Our Staff

Valerie Bartenfelder is originally from Miami, Florida, and lived for 35 years in Colorado. She moved back to Florida to be closer to family in 2011. Valerie is a Certified Addiction Counselor with the state of Florida and has been trained extensively in psychodrama. Additionally, Valerie is a registered RRT practitioner. She currently works as a counselor and enjoys working alongside our other long-term clinical staff members. Valerie also has a passion for traveling and has had opportunities to travel to many far-off destinations over the last 25 years. She has traveled to Europe, Micronesia, Africa, and India to name a few. Valerie lives in Delray Beach, FL with her husband.

Erin Liposky is a Certified Addiction Counselor and has been working in addiction treatment for the past 14 years. She earned a Master of Science in Addiction Counseling from Grand Canyon University and a Bachelor of Social Work from Catholic University of America. As a primary therapist at The Beachcomber, she loves working with clients and running groups. She can often be found hanging out and laughing with the clients in The Beachcomber’s courtyard. With 33 years of sobriety, Erin felt called to the field and has been working to help people achieve and maintain a healthy sober lifestyle since her own recovery. When not at work, Erin can be found at the beach, the dog park, or just hanging out with her best friend Danny, a German Shepard mix she rescued two years ago.

Growing up in an alcoholic home, participating in family treatment programs and coping with being an Adult Child of an Alcoholic motivated Robyn to seek a career in Counseling. After receiving her BA in Psychology, Robyn discovered Holistic Health Coaching. It was in her own journey with a coach, Robyn experienced healing and realized her passion for helping others in the pursuit of wholeness, emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Over the period of 13 years, Robyn offered tools to clients for overcoming issues with self-esteem, grief, trauma and addiction. Her greatest joy was seeing clients who were “sick and tired of being sick and tired” apply the tools necessary to heal and grow in health as a whole person. Today Robyn uses the training she received as an Addiction Counselor to help clients identify beliefs that keep them stuck, disciplines that keep them stable and habits that keep them healthy in a life of recovery.

From 1988 until 2013, Dean Peterson has sung title and leading roles in the leading International opera houses around the world. He has performed at La Scala, The Met, the Vienna Statsoper, the Chicago Lyric, San Fransisco Opera, Beijing Opera, and the Royal Concert Hall in London, to name a few. Mr. Peterson’s recordings can be found at the Metropolitan Opera house on DVD, the Albany recording label, and solo albums licensed through the Harry Fox agency in New York City.

Upon retirement from the Music Industry, Mr. Peterson has been working in the Recovery field as a Tech and now as a CAC/CAP candidate at the Beachcomber in Delray Beach Florida. He brings 34.5 years of continuous sobriety, and the experience of 5 years working with others to assist in their recovery

Ty Cowell joined The Beachcomber in 2019 after working at several other treatment facilities in the Palm Beach area and elsewhere for the last 13 years. Originally from Brooklyn, Ty now calls the Boynton Beach area home. Ty is currently enrolled at Springfield College of Tampa to earn his Master’s degree in Substance Abuse and Human Services. In his spare time, Ty likes to spend time with his family, play basketball, and work out at the gym.

Ed Cejka is one of our new primary counselors in the evening for the IOP Program in Boynton Beach. Ed is a Master’s Level Counselor with state, national, and international credentials for over 20 years, and has been treating clients in recovery and with mental health concerns for over 25 years. He has been working with both adult and adolescent populations. He has clinical experience in addiction and has served over the years as a Clinical Director, Compliance Officer, and CEO administrator. Ed is also a Catholic priest. He is semi-retired in ministry, but serves the communities of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Ed previously worked for the Archdiocese of Newark at the parish level, extensively with the homeless and addicted. He is noted for involvement in feeding programs for the poor and working to get treatment programs for recovering addicts. Ed also ran a medical clinic and dental clinic for the inner-city poor.

Ed is a graduate of Seton Hall University, Immaculate Conception Seminary, and holds a Master’s degree in Counseling and Human Services. He has been teaching as an Adjunct Professor in Philosophy and Theology at Barry University in Florida for over 20 years. When Ed moved to Florida, he decided to live in the Palm Beach area He has two parrots he raised from babies, and has many horticultural interests. They keep him happy and always in awe of what God and nature can provide us humans when seeking serenity. He also has interests in Astronomy and Geology and has been on archeological expeditions in Ireland.

He brings many years of professional, non-judgmental caring to those suffering addiction and seeking serenity. His specialties include working with families, developing systems of coping, and relationship building. He has been teaching and educating people on how to reduce or extinguish unhealthy co-dependency traits, empowerment of women, LGBT communities, and education to identify domestic violence.

Ed has worked for the Broward sheriff’s office as a therapist in the Broward jail system. He has extensive forensic training and is a court liaison for Broward Co. and Palm Beach Co. He is well known for his contribution in the drug courts and Marchman Act advocacy. He serves on the Broward Interdisciplinary Partnership on Addiction. Ed is one who loves and cares that others are loved as well.

We said farewell to our beloved friend Trey Cryer in 2018. Trey Cryer, MS, RRT, CAP was a member of The Beachcomber therapy staff for over 20 years and a close friend of our founder, Jim Bryan. Trey was known for his “open door” access for all clients and was noted for his serious and firm dedication to those in recovery. Trey often said, “The Beachcomber program is the finest I’ve ever encountered.” Trey was a beacon of inspiration and helped countless people who had lost their way or were going to give up on the road to recovery. We miss Trey, but his spirit lives on, inspiring new generations to find freedom in recovery.