Management & Operations

Without skilled, professional managers, Rock Recovery couldn’t exist. Members of our Management & Operations Team work together on everything from updating our website to training volunteers.

Berhanu Birru – Accounting

Berhanu Birru serves as an accountant for Rock Recovery. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in accounting and information system at the University of Maryland and earned a bachelor of law at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. Berhanu seeks to become a CPA and to work for nonprofit organizations and government agencies. He aims to always act in good faith to live peacefully.

Amber Pappas – Human Resources

Amber Pappas serves as Rock Recovery’s human resources specialist.  Amber recently moved to Arlington, VA, after graduating from Florida State University with bachelor’s degrees in HR management and finance.  Amber will be attending Georgetown University this summer in pursuit of her master’s degree in business management. Amber is glad to donate her time and knowledge to Rock Recovery’s worthy cause.  She works full time as a human resources generalist, but in her free time, she enjoys being spontaneous, exploring D.C. and watching sports.

Ryan Manion – Fundraising

For the past two years, Ryan has played a major role in Rock Recovery’s fundraising efforts. As a result of Ryan’s work, Rock Recovery is in its second year as a member of the Combined Federal Campaign. Ryan joined Rock Recovery as a volunteer in fall 2009. Upon graduating from the University of Richmond in 2008 with degrees in music and religious studies, he was a member of the Capital Fellows program at McLean Presbyterian Church and has stayed in the Washington, D.C. metro area ever since. By day, Ryan is a legal assistant, but he is an ethnomusicologist at heart and is hoping to use his experience as an intern with Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, to pursue further studies and a career in the music industry.

Kristen Hostetter – Marketing & Communication

Kristen Hostetter, a D.C.-area native, graduated from East Carolina University in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a focus on public relations.  She started her professional career in 2007 with digital B2B publishers, FierceMarkets.  There, she worked in marketing account management, and developing digital marketing strategy and year-long campaigns for her clients.  In 2011, Kristen began working for Rock Recovery to help develop a marketing communications strategy.  She has enjoyed bringing awareness to Rock Recovery’s mission of supporting the journey to freedom from disordered eating and is excited for the opportunity to expand her experience in PR, marketing and event planning. In her free time, Kristen enjoys cooking, doing yoga, and running.

Signy Roberts – Graphic Design

When Signy first heard about Rock Recovery, she instinctively wanted to help—to give support where she would have wanted it herself years ago and to instill hope that life can be amazingly free from food addiction. She is volunteering to assist Rock Recovery in the area of her professional expertise: graphics and branding. Signy developed the Rock Recovery logo and slogan, “Bridge to life.” She owns and operates a graphic design marketing firm—Significant Communication—based in Ashburn, Virginia. Her interests include art, typography, photography, cycling, skiing and aerobic dancing. As a Kukuwa Dance Workout instructor, she is particularly passionate about African dancing and living an active, healthy lifestyle with her husband and two children—who are all very into cycling. Her particular interest is mothering through recovery: preventing children from falling into body image distortion traps and allowing them to intuitively connect with their appetites and body needs.

 Holly Castellow – Organizational Development

Holly works full time as a human capital consultant. She has a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Elmhurst College, and a bachelor’s degree in general psychology from Virginia Tech. In her free time, she most enjoys spending time with her puppy, P.J., and taking various fitness classes, including Body Jam and Zumba. She enjoys volunteering with Rock Recovery for a couple reasons. First, it allows her to use her background and interests in (and gain new skills in) bringing the right people into an organization that is for a worthy cause. Second, she has the opportunity to see an organization essentially grow.

Amanda Kean – Research / Social Media

Amanda started to volunteer with Rock Recovery in 2011 because of her personal experience with disordered eating and her passion for helping others who also struggle. Amanda recently graduated from Mercy College of Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys traveling, reading, knitting, watch movies, boxing, using social media and going for walks.

Liz Elko – Marketing / Events

Liz represents Rock Recovery at local events, and has also played an active role in starting a New ID Group for the organization. Liz volunteers for Rock Recovery because she wants to help others in their fight against eating disorders, just as she has overcome similar personal challenges. She lives in the D.C. metro area and works as a program assistant for both the Healthy Lifestyles and Community & Workplace Wellness programs at Inova Health System. Liz enjoys long-distance running, the great outdoors, international travel, Bible studies and event planning. She will soon start classes at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to earn her certification as a health and wellness coach.

Anna Hines – Events

Anna helps with Rock Recovery because she loves the faith-based aspect of the nonprofit and hopes to develop her event planning skills. She is an accounts payable specialist in Northern Virginia who spends her free time playing piano, tennis, and the radio—with an eye on becoming a DJ one day soon.

Katie Miller, MSW – Events

Katie has been involved in the Social Work field for four years and puts her education and experience to practice in the goal setting realm at Rock Recovery. She operates using a strength-based, client driven perspective that assits those who suffer from disordered eating set and reach their own goals. Katie believes that goal setting is a very important and necessary process in order for change to occur in every situation! Outside of Rock Recovery, Katie is a Therapeutic Foster Care Worker in Annandale, and her interests include traveling, animals, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Linda Brown – Webmaster

Linda was drawn to Rock Recovery by her passion for health and wellness; desire to contribute her technical skills; and personal experience as an adolescent with eating disorders.  Her background is in website management/maintenance, and she currently works full time as a quality analyst for a software company. She is also a fitness enthusiast and enjoys running, strength training, spin cycling, and aerobics.  Her free time is made up of seven F’s:  faith, family, friends, fitness, fun, fishing, and football (Baltimore Ravens fan).  She and her husband, Ellery, reside in the D.C. metro area.

Norman Kean – Webmaster

Norm joined the Rock Recovery team in the fall of 2011 after seeing the effects of an eating disorder on a family member. His background in the IT field made him a good fit to volunteer with the day-to-day changes to our website.  Norm is originally from western Pennsylvania but has lived all over the U.S., moving to the D.C. metro area nearly three years ago. In his free time, he enjoys doing computer work and traveling.