Mountain Top Cares Coalition,
an adult Recovery Community Organization (RCO)
Our Recovery Community Organization assists individuals and their families struggling with substance use. We serve all the towns, villages and hamlets of the Mountain Top including Ashland, Haines Falls, Tannersville, Hunter, Windham, Hensonville, Maplecrest, Jewett, Lexington, Prattsville, Halcott, Lanesville and the wider community of Greene County, New York.
Mission
Mountain Top Cares Coalition is a nonprofit organization serving people with substance use disorders and issues of addiction. Our mission is to promote recovery and empower those we serve and their families through advocacy, referrals, education, and peer support.
Vision
We envision a world in which recovery from addiction is not only possible but celebrated. A world where all who seek recovery have access to quality care and the necessary resources they need to achieve their goals.
We believe:
Addiction is a
chronic brain disease.
Recovery is possible.
Every life has value.
We can best accomplish our mission with a neighbor helping neighbor approach.
Providing a stigma free and non-discriminatory environment is needed for full recovery.
Meet our board
Jonathan has over thirty years experience in sales, marketing, and business development. He was a partner and founding member of Mammoth Heli-Ski, a back country helicopter ski company. Jonathan was a fire crew boss and wilderness ranger for the US Forest Service stationed outside of Yosemite. He was the snow ranger at Mammoth Mountain and worked as a horse packer and supervisor at the Frontier Pack Station in June Lake California. He has owned and operated two businesses in the field of deconstruction and reclamation of recycled building materials, has appeared twice on American Builder and was responsible for the sale of antique brick and timbers from over three million square feet of commercial deconstruction. He has managed a national sales network and given seminars on sales management and sales motivation. He is a past member of the National Demolition Association and the Building Materials Reuse Association. Northeastern University, 1967-1970. Jonathan Gross, Owner and Managing Member of Ruby Lake Glass, LLC, sits on the High Friction Surfaces Council of the American Traffic Safety Services Association. Jonathan won Innovative Recycler of the Year for his company in 2016. He is Chairman of the Greene County Board of Ethics. He is President of the Board of the Mountain Top Cares Coalition, Inc. He sat on the Board of the Glory House, a Not for Profit organization serving woman suffering from domestic abuse. Jonathan is a supervisor at the Adaptive Sports Foundation in Windham, NY.
Scott Tyree is a resident of Prattsville, New York and has been a member of the Mountain Top Cares Coalition since April of 2019. Scott is a person in long term recovery and is a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate and works full time at Huntersfield Christian Training Center as the Program Coordinator of their Men's Recovery Program. He is married to Jana and they have 3 boys Rowan (Age 12), Liam (10) and Colin (8).
Maret Panzenbeck has a doctoral degree in Physiology and has an extensive background in biomedical research, working in the fields of cardiovascular and immunological sciences. Upon retiring in 2010, he moved to Ashland with his wife, Gayle where they live year-round. Both have been active in various local volunteer activities. Maret is a avid hiker, a member of the Catskill 3500 club and is an Adirondack 46er. He enjoys hiking locally in the Catskills, in the Adirondacks and wherever he, Gayle and their cat, Lily, travel with their travel trailer. They have recently traveled across country three or four times and once to Alaska. Maret proudly celebrated 33 years of sobriety this year.
Kai Hillmann, director of Youth Clubhouses for the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties
I retired from my position as Director of Community Services and Director of Mental Health for Greene Co at end of December 2018. I had the honor of holding that position for 8 plus years. This position afforded me the opportunity to advocate for services for our most vulnerable populations in the areas of Mental Health, Substance Use Disorders and Developmental Disabilities. During this time I with my counterpart in Columbia County were successful in obtaining funding from Office of Mental Health to develop and staff a Mobile Crisis Assessment Team that would serve both counties, which proved to be very successful in preventing and diverting unnecessary hospitalizations. During this time I had the pleasure of helping in the formation of the Columbia-Greene Controlled Substance Task Force which worked with stakeholders on all levels to combat the opioid epidemic. I came to Greene Co Mental Health in 2003 and worked as Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner serving Adolescents and Adults providing Psychiatric Evaluations and Medication Management to adolescents and adults. I continued to provide medication services to a small caseload even while serving as Director of Community Services. During that time I worked with countless adults who had co-occurring disorders in the area of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. I have lived in Greene Co since September 1987 although I was born and raised in Ireland. I completed a diploma school nursing program in England in 1980 and had the opportunity to advance my education at Russell Sage in Troy with a Bachelors and Master’s Degree in Nursing. I have always been drawn to area of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders having worked inpatient, outpatient, crisis services, day treatment for adults and adolescents. Prior to my retirement I was awarded the Greene County Chairman’s Legislative Award for Community Service in June 2018, the Columbia-Greene Community College President’s Award for Community Leadership in 2017 and Woman of Distinction honoree by George A Amedore, Jr in 2019. I have a very simple way by which I try to live my life which is do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I’m the mother of 3 sons, have 3 wonderful daughter-in laws and 2 adorable grandchildren.
Melissa Peters is a resident of Prattsville, New York and has been a member of the Mountain Top Cares Coalition since December 2022. Melissa is active in the local community and has sat on the board of the Zadock Pratt Museum and currently serves on the Prattsville Community Partners board as well. Melissa and her husband Matt are the owners of WTS & Company, a gift shop located in Windham NY, and they have two children, Matthew (8) and Santino (13).
Elide Bell is a seasoned professional with over 10 years of experience in business consulting, management, and marketing in both the traditional healthcare and health & wellness sectors, with a core focus on patient education and advocacy. As a Board Member of Mountain Top Cares Coalition, Elide contributes expertise in strategic planning, community outreach, and marketing. In addition to running her own consulting business, Mighty Bones Marketing, she also actively serves on the boards of Main Street Community Center and More For The Mountaintop. A dedicated community advocate, she resides in Jewett, NY, with her partner Todd and daughter Winifred. Elide's passion for making a positive impact drives her to create a stronger and healthier community.
Meet our staff
Prior to joining MCC, Magee served as a performance consultant for Alliance for Better Health. Previously, Magee worked for Community Service Society of NY (CSSNY), first as a quality assurance manager, then as a program manager for the Facilitated Enrollment for the Aged, Blind and Disabled program. While employed at CSSNY he managed a network of eight community-based organizations that assisted individuals to enroll in Medicaid and Medicare. Additionally, Magee held a position at the Association for Neurologically Brain Injured Children (ANIBIC) where he worked as its entitlement specialist. Magee holds a Juris Doctor from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center and a bachelor’s of arts degree in Communications and Political Science from SUNY Cortland.
Mary Ellen lives in Greene County. She joined MCC because of it's holistic intention toward substance use. She deeply believes compassion, self care, education, and community are steps to recovery/healing. Faith, hope and love have guided her journey through a thirty year career in non profit service to young people. Deinstitutionalized and stigmatized by closing institutions (diagnoses varied from developmental disability, to immigrant to psychosis) they lacked the skills and support needed to live on their own. Through her ingenuity and directorship, thousands of young people were integrated into Westchester and Rockland Counties with support needed to achieve autonomy and independence. Community Service Awards were given for contributions to troubled youth - including development of the first Runaway and Homeless Youth hotline/outreach/safe home system in the Country. Project Turning Point was expanded throughout the United States, the hotline became national. The outreach services and safe homes are operational in most US counties today. A favorite job responsibility of Ellen's was training. She trained staff for years, developing the first training modules for professionalizing Care Counselors and Supervisors (80 staff). Later the Training Program was adopted by her mother agency, New York Foundling Hospital, NYC, NY for it's one thousand staff. A move to Columbia County led to a Family Rural Small Business venture. All natural foods, homemade baked goods and dinner-to-go were known favorites. 9/11 changed the small Country Store into a gathering place for traumatized displaced NYC newcomers, to talk, mourn and eventually adjust to rural living. A new community was born. The National Association for Mental Illness (NAMI) Training proved handy both professionally and personally. A life threatening car accident changed her life for a time. Fourteen years of manual work and self taught crafts, rested an amnesiac brain so it could release it's identity and memories in August 1999. Just in time to continue a recovery journey with much to share with Mountaintop Cares Coalition and its purpose.
A vital aspect of fostering positive change and building stronger, more connected communities, Elide engages with individuals, groups and businesses to understand their needs and concerns while providing support, education and resources to address them. Through various initiatives, events, and programs, community outreach promotes inclusivity, empowers individuals, and strengthens the bonds that tie a community together. By reaching out and actively listening, Elide helps MCC to create a lasting impact and make a real difference in the lives of those we serve on their path of recovery.
We meet you where you are.
Individualized support. Maximum accessibility.
We're available to you in-person, phone, email and virtually.
Services
Peer advocate support, group meetings, daily programming and recovery focused events.
Upcoming & ongoing events
Our special events, and our weekly recurring offerings, so help is always close
Harm Reduction 2 Day Workshop May 2024
Evening Yoga
Every Tuesday, 5:30pm
Open Group
zoom
Use our contact form or email us to receive zoom link: info@mountaintopcarescoalition.com
Open Groupv
zoom
Use our contact form or email us to receive zoom link: info@mountaintopcarescoalition.com
The lastest at MCC
Goings-ons, events, partners, and more
Weekly Family and Friends Support Group
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Weekly Men's Recovery Group Monday 5:30pm
Donate to MCC
Your kind contribution helps improve recovery outcomes!
Volunteer
There are many ways, big and small, to assist our organization.