Meet Our Team
Our team of experienced addiction professionals in Tampa Bay, Florida has years of experience and expertise in treating substance use and mental health disorders. We understand how hard it can be to transition from a treatment program to the real world. At Tampa Bay Recovery Center, we’re committed to providing the most supportive and compassionate care that provides each individual the skills needed to find recovery for life.
Carter D. Pope, Jr. - Co-Founder & CEO
Carter is a successful real estate and private equity investor. Prior to founding Tampa Bay Recovery Center, Carter worked in insurance brokerage in New York City and as a real estate private equity acquisitions specialist in Atlanta. He completed his undergraduate degree at Washington & Lee University and has an MBA from the UNC Keenan-Flagler Business School.
Alec Pagliarulo - President
Alec Pagliarulo has spent his entire career working in the addiction and mental health community. He has worked in various roles, including benefits analyst, admissions coordinator, and business development specialist. Alec is passionate about providing the best possible care to individuals struggling to overcome addiction. He aims to create positive recovery experiences, including programs rooted in integrity that pave a path for long-term growth.
Dr. Rahul Gupta - Medical Director
Dr. Gupta brings over a decade of experience to Tampa Bay Recovery Center. Dr. Gupta specializes in treating adults with substance use and psychiatric disorders. His extensive clinical experience includes medication-assisted treatment, medical-surgical consultation and psychiatric stabilization in acute settings. Dr. Gupta completed his general psychiatry residency at the University of Connecticut followed by a fellowship in addiction psychiatry at Emory University. He is double board-certified in both of these specialties. Dr. Gupta is passionate about his work in substance abuse and is an advocate for reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Jeffrey Jensen - Executive Director
With over a decade of experience in substance use disorder treatment, Jeffrey Jensen brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role at Tampa Bay Recovery Center. Since 2009, Jeffrey has served in a number of leadership roles on both the clinical and operational side of various treatment programs. While earning his BS in Psychology and Business Management, Jeff served as the Program Director for a facility in Tennessee. In his late 20s he relocated to Florida to continue his passion. Spending his career working both directly with clients and liaising with clinical professionals, his passion is to help guide individuals toward life-saving treatment. In 2022, Jeff helped open up Tampa Bay Recovery Center.
With the wide variety of roles Jeffrey has taken in his tenure as an addiction treatment professional, he possesses a deep understanding of every facet of the program at Tampa Bay Recovery Center. His current mission is to assure TBRC remains a vibrant and relevant resource to the community. Finally, in recovery himself, Jeffrey is active in the local recovery community and is passionate about helping others find their own recovery.
Joshua Mitarnowski - Operations Manager
Josh Mitarnowski, our Operations manager at Tampa Bay Recovery Center, is dedicated to helping people overcome their struggles with substance abuse. Josh is a dependable leader with an open ear and an approachable personality. Around the office, he is known as the solution finder, not only for clients, but for staff alike. He is passionate, enthusiastic, and embraces challenges, making a difference in the lives of anyone who meets him; and always with a smile.
Debra Jordan, LCSW - Clinical Director
Debra is a Licensed Mental Health Provider (LMHC) with infant mental health endorsement (IMH-E) in Tennessee and Florida. After receiving her Masters, Debra went on to attain special Certifications in trauma that includes EMDR (Eye movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and CPP (Child-Parent Psychotherapy), among other modalities. Debra has worked as a director for inpatient mental health and substance abuse services, Director of residential care, and Manager of acute crisis and outpatient services. Early in her career, she specialized in adolescents, then moved on to infants and children. Today, her focus and pleasure come from working with the population dealing with substance abuse. Being intrigued by brain studies, research and data, Debra loves sharing logical explanations and reality-based solutions with clients. Debra’s energy comes from modeling respect and kindness to her clients while expecting healing and growth. She lives by the philosophy that you cannot teach someone to love and accept themselves if you are judging them.
Melinda Carson - Lead Therapist
Bio coming soon!
Carrie Ann Bullard - Case Manager
Bio coming soon!
Dominic Grefsrud - Business Development
As part of community outreach in the addiction field, I bring a great passion to my role of helping those struggling with substance use disorder. Before my days of helping others find treatment I was once the one who needed help. My addiction started early, at the age of 14, and by adulthood meth and other drugs had taken over my life. I balanced my addiction for a long time, before it came to a head upon the death of my daughter. I went through life lost. I found a brief period of sobriety and started to live normally again. However, I never addressed the root causes of my addiction, and when I relapsed it came back with a vengeance. I lost everything, including my kids and ex-wife, but with the help of others that are like my present self, I was able to change my fate. Once clean, I found myself with the drive to help people who were once like me. I wanted to help people navigate the stepping stones of recovery. I wanted to show everyone that you can change and have a happy life. No matter the evils that you are struggling with today there can be light at the end of the tunnel. I even wanted to show the world that recovery is possible and took part in a docuseries called Road to Recovery. Today you can find me enjoying my hobbies of fixing cars, mudding, and joining jeep clubs. I have been relentless at rebuilding my life back up. I have over 7 years sober and enjoy all the things my hard work has earned me. I am now happily married and working his dream job giving back and providing the crucial support of those going through recovery.
Colin Hayward - Admissions Coordinator + Client Services Associate
Bio coming soon!
Brownie - Chief Excitement Officer
Brownie joined the Jensen Family in Dec of 2021 at the age of 9 months old. He Is a rescue from Puerto Rico and was adopted from the big dog ranch in West Palm Beach, Florida. Brownie spends his time at the Clinical office welcoming clients in the morning. In his free time, he enjoys running around the backyard, playing fetch, and barking at squirrels in his free time.
TESTIMONIALS
What Previous Patients Say
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