Offering the best in supervised medical care, Red Oak Recovery’s medical team has experience in a variety of urgent care settings. With the unrelenting passion for people, their helping hands guide you or a loved one through any or all substance abuse and mental health concerns.
Brady Schroer, DO
Psychiatrist & Addictionologist
Dr. Brady Schroer obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology with an emphasis in Chemistry. He attended medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. After medical school, he completed his general psychiatry residency at an internationally known psychiatric clinic. Dr. Schroer later worked in a large hospital setting for five years as a psychiatric hospitalist taking care of geriatric patients, caring for patients with psychiatric issues on the medical floors and ICU (intensive care units), detoxifying clients from alcohol and benzodiazepines, ECT treatment for depression, and served as Medical Director and Chief of Psychiatry.
Dr. Schroer moved to Western North Carolina in 2007 to become the Medical Director of the inpatient psychiatric unit and the detoxification unit at one of the areas top hospitals and served for seven years in that capacity. Most recently, he has been seeing clients ages 15 and over in sober living environments, residential treatments, and other outpatient settings.
He has vast experience from all different perspectives of addiction treatment and knows what it is like to be a family member of someone struggling with addiction. Dr. Schroer views addiction as a poor coping mechanism for past emotional pain and believes that the emotional pain that breeds hatred, anger, and resentment is what keeps us sick and looking for substances and behaviors to “numb it”. He is extremely compassionate and prefers to educate clients about their illness. He has learned a lot from the clients he has treated and uses that knowledge to help others move into a peaceful life.
Dr. Schroer is a Christian, loves car racing, golf, photography, and being out in the great outdoors. He feels especially fortunate to call Asheville his home!
Jessi Herr, BA, BSN, RN
Director of Nursing
Jessi grew up in middle Tennessee and came to North Carolina when she attended Warren Wilson College, where she studied Plant Biology and Horticulture. After graduating, she worked in Asheville at Beanstreets, Salsa’s, and Lark Books. In 1999, she took a road trip and landed in Seattle, where she lived for five years. In that time, she got married, became a mom, and became certified as both a postpartum doula and a Pilates instructor. She returned to North Carolina in 2004 and started a small Pilates studio in 2005. In 2018, Jessi started the accelerated BSN program at Western Carolina University and graduated summa cum laude in 2019.
Jessi was drawn to the work at The Willows because of personal experiences with loved ones struggling with mental health issues and addiction. She feels humbled and grateful to be a part of clients’ recovery and healing.
She loves gardening, hiking, dinner parties, and reading. She lives with her husband, an acupuncturist, her son and daughter, a goofy golden retriever and a bossy cat, and they might have every yard game and board game ever created.
Allison Porter, RDN, LDN, RYT
Registered Dietician
A nomad by nature, Allison was born in Manhattan and lived in several major cities before settling in North Carolina. She currently resides in Wilmington and splits her time between the coastal region and Appalachia. Allison serves the clients at Red Oak Recovery® and The Willows at Red Oak Recovery® through virtual individual nutrition counseling sessions and also via occasional in-person visits. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition & Dietetics from The University of Texas at Austin in 2012 where she also completed UT’s Coordinated Program in Dietetics internship and a 200-hour teacher training in Integrative Yoga Therapy in 2013. Allison blends her knowledge of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness with her scientific background in nutritional biochemistry to provide customized integrative wellness coaching to her clients.
Allison began her career in addiction medicine at a well-known treatment center located in Wilmington, NC in 2016. She also worked as the dietitian at an acute care inpatient program in Black Mountain for three years, treating patients in acute detox and in rehab. Allison also has a small private practice where she offers one-on-one nutrition counseling and private yoga instruction.
Allison has a personal interest in working with the recovery community due to losing close family members and friends to untreated addiction and mental illness. Allison believes nutrition plays a huge role in emotional wellbeing and that this relationship is often overlooked. She loves educating clients on the roles nutrients play in neurotransmitter production, cognition, energy, relaxation, and sleep. She specializes in nutrition for eating disorders, autism/ADHD, depression, anxiety, and addiction.
In her spare time, Allison’s favorite hobby is belly dancing. She also enjoys wild mushroom foraging and herbal medicine. Allison lives with her boyfriend, a comedian, and they love to laugh and dance together.
Forest Smock, BA, WFR, NREMT
Medical Services Coordinator
Forest was raised on a farm in southern Indiana by a family of doctors and nurses. Always around medicine and the microcosm of the cyclic nature of life that plays out on the farm daily, Forest was drawn to caring for all kinds of living being. The summer after his first year of undergrad at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, he became a certified Wilderness EMT through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). While continuing college, Forest worked as a first responder and also as a volunteer with search and rescue. He graduated in 2017 with a degree in Environmental Chemistry and Biology and moved to Asheville to work for the National Parks Services. Following his work with the National Parks Service, Forest began guiding for a wilderness therapy program taking men and women in early recovery into the backcountry. He fell in love with the work and transitioned to Red Oak Recovery® in November of 2018. While at Red Oak, he has held several positions with the company, including Medical Services Manager and Grounds Manager (for Foothills at Red Oak Recovery), clinical technician and Medical Coordinator (for The Willows at Red Oak Recovery®, and most recently has entered the role of Medical Services Coordinator for both Red Oak Recovery ® and The Willows at Red Oak Recovery®.
Forest spent 2020 building a tiny house on wheels which was a great adventure and huge undertaking. Now that it is done, he can be found mountain biking, cooking delicious food with his longtime partner, and enjoying all the incredible local music Asheville has to offer.