Meet Our Staff

Jennifer Beayon, CRC

Moms in Recovery Program

Jennifer coordinates the New Moms in Recovery Program, one of the Turning Point Center’s signature programs. She was born and raised in Vermont. She’ll tell you she always knew she was meant to help people, and we couldn’t agree more! She worked as an LNA until she shifted to full-time motherhood about eight years ago. Her four kids are just absolutely amazing, and her cadre of pets is a testament to her big heart. Her itty bitty dog has an outsized personality and we are here for it. Jennifer began volunteering for the Turning Point Center and has continued to grow from there. When she wanted to offer peer support she attended the Recovery Coach Academy, and has since become the Outreach Recovery Peer Support Specialist at the Chittenden Clinic. She’s now studying Human Services at Community College of Vermont. All that on top of being a single mom! Her optimism is infectious, “I can’t wait to see where life takes me. Recovery is great!” Agreed, Jen. Agreed.

Cara Behm, CRC

Operations Manager

Cara Behm is our Operations Manager and an Outreach Peer Recovery Support Specialist at the Chittenden Clinic and has long been a proponent of medication assisted recovery. She studied psychology at The University of Vermont where she helped conduct research in the Social Development Lab and has previously worked aiding others in their recovery. Creative, accepting, and affable, Cara enjoys meeting and helping people from all walks of life and different backgrounds. She loves to learn new things and believes that life is but a continuous learning process. An animal lover, Cara loves nothing more than to spend time with her two wonderful pups, Burgher and Jancsi. In her spare times she also enjoys reading, drawing, hiking, and getting together with friends and family.

Jesse Bunch

Executive Director

Jesse has more than 30 years experience in international humanitarian assistance, development, and refugee protection. Served as a Peace Corps volunteer long ago in Africa as part of the national team that created the U.S. refugee program after the fall of Saigon. He helped establish national refugee resettlement programs at the Federal level, and helped communities and voluntary agencies resettle refugees. He also helped the National Council of Churches expand services to refugees and advised the Ford Foundation regarding their funding priorities in international refugee assistance and protection. Jesse was the director of two Washington-based non-governmental organizations and served as the senior policy advisor on refugee affairs to the Department of State.

Tara Campbell, CRC

Peer Recovery Coach, Emergency Department, University of VT Medical Center (UVMMC)

Tara began work with addiction recovery support six years ago, as a volunteer right here at the Turning Point Center. As a Peer Recovery Coach and an Outreach Peer Support Specialist at the Chittenden Clinic, she helped folks on Medication-Assisted Treatment find support for their recovery. (That long sentence is the fancy way of saying she’s just awesome.) She is currently a Peer Recovery Coach at the Emergency Department at UVMMC. Tara is a trained group facilitator, has started several recovery groups and plans on continuing her education in Human Services. She has a strong interest in holistic healing and human behavior. Fun fact! Her Pomeranian, Honey, loves to do yoga. Downward Dog, anyone?

Michael Couture, CRC

Peer Recovery Coach, Emergency Department, University of VT Medical Center (UVMMC)

Michael, a Vermont native, has co-owned several businesses in music and video production. He works as a freelance video special effects editor on historical documentaries and is also a photographer and watercolor artist. He’s incredibly generous with his time and talents and it continues to amaze us. (At a recent auction he donated a watercolor landscape he painted that utterly took our breath away.) Michael has served as a Peer Recovery Coach through the Turning Point Center for eight years and presently works in the UVMMC Emergency Department as a Peer Recovery Coach. When not on the board of the Howard Center, he is reading the user manuals for his new cameras. Come meet him and see why we can’t do without him!

Chuck Hafter, CRC

Employment Consultant

Chuck is an Employment Consultant with us, which started as a volunteer gig in 2015. He’s retired from thirty years of City Management for three very lucky towns, including twenty-one years in South Burlington. Before helping us, he mentored pregnant teens and teen mothers to find work through the Reach-Up program with the Department for Children and Families. Before accepting his position here, he served a term as Vice President of our Board. His Master's in Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but it’s his unofficial Ph.D. in World Travel you’ll likely catch him referencing. (And just like that, his ability to find a great travel deal just became our worst-kept secret.)

Cam Lauf, CRC

Associate Director

Cam, originally from Baltimore, MD, moved to Burlington in 2012 and immediately fell in love with its beauty and strong sense of community. He volunteered and worked at the Center in various positions while getting his undergraduate degree and then assumed the Emergency Dept. Recovery Coaching Program Supervisor role for the past 2.5 years. As Cam so astutely shared, "I have been gifted the great experience of helping others find recovery and it is my goal to help the Center follow its mission to the fullest.” He knows, “that anyone can achieve a lasting recovery no matter how unattainable it may feel.”

Krista Marzewski, CRC

Development Coordinator

When Krista Marzewski walked through the doors of The Turning Point Center she embraced all services and programs offered here. Krista found her tribe- others in recovery who are looking for a non-judgmental, safe and supportive environment through which to heal. Keeping her recovery first, upon completing her 200 hours of yoga teacher training with Story Yoga, Krista began volunteering once a week teaching a Y12SR (yoga class combined with a 12-step topic discussion meeting). She then became a Peer Support Specialist and later, the Development Coordinator. Keeping herself in the middle of her tribe, she’s able to combine her passion for teaching yoga to people in recovery and to share her experience, strength and hope with others.

Jimmie Searle, MEd, CRC

Peer Recovery Coach, Emergency Department, University of VT Medical Center (UVMMC)

Jimmie is a Boston, MA native and moved to Burlington, VT, in 2018. He studied Sociology at Virginia Wesleyan College and earned his Master’s Degree in Education at Boston University. Jimmie has worked at treatment facilities, transitional housing programs, and now at the UVM Medical Center Emergency Department. He has firsthand experience with AA, NA, CMA, SMART Recovery, and Refuge Recovery. Before entering the world of recovery, Jimmie worked as a teacher at a Deaf school. He spends his free time with his husband, dog (Bodhi), and cat (Zen).

Al Teodosio, CRC

Supervisor, Peer Recovery Coach Program, Emergency Department, University of VT Medical Center (UVMMC)

Al Teodosio is our Emergency Department Recovery Coaching Program Supervisor at the Emergency Department at UVMMC. He lives with his wife, three cats, a dog and a frog. Disorganized but intuitive and short but nimble, Al has found a passion in helping people who struggle with addiction. Music, animals, cooking and reading are all integral parts of Al’s life, and he is a huge fan of distance running’s ability to activate his own endorphins.