BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Arizona Women’s Recovery Center Board of Directors meets monthly to discuss issues that affect addiction treatment and recovery programs in Arizona, and the direction of AWRC. Our board is diversified with specialties including accounting, social work, healthcare, marketing and more. If you are interested in becoming a board member, please email
MEET OUR
EXPERIENCED BOARD
GEORGE MAGEE
Board Chair
Finding great purpose through being of service to others, Mr. Magee has worked to help individuals recover from alcohol and substance use for over 39 years. During this time, he has worked on various nonprofit boards and committees.
Full bio
George has focused his attention on a wide variety of community efforts including, City Government, the Arts, Youth Organizations, and leadership programs. In addition, he has served on the City Council of Goodyear AZ.
Although he is now retired, professionally, George keeps busy with a variety of activities. He enjoys boating, golf, hiking, and fishing.
DR. KHADIJIA WHITE-THOMAS
Board Secretary
Dr. Khadijia White-Thomas serves as the Clerk of Court for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona. She earned her doctorate in education with an emphasis on organizational change and behavior at the University of Southern California. As a professional in organizational change and behavior, Dr. Khadijia focuses on developing strategic initiatives, exploring, and applying evidence-based strategies for successful resolutions, and examining effective strategies for facilitating learning, motivation, and behavioral change.
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Dr. Khadijia is the CEO of Decree Consulting LLC and the Envision, Design, and Develop Leadership program, which helps individuals and business leaders transform and implement transformation and sustainable growth.
Additionally, Dr. Khadijia is a Regional Outreach Coordinator and Facilitator for Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL), a non-profit organization in Arizona that provides faith-based support and educational resources for families with loved ones dealing with issues of substance use disorders.
“New Beginnings, Mighty Faith, and Purpose Living” is the mantra behind Dr. Khadijia’s devotion to helping women rediscover themselves. Her future goals are to provide faith-based sober living and educational opportunities for women’s continued recovery and rehabilitation, emphasizing relapse prevention. She has a heart for serving others and is honored to be on the board of the Arizona Women’s Recovery Center, and she continues to remain committed to organizations making a difference in the lives of others.
BARBARA NICHOLSON-BROWN
Board Member
Barbara has been in long term recovery since 1990 and has focused the second half of her career inspiring others on the road to recovery through Together AZ, a monthly publication she owns and produces. She also coordinates various recovery events throughout the year.
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Barbara is the founder of the Bill Brown Memorial Golf Tournament (in honor of her late husband Bill) which is held each September during National Recovery Month. Women who are seeking sobriety, as well as their children, were extremely important to Bill and hundreds remember his passion for helping others through the event every year.
Barbara grew up in Chicago, Illinois and moved to New York City in 1980. She decided to move to Arizona for awhile – and has been here ever since.
Nothing is more important to Barbara than her recovery, staying grateful, and being of service.
MARILYN YELDER
Board Member
Marilyn started her nursing career in 2003 and it was during one of her clinic rotations at Children’s Hospital of MI in Detroit that she knew she would work with the pediatric population; it is a passion and fire that has stayed with her all her years.
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During nursing school, she was involved with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses MI chapter. She met a family nurse practitioner (FNP) and had the opportunity to shadow “a day in the life of an FNP” in a school-based clinic and she knew that she wanted more than hospital nursing. She furthered her education in completing her BSN at University of MI and ultimately her MSN with an emphasis in Parent-Child Nursing and completed her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner degree in 2008.
In that same year after graduation, her family moved to the west valley of AZ where she started a primary care practice profession in a private pediatric clinic. She has also worked for Grand Canyon University in the College of Nursing as the pediatric professor for a few years before returning to full time practice where she currently works for a Federally Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC) in a multi-disciplinary setting. She has the privilege of working with a team of medical and behavioral specialists. It affords the patients that she sees more than just primary care, medical services. If she finds that they need any behavioral services, she can refer in-house to her colleagues for support, not only for her pediatric clients, but also for the parents and guardians if she assesses a need.
Marilyn joined the Arizona Women’s Recovery Center as a board member in 2022 believing in the vision and the mission and is excited to help bridge relationships with the board, the staff, the community, and the city of Phoenix and surrounding areas. She is motivated to work with a team in helping to create tools and resources to help eradicate the cycle of substance use.
JEREMY BOUND
Board Member
Jeremy Bound has a strong background in Information Technology and leadership, making him a valuable asset to the AWRC Board. Since 2019, he has been serving as the Director of Information Technology at the Phoenix Zoo. Jeremy holds a BA in Business Management from Ursuline College in Ohio, where he graduated summa cum laude.
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Throughout his career, Jeremy has held several key IT and leadership roles in both the nonprofit and private sectors. His notable positions include: General Manager for a software solution at Ticketmaster, President & CEO of bespoke software company and Technology roles with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and Northwest Trek.
With his extensive experience and passion for technology, Jeremy is eager to contribute his expertise to the AWRC Board.
DR. REX RAGSDALE
Board Member
Dr. Rex Ragsdale brings over 40 years of medical practice, with 27 of those years dedicated to health care leadership roles. Since 2018, Dr. Ragsdale has served as a faculty member at Creighton University School of Medicine – Phoenix, where he mentors and teaches Family Medicine residents and medical students at the Valleywise Health System.
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For the past three years, he has served as the Medical Director for a SAMHSA grant aimed at expanding the availability of Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder. In this role, he also staffs a MAT clinic every week at the Valleywise Health South Central Clinic.
Dr. Ragsdale has extensive board experience, including prior service on the AWRC Board—where he chaired the Finance Committee—and prior experience on Esperanca Boards and other community boards in Florida, Missouri, and Indiana. Dr. Ragsdale’s career reflects a deep commitment to community health, medical education, and substance use disorder treatment.
LINDSEY C.
Board Member
Lindsey C. is an Instructor and PhD student in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Lindsey has previous experience working with nonprofit start-ups, managing small groups of people, supervising social work interns, and working with pregnant people and their young children.
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Her research focuses on substance use and recovery, in particular of women and how exercise supports their recovery.
BOBBE MCGINLEY
Board Member
Bobbe McGinley has been counseling SUD individuals and their families for the past 36 years. She opened her agency ACT – Counseling & Education on January 3, 2000, and expanded her services to include Gambling Disorder.
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Bobbe was on the NCADD Board of Directors for 7 years in the 90’s, before the name changed, and has always remained attached to providing donations to the program, which she has loved for decades.
Bobbe frequently encourages people she knows and others that she meets to bring their donations to AWRC, as it is the most deserving. Bobbe recently celebrated 40 years of sobriety and in her gratitude, will never forget where she came from or the significance of reaching out and giving another person suffering a helping hand. She is honored to be on the Board of Directors again, and will do all she can to facilitate the program’s continued success and growth.
MICHAEL HOLT
Board Member
Michael Holt is a recently retired Lead Sales Consultant with David Weekley Homes in Houston, Texas, where he spent 10 years building some of the company’s largest semi-custom homes. During his career, Michael earned multiple team and sales awards, reflecting his dedication to excellence, teamwork, and customer satisfaction. At David Weekley, he was also an active volunteer in the company’s CARE program, supporting less fortunate families in the community.
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Prior to David Weekley, Michael had a distinguished real estate career. He became the youngest real estate broker and owner of a national franchise, ranking in the top 10% of more than 7,000 offices. After 15 years as a broker, he was recruited by a national training company, conducting seminars and programs for some of the top real estate firms across the
United States and Canada. When the real estate market crashed, Michael worked for a recycling firm as a company lobbyist at both the state and municipal levels, demonstrating his versatility and leadership across industries.
Michael first served on the board of Arizona Women’s Recovery Center (formerly the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, NCADD) from 2009 to 2014, including three years as Board President. He received a Certificate of Appreciation from Weldon House in 2011 and was the first recipient of the Sally Lara Vision Award in 2013, named for Sally Lara, founder of the Arizona chapter of NCADD, recognizing his dedication to supporting women and children on the path to recovery.
Having recently returned to Mesa, Arizona, to be closer to his children and granddaughter, Michael has resumed service on the AWRC board and is actively involved in fundraising initiatives. Drawing on his long career in business and real estate, he prides himself on being more than a “self-starter,” describing himself as a “self-finisher,” committed to seeing initiatives completed and goals achieved.
Outside of his professional and nonprofit work, Michael enjoys four-wheeling Arizona’s scenic trails in his Jeep and ATV, taking time to appreciate the beauty God has created. He is passionate about supporting AWRC’s mission as one of the few organizations in Arizona providing residential programs for women with children, helping break the cycle of addiction and empowering families toward lasting recovery.
AMBER VILLALVAZO
Board Member
Amber Villalvazo is a healthcare quality and compliance leader with more than 20 years of experience in long term care, case management, and regulatory oversight. She currently serves as a Manager of Clinical Quality Auditing, overseeing statewide audit programs and accreditation efforts while leading and developing high performing remote teams.
Full bio
Amber holds a Master of Health Administration and a Bachelor of Social Work, bringing both strategic and community centered perspectives to her work. She is passionate about strengthening systems that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations and is honored to serve on the board in support of the organization’s mission.
