About ThePinnacle Treatment Centers Team

We lead with our hearts.

When empathy comes first, healing follows.

1 (800) 782-1520

Meet Our LeadersExperienced, Compassionate, Committed

Our leadership team has more experience in addiction treatment than you may believe possible. We stopped adding up our collective years in the industry when we got to one hundred. That’s right: our leadership team has well over a century of experience bringing the highest quality care to patients from all walks of life. We’re physicians, clinicians, business managers, financial experts, marketers, and more – and all of us believe what we’re doing makes our world a better place. That’s why we love coming to work every day: we know we’re helping.

One person at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time.

Pinnacle Leadership

Joe Pritchard

Chief Executive Officer
Brian Thorn

Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Chris Johnston

Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Lori Ryland

Chief Clinical Officer
Paul Solomon

Chief Financial Officer
Kelly A. Priegnitz

Chief Legal and Compliance Officer
Kiran Adigopula

Chief Information Officer
Dave Long

Chief Talent Officer
Michael Licata

Chief Strategy Officer
Holly Broce, MHA, LCADC

President, Opioid Treatment Program Division

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Joe Pritchard

Chief Executive Officer

Joe Pritchard’s mission is to help those suffering from addiction, and he brings the kind of passion that can only come from having experienced addiction firsthand. In addition to his own recovery, he is nationally recognized as a leader in the field of substance abuse treatment, with more than 40 years of experience. In his role as CEO, he uses his extensive knowledge in operations, development, and strategic planning to provide patients the opportunity to restore their lives. Joe has built a team of renowned substance use disorder professionals who are committed to providing comprehensive patient treatment and care.

Brian Thorn

Chief Operating Officer

Brian Thorn brings both management and legal experience to his role as Chief Operations Officer at Pinnacle Treatment Centers. Previously he served as COO of Foundations Recovery Network in Tennessee, where he not only oversaw day-to-day operations, but also was responsible for putting in place management teams for every area of the business. He has served similar roles at Elements Behavioral Health and Clarity Way. Before entering the healthcare field, Brian was an equity partner at the law firm of White Fleischner & Fino. He holds a BS from Rutgers University and a JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Dr. Chris Johnston

Chief Medical Officer

Christopher Johnston, MD ABPM-ADM graduated from New Jersey Medical School and practiced family medicine for 25 years before joining Pinnacle Treatment Centers in 2011. The later years in private practice he increasingly attended to the needs of people suffering from addiction in his group practice. His goal has been to incorporate the most effective medication–assisted services across the full spectrum of levels of care and ensure nurses and prescribers are following evidence-based procedures.

He has seen the miracle of recovery among family members and emphasizes that medication is a tool to achieve enough stability in life to do the leg work needed to achieve clean and sober life.

Dr. Johnston has presented at numerous conferences and events around the country, has been featured in national news including Modern Healthcare, WebMD, Medscape, Shape, and Parade Magazine, and is a monthly contributor to Medium.

Dr. Lori Ryland

Chief Clinical Officer

Lori Ryland, Ph.D., LP, CAADC, CCS, BCBA-D, is a 2017 Outstanding Alumni Award recipient from the WMU College of Health and Human Services for her contributions in the field of addiction treatment. She received her Ph.D. from Western Michigan University in Clinical Psychology and completed the Specialist Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse. She is a board-certified behavior analyst, and a certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor and supervisor. Lori has achieved certification from the Academy of Cognitive Therapy/Beck Institute in Philadelphia and is trained in evidence based practices such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Contingency Management, and Applied Behavior Analysis.

Dr. Ryland has a broad scope of 20+ years of healthcare experience including work with veterans with PTSD, inpatient psychiatric, addiction treatment, criminal justice, autism treatment, serious and persistent mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, traditional outpatient services (individual, group, family), and psychological testing. She has expertise in healthcare administration including supervision of utilization management, provider network management, clinical quality, grant management, and population health. She has been involved in numerous community and state-level initiatives including Governor-appointed advisory positions such as Diversion Council and Behavioral Health Advisory Council, development of the Michigan Medicaid Autism benefit, and implementation of numerous evidence-based practices throughout the state of Michigan.

As the Chief Clinical Officer of Pinnacle Treatment Centers, Dr. Ryland oversees clinical staff competencies and programming. She is a monthly contributor on Thrive Global, and has been featured as an expert on NBC Today, WebMD, The Mighty, Bustle, Prevention Magazine, Insider, Parade Magazine and more.

Paul Solomon

Chief Financial Officer

Paul brings more than 30 years of financial and operating experience to Pinnacle Treatment Centers. After several years working for a large public accounting firm and then 13 years in investment banking, advising on raising debt and equity capital for medium- and large-sized companies based in the U.S., Europe and the Far East, Paul moved to the healthcare industry as a career Chief Financial Officer. In his various CFO roles, Paul has experience working inside organizations in the hospital, surgery center, medical laboratory, physical therapy and veterinary hospital sectors. Paul’s focus has been to apply his skillset and experience to help healthcare companies maximize their operational and financial efficiency, work collaboratively to build and implement long-term growth strategies, and aid in improving service quality across the organization. Paul holds a B.S. in Accounting from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a M.B.A. in Finance from New York University. Paul is humbled by the dedication of the Pinnacle team, and both honored and energized by the prospect of helping individuals, families, and communities break the cycle of addiction and move forward to a better future.

Kelly A. Priegnitz

Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

Kelly Priegnitz joined Pinnacle Treatment Centers in October 2020. Prior to joining Pinnacle, Kelly served in legal and compliance leadership roles with Trilogy Health Services, Healogics, Kindred Healthcare and Sun Healthcare. In these positions, Kelly oversaw compliance and risk management in multiple areas of healthcare including, but not limited to, wound care, long-term acute care, skilled nursing, home health, hospice and pharmacy services.

Kelly is an accomplished leader, health care attorney and compliance expert with national experience in the areas of healthcare regulations, risk management, government investigations, corporate integrity agreements, operations, strategy, and enforcement. Kelly brings to Pinnacle the skills and philosophy that supports strategic business initiatives and management of day-to-day operations while also ensuring compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements. Kelly earned her Bachelor of Science from Troy State University (now Troy University) in Alabama, and her Juris Doctorate from The University of Oklahoma’s College of Law.

Kiran Adigopula

Chief Information Officer

Kiran has led the ideation and development of a best-in-the-industry EMR system called PHASE. At Aegis Treatment Centers, he spearheaded the use of technology to improve patient outcomes, staff engagement, and drive efficiencies and savings in every area of the company’s operations. Kiran has 18 years of experience in enterprise software development and management. His roles prior to Aegis included Senior Architect at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he supported major credit card and payments transformation projects, and Technical Lead at California Department of Healthcare Services where he helped build the first HIPAA compliant claims adjudication system. Kiran received an M.B.A. from University of California Davis, an M.S. from New York University, and a B.S. from GITAM University in India. Kiran lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children, and spends most of his free time hiking and biking with his family.

Dave Long

Chief Talent Officer

Dave is a human resources executive with more than 20 years of experience in Fortune 200, private equity, non-profit and international businesses across a wide range of healthcare organizations. His strong operational background has created a passion for closely aligning human capital efforts around the needs of an organization. In addition to a focus on individual and team development, he has helped to successfully build strong company cultures that help to attract and retain some of the best talent across industries. Dave holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He also is a co-active certified coach through the Coaches Training Institute and credentialed with the International Coach Federation.

Michael Licata

Chief Strategy Officer

Michael has successfully grown healthcare companies for more than 25 years. He uniquely combines a deep understanding of sales and marketing psychology with the problem solving and process improvement skills required to scale the organization as it grows. His career is characterized by a high level of success in managing new ventures, post-acquisition integration and rapid sales growth. Michael previously served as EVP and Chief Development Officer at Healogics Inc., where his leadership resulted in tripling of the company footprint and outsized returns for the company’s investors. Prior to Healogics, he was North America Vice President of Sales for Nuclear Medicine and Oncology at Philips Medical Systems. He was also the founding general manager of Philips’ pre-clinical molecular imaging business. Michael began his career with GE Medical Systems and was a top performer in the company’s corporate Technical Sales Program. He holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Clarkson University in New York, and an executive MBA from Stanford University.

Holly Broce, MHA, LCADC

President, Opioid Treatment Program Division

Holly has worked in the addiction field for more than 25 years, primarily in managing opioid treatment programs (OTPs) throughout the Midwest and on the East coast. As president of Pinnacle’s OTP Division, Holly oversees staff and operations of 100+ outpatient centers in seven states. Holly is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor and earned a Master of Science in Health Administration from the University of St. Francis in Illinois. Holly was instrumental in opening Pinnacle’s first OTPs in Kentucky and Virginia. She also assisted in the formation of the Kentucky Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, serving as President, and is a delegate to the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) Board of Directors.