Leadership

As President and CEO of Continuum Recovery Center of Maryland, Rita draws on more than 30 years of diversified leadership experience spanning across multiple industries within Healthcare and social entrepreneurialism. She holds a Master’s degree in Microbiology, and has dedicated her entire professional career in the interest of improving lives and helping those in need. Rita has the ability to build teams, develop and lead them to effectively contribute towards the vision and mission of the organization she serves. She brings a commitment to making an impact and builds on bold business strategies as an innovator and entrepreneur.

Rita takes great interest in supporting the community where she has lived for over 30 years and which she proudly calls “home”. Some of her contributions towards the community include supporting women of South Asian decent in the capacity of enriching, empowering and enlightening them in various aspects of day-to-day life, to lifting and mentoring those around her in their professional careers. Her contributions towards career development of others have been very impressive and she believes that everyone has potential to contribute and live a life of dignity and pride.

Rita loves spending time with her family and her pets, and also enjoys gardening in her spare time. Her goal is to continue to lead a team of professionals who can help those who struggle with substance abuse and mental health disorders in order to achieve a healthy life and state of mind.

As the Chief Operating Officer at Continuum, Rishi Barkataki is responsible for wide-ranging operations including growth and expansion of the company. He brings 10+ years of experience to Continuum. His leadership has been focused on managing behavioral health treatment facilities nation-wide, providing outstanding client service, and driving profitable revenue growth. He has a verifiable track record of successfully propelling behavioral health care organizations to operational efficiencies and clinical excellence. He brings in strong knowledge and experience in both mental health and addiction treatment tracks.

Rishi has served numerous leadership roles in last several years, providing vision and strategic thinking to help take organizations to the next level. He earned a master’s degree in business and lives with his wife and daughter in Urbana in Frederick County, Maryland.

Laura have been a Maryland resident her whole life. She dedicated her professional career in patient services. She has worked her 25 year career in the role of practice management in the private sector – neurosurgery, orthopedics and primary care. She is the President of the Board of Directors for a residential substance abuse facility in Frederick which drew her attention to the needs of the community.

Taking a break for 5 years and following her passion for viticulture, Laura enjoys speaking at public events. She loves spending time with her family and dogs and enjoys gardening in her spare time. She is married with two children and is a resident of Frederick County. Her goal is to lead a team of professionals in the direction of helping the community with substance abuse and mental health to achieve healthy minds and lives.

Dr. Sangjucta obtained a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from University of Delaware, USA in 2018 prior to joining Biotech industry as Genomic Research Scientist. She brings 12+ years of preclinical and clinical experience in the field of translational research. Prior to joining industry, Dr. Sangjucta worked as a research specialist at Johns Hopkins University for 4+ years in the field of biomedical research. She is an author of a book and has published her research extensively  in multiple national and international papers. Being scientific reviewer of several peer-reviewed journals, she is a receiver of the national award for her research in inflammatory breast cancer skin metastasis.

Dr. Sangjucta joined Continuum in November 2019 as the Chief Scientific Officer. She represents a significant increase for Continuum’s leadership role in applying novel scientific and technical advances to improve addiction and mental health treatment. In her current role, she will oversee the scientific initiatives of Continuum, including development of new processes, technologies and products.

Jeanine holds a Masters degree in social work as well as two bachelor’s degrees – one in social work and one with a double major in psychology and management.  Her credentials include Licensed Certified Social Work – Clinical and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She has served adults with developmental disabilities, adults with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues and children and families. In the field of substance abuse, Jeanine has almost 20 years of experience working in outpatient, inpatient, and long term residential settings.

Jeanine has professional experience in solving problems and crisis situations with families, clients, staff and co-workers. She has established and marinated working relationships with families, volunteers, service providers, vendors, and agencies. She has over 7 years of professional experience working as social worker, monitoring mental health, substance abuse, and support services to foster children, biological and foster families.

Karin has experience working with a diverse population of families, couples and individuals of all ages. Her credentials include Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) specializing in counselling. While Karin’s general philosophy is that therapy should be relational, client-centered and strengths-based, she believes that therapy must also be uniquely customized and tailored specifically to each client’s entirely unique story of transition, trauma or both. Karin focuses on creating a space where clients feel safe, accepted, and heard while, they explore healing, growth and personal and relational transformation. With a background in Rational Emotional Behavioral Therapy, she believes that an essential part of her work with clients is helping them explore external relational systems that influence and support their well-being, as well as identifying and accessing internal strengths and resources that clients already carry within themselves.

Karin has experience working with a broad range of mental health issues and concerns, and has specialized training in treating trauma, combat PTSD, depression, co-occurring disorders, substance abuse and psychological crisis response.