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Oceanaire

The Oceanaire Team

Oceanaire utilizes highly trained healthcare professionals who have been carefully screened for appropriate education, training, experience, practical skills, certification and licensure. Each member of our team demonstrates a deep commitment to the healing and well-being of our residents.

Our Team Members

Carrie White, Ph.D.
Program Director

Carrie White, Ph.D. is a licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in the treatment of Eating Disorders, Mind-Body Health and Relationship Issues. Dr. White received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, an American Psychological Association accredited program renown for clinical training.

After earning her doctorate, Dr. White received advanced training in psychoanalytic theories and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at the Wright Institute Los Angeles (WILA), where she completed a two-year fellowship. As a fellow at WILA, she gained specialized training in working with eating disorders as part of the clinical team at the Susan B. Krevoy Eating Disorders Program.  Following her fellowship, Dr. White went on to become a primary therapist at Laureate Eating Disorders Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma and returned to California to serve as the Clinical Director of an exclusive residential treatment facility for addiction.  With her formal training and rich clinical experience, Dr. White has the depth of understanding and solid ability necessary for treating eating disorders, substance abuse and the underlying mood disorders.

Dr. White holds privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she has worked with individuals and their family members at Thalians Mental Health Center. She is faculty at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS) for the year-long certificate in eating disorders program.  Dr. White will be teaching a course that focuses on blending essential Behavioral Interventions and directives into the psychoanalytic framework.  Dr. White also has a private practice with offices in Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach, California.

James "Buck" Runyan, LMFT, LPC, CEDS
Chief Operations Officer

Professionally involved with eating disorder treatment since 1994, Buck joined the Discovery team in 2006. Having trained and worked in residential care, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient settings for adults and adolescents he has a broad range of clinical knowledge in supporting expert therapeutic skills. As the Founder of the Eating Disorder Recovery Services (EDRS) in 2000, Buck developed private comprehensive outpatient treatment programs for eating disorders, self injurious behaviors and gastric surgery assessments. Administratively he has held positions as the founding  President of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals California division (iaedp - CA), founding Program Director of the Remuda Ranch Adolescent Eating Disorder Center and Program Administrator for the San Bernardino County Mental Health Court Dual Diagnosis Day Treatment Programs. Lecturing on a national basis, Buck provides a variety of trainings to multidisciplinary professionals. Professionally, he is credentialed as a California Marriage and Family Therapist, an Arizona Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. Buck was formally educated at California Baptist University completing a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology degree in 1992.

Rachel Liger, MS, RD
Director of Nutritional Services

Rachel Liger is a registered dietician and has served as the Director of Nutrition Services at Discovery for over the past nine years. At Discovery, Rachel is credited with the development of the nutritional program that now extends to Discovery's five residential eating disorder programs (Oceanaire and four Center for Discovery facilities). Rachel utilizes innovative approaches and paradoxical methods for nutrition education and re-nourishment. Additionally, she lectures extensively in the community and serves as an adjunct professor at California State University of Long Beach. Rachel has developed a dietary mentoring program that has served to educate students and dietetic interns about the sensitive nature of the dietary management of eating disorders. She received her masters from California State University Long Beach and while there designed and implemented an original clinical trial study on the effectiveness of the dietician for weight loss management when medications are used.

Brian Holt, MD, MPH
Psychiatrist

Brian Holt, MD, MPH began working with Discovery in 2004. He has dedicated his career to medical issues found in eating disorders. Dr, Holt completed his undergraduate training at Miami University of Ohio and has a graduate degree in public health from the University of Michigan. He received his medical school training was at St. Louis University and his residency was at the University of California Los Angeles including specialized training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harbor UCLA Medical Center.

Eduardo Angorga, MD
Medical Director

(Bio Coming Soon)

Craig Brown, PhD
Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Brown has been the Chief Psychologist of multiple inpatient programs for substance abuse and emotional disorders for over the past 25 years. He has been involved with eating disorders for over 20 years and is the Co-Founder of Center for Discovery, an adolescent eating disorder program, since 1997.

Jerry Carminio
Chief Financial Officer

Jerry Carminio is the CFO of Oceanaire. After a career change, Mr. Carminio has dedicated himself to the creation of treatment centers which offer residents the opportunity to make profound life changes. He is the Co-Founder of Center for Discovery, an adolescent eating disorder program. Mr. Carminio works with families to help setup financial arrangements for treatment.

Tribute to the Founder - Berta Orcasita, RNC

Prior to founding Oceanaire, Ms. Orcasita was a registered psychiatric nurse. Upon graduation she received a prestigious award for her excellence in the care of the psychiatric patient given by Long Island College Hospital School of Nursing. She had spent several years working at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute where she was encouraged to start a residential eating disorder program for women struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and compulsive exercising. Berta was dedicated to providing a safe and compassionate environment within which individuals can begin to build a healthy relationship with food and their bodies, and to experience the freedom that recovery brings. Discovery hopes to continue Ms. Orcasita's dedication and compassion to help women live healthier lives.