totality of the person as a whole.
When not at work, Christin can be found outside, either gardening, farming, hunting, or exploring Southern Utah’s breathtaking scenery and rich history.
Tera Purcell
Office Manager
Tera began working with Monuments soon after it’s opening. She started out as a staff where she began building healthy relationships and understanding how to work with the young men attending the program. She enjoys being involved with students in all of the areas of the program including Horsemanship, Photography, Outdoors, etc. She loves helping the students learn and grow into the men they strive to be. She is always willing to lend a listening ear and a helping hand. She makes Monuments feel like home.
Tera has 3 years experience in Administration. She works along well with clients/co-workers and believes that organization and communication are key. Working together to keep our young men safe and succeeding is her mission at Monuments.
Tera grew up in a large family with 4 brothers and 3 sisters. She’s from a small town in Utah where she learned to love and enjoy the outdoors. Tera is a mother of 3 beautiful children. Together they enjoy outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, camping.
Mike Prettyman
Maintenance Director
Kevin Randall
Head Chef
Academic Team
Dallas Joseph Guymon
Administrator of Online Academics
Dallas is passionate about giving everyone a voice and providing opportunity to the underserved. Before being employed at Monuments, Dallas volunteered on the For Peck and Rosebud Indian Reservations where he learned the realities of addiction and poverty. He has also worked for a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those with disabilities have a more fulfilling life and an equal opportunity to engage in the community.
While at Monuments, Dallas’s primary responsibility is to provide a safe and positive environment for learning. Additionally, Dallas teaches an array of subjects in social sciences and humanities, along with being Monument’s Prime for Life drug prevention instructor.
Annette Apple
Academic Coordinator and Art History Instructor
Annette Apple was raised in the midst of the fine arts community of Sedona, Arizona where her mother owned an art gallery. Consequently, Annette developed a great appreciation and knowledge of art, and Annette later managed an art gallery in Sedona for many years. After beginning her family, Annette earned an Associates’ Degree at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona and began her travels to different lands.
Since 2001, Annette has been a school secretary, testing coordinator, transitional living mentor, drama coach and high school registrar. Fifteen of those years were spent working in the residential treatment field.
In 2013, Annette moved to Utah and returned to college (Southern Utah University) to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in History. Annette greets our students every morning when they walk into school and is always available to lend a listening ear. She states, “I believe that working with at-risk youth is the most rewarding calling for me as I love to partake in and encourage our students to change former poor behaviors, cultivate new positive outlooks and mindsets, embrace life’s challenges, and develop into healthy young men. I’ve learned that as they grow I do too! Annette and her husband have three children, three son-in-laws, and four grandchildren.
Gary Teare
Special Education Teacher
Gary joins the Monuments team following time working in special education, as well as the medical field. Gary was drawn to Monuments and the field of special education following his own struggles with learning differences from a young age. As Gary moved through school he exhibited many markers of a child with learning differences, but during this time many of these learning challenges had not yet been defined. As he progressed in school, he struggled with reading, writing, math and coordination. His frustration with schoolwork increased as he got older, because he knew that his tests and class work did not reflect his true knowledge, but he didn’t know how to transfer that knowledge to assignments. Throughout his school years, Gary began to internalize the inaccurate messages that he was “dumb”, “lazy,” or “not trying hard enough.” Through these experiences, Gary also experienced symptoms of depression and PTSD.
Due to his negative school experience, Gary decided not to go to college and instead live overseas. During this time he taught himself a foreign language. Successfully learning a foreign language gave him enough confidence to try college; however, when he enrolled, he again struggled with classes and assignments, particularly those in reading and writing.
When Gary was 28, he was referred for educational testing by a professor who noticed his learning struggles. The results showed that Gary had multiple learning disabilities: dyslexia,
dysgraphia, dyspraxia and attention deficit disorder. Once Gary learned what his disabilities were, he was able to identify strategies that helped him be successful in school and complete his college education. Gary graduated in 1986 with a degree in special education and worked as a special education teacher for five years on the Navajo reservation. Working on the Navajo reservation, he saw the profound need for medical support, so he decided to enroll in the Physician’s Assistant (PA) graduate program at the University of Utah. Once again, he used the strategies he learned previously to help him successfully complete his education and obtain his PA license, after which he practiced medicine for 30 years. Upon retiring from his medical career and moving to Parowan, Gary worked at Parowan High School helping special education students find success in their classes and reach their academic goals.
Though Gary still struggles with his learning differences, his experiences have provided a great deal of compassion for those who go through life with these difficulties. More importantly, his understanding of these difficulties has given him the ability to understand and help students who also struggle with these challenges.
Outside of his academic and medical careers, Gary has been happily married for 39 years. He and his wife have raised seven of their own children and a couple others that joined them along the way. He loves helping those who struggle academically and finds joy in applying his knowledge and experience in doing so.
Progressive Education Team
David Williams
Progressive Education Director
David Williams was raised in the mountains and deserts of Utah. Since an early age, he’s been fascinated with the ability art and photography have of showing new and unique perspectives, capturing beauty, and conveying emotion and story. His artistic inspiration ranges from the Hudson River School and Neoclassicism to Street Art and Post-modernism. When he’s not busy exploring nature with his children, you can find him exploring new techniques for shooting macro, aerial (drone), landscapes, and portraits.
Court Lewis
Progressive Education Instructor
Court’s life has been one of service and adventure: both the inner journeys, and the external ones. Court is passionate about synergistic wellness practices and traditions, and discovered self-confidence, resilience, clarity and down to earth “good for the soul” spirituality in nature. This propelled him to go live with ancestral cultures around the world and eventually to working in wilderness therapy. Court is passionate and knowledgeable about synergistic arts and the natural world.
He enjoys practicing and teaching various meditation techniques, ancestral skills, synergistic exercise, running, Rites of Passage and discussing ideas, principles and living with purpose.
Here at Monuments Court teaches the Outdoor & Leadership Track in Progressive, while also guiding students through synergistic wellness classes. When not at Monuments he can be found doing similar activities around Cedar City. Court’s favorite hobby is hiking with his cat Moon.
Carvel Allen
Progressive Education Instructor
Residential Leadership Team
Brady Larsen
Assistant Residential Director
Shaylee McDonald
Activity Coordinator
Chasity Wright
Residential Lead
Matt Currier
Residential Lead
Logan Johnson
Residential Lead
Gabriella Hasemeyer
Residential Lead
Matthew Kramer
Residential Lead
Horsemanship Team
Brandon Hanks
Equine Director
Brandon has over ten years experience working with youth in residential treatment. After six years working as a residential supervisor, he and his wife moved to a small town in South Central Utah to open their own cattle ranch. After 12 successful years working with horses, cattle and people from all over the world, Brandon’s desire to encourage and influence youth led him to Monuments.
Outside of work, Brandon has his own Cattle Operation on the Arizona strip near the Grand Canyon. Brandon and his wife have four children and they enjoy riding horses, 4-wheelers, boating at Lake Powell and doing all things outdoors.
Leah Blackmore
Equine Assistant
Our Specialists
Our specialist team is on hand with support to guide you through the Monuments Treatment program.
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Admissions
Our knowledgeable admissions team has years of experience helping parents who are seeking treatment for their child.
Monuments
815 WEST 200 SOUTH 2
PAROWAN, UT 84761
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Creating Monuments of relevancy within ourselves, our families and our communities.