Operations Team

Bob Harris

Operations Manager

Bob grew up in Florida and North Carolina and spent much of his youth on a family ranch. Bob has worked in the zoological field for eleven years as an animal keeper, animal husbandry manager, and curator for a number of large zoological facilities including the Zoological Society of San Diego and the Nashville Zoo. In 2003, Bob returned to school to finish his undergraduate studies in Environmental Science & Conservation Biology and then entered the graduate program at Florida International University in Miami, FL. He has also worked as a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and later Bob worked for a number of governmental agencies as a Lead Biologist and Land Manager for eleven years. Bob is also a trained Wildland Firefighter and has assisted on the state level for many years as a Prescribed Fire Manager and Wildfire Strike Team member for the state of Florida. Looking to make a better life for his family, Bob relocated full time to Mill Spring, NC in 2017 where he and his family are working on building a small-scale farm.

As the Operations Manager for Foothills at Red Oak Recovery, Bob oversees operational staff and assists in the management of the facilities and grounds. Bob coordinates staff working with contractors on new projects, performing preventative maintenance of facilities, repairing structures as needed, and managing the grounds in order to provide a safe and pleasant environment for the Foothills’ clients and staff.

Bob lives in Mill Springs, NC with his wife Carin and daughter Callie. Bob and his wife are kept busy by renovating their 1940’s farm house and maintaining the property. In his free time Bob enjoys hiking, hunting, shooting sports, riding motorcycles, working on equipment, and camping with his family. He is also actively involved with his local community as a member of the Sunny View Volunteer Fire Department.

Eric Day

Logistics Manager

Eric got his bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Education from Georgia College and State University, which was the culmination of a lifetime spent exploring and learning in nature. He joined the Boy Scouts of America at a young age, which fueled and developed his passion for outdoor activities, especially backpacking, climbing, and whitewater kayaking. He started his professional work in the outdoors as a canoe guide/chief guide for the Boy Scouts of America in North Maine, and continued on as a whitewater canoeing instructor in Brevard, North Carolina, an outdoor education instructor in Runnings Springs, California, and a master recovery guide for Red Oak Recovery.

Eric came to the Foothills at Red Oak Recovery after spending 2.5 years at Red Oak Recovery®, the young adult men’s campus as a recovery guide, where he helped develop the ceremony program. Eric transitioned to Foothills at Red Oak Recovery and now is the Logistics Manager, where he brings all of his experience to support staff and clients alike in doing the work we need to do. In his free time, Eric likes to rock climb, cook plant-based food, watch nature documentaries, and play with dogs.

Michelle Reichl

Animal Caretaker

Michelle is from the small town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and has been living in North Carolina for the last twelve years. She is a Registered Veterinary Technician and has been practicing veterinary care since graduating from Central Carolina Community College in 2016. She has experience working at multiple small animal clinics from Central to Western North Carolina and has most recently enjoyed working with a local animal control department.
With her degree, Michelle is qualified to see to the housing and care of all the animals who reside at the Ellenboro facility. She ensures that all of the animals are happy and healthy and oversees their interactions with everyone who visits the facility.

Michelle has had a life-long passion of caring for animals and has grown up with cats, dogs, and horses. She enjoys spending her free-time with her animals at home which includes three horses, two dogs, two cats, an Amazon tree boa, a Rose hair tarantula, and a bearded dragon. When she isn’t busy caring for all of her animals, she also enjoys hiking, practicing mindfulness, and working on outside projects.

Nick Aust

Kitchen Assistant

Nick is a native to Asheville and is the proud single dad to his 14 year old son. He loves music and plays the bass guitar. He also loves sports and played baseball for Blue Ridge Community College. His passion for cooking is what brought him to Red Oak and he looks forward to being able to impact someone’s life through nutritional therapy.

Sarah Walton Condrey

Kitchen Assistant

Native to North Carolina, Sarah studied painting and illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design. It was in 2009 that she began her journey through the world of recovery where she first discovered her passion for a healthy lifestyle mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. These facets came together for Sarah in the kitchen where she found cooking to be her comfort, her outlet, her sanctuary, and her art.

The past ten years have been a challenging and wonderful dance interweaving her gifts as an artist through her love for cooking, nature, holistic healing, and an ever expanding and deepening spiritual practice.

Sarah went through a wilderness therapy program herself and experienced first-hand the magical and deeply healing powers of the Appalachian Mountains. She set out to work for a company that provided a similar program that transformed her own life.

She started as a Clinical Technician at The Willows at Red Oak Recovery®, and eventually took a break to chase a lifelong dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail.
It was on her hike that she felt the inner knowing of her true purpose lives in holistic health and guiding others to their healthiest, happiest, and most authentic versions of themselves through the food that they eat and the lifestyle practices they choose to cultivate.

It is Sarah’s hearts delight, and an absolute blessing to share her love, creativity, experience, strength, hope and gratitude through the food that she prepares at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery.

In her free time you will find Sarah running on trails, writing and illustrating children’s stories, practicing yoga, and connecting with others who share her enthusiasm for seeking peace, purpose, and elevating the collective consciousness of our wild and wonderful planet.