About Millcreek, Utah

Millcreek, Utah is nestled in the Northeast quadrant of the beautiful Salt Lake Valley and sits at the base of majestic Mount Olympus. Millcreek is the tenth largest city in Utah with a population of just over 60 thousand residents and boasts its commitment to urban wildlife and conservation with many designated nature preserves within the city. Millcreek is one of the best places to live in Utah as its residents are highly engaged and eagerly participate in numerous community activities through the Venture Out Program. These include concerts in the park, weekly food trucks and movie nights along with an array of art and civic programs. Millcreek residents are minutes away from family and dog-friendly parks, Neff and Millcreek Canyons, and Wasatch Mountain where they enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and skiing.  The city center is home to City Hall, and will include an amphitheater, housing, sculpture gardens, fountains, shopping, restaurants and even an ice rink.

Oasis Ascent Millcreek Team

Executive Team

Brent Esplin, LMFT

Brent Esplin, LMFT

Executive Director
Eric Ricks, BBA, MHR

Eric Ricks, BBA, MHR

Associate Executive Director
Allison Michelle Jenkins, LCSW

Allison Michelle Jenkins, LCSW

Clinical Director
Brian McDonald

Brian McDonald

Admissions Director
Robert Owen

Robert Owen

Residential Director
Rosanna Weeks

Rosanna Weeks

Academic Director
Michelle Pattison, RN, BSN

Michelle Pattison, RN, BSN

Director of Nursing
Madison Prince

Madison Prince

Admissions Coordinator
Davey Cox

Davey Cox

Academic Advisor

Brent Esplin, LMFT

Executive Director

Brent has spent his career of almost 20 years working with teens and their families in a variety of different settings including long and short-term residential treatment, acute care, and home based services. He has served in various leadership capacities over the years including clinical director, utilization review director, admissions/business development director, and executive director. Brent relates comfortably and professionally with families and teens alike. He finds great joy in guiding families out of crisis situations and into peaceful solutions. Brent’s experience working within the field of mental health in admissions allows him to have a breadth of knowledge when assessing the needs of clients in acute situations, as well as less critical circumstances. He played an integral part in creating an operational psychiatric facility and most recently helped start a short-term residential treatment program. Brent is passionate about providing more families with quality mental health treatment by accessing their insurance benefits. Brent is an active member of his community and finds the most joy spending time with his family. His wife, Julie, and their three young adult/teenagers enjoy all sports along with hiking, camping and other outdoor activities. Julie is a competitive marathon runner and Brent rides his bike along side her to keep up.

Eric Ricks, BBA, MHR

Associate Executive Director

Eric has returned to Behavioral Health after spending the last decade on wall-street managing the Securities Lending Department at Goldman Sachs. Eric has lived in Manhattan, Tokyo, and Bengaluru; but is a Utah native and feels there is no better place to raise a family. He has an associate’s degree in business management, a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from BYU, and a master’s degree in human resources from USU. Eric loves combining his education and experience in his current role as Human Resource Director. Eric considers his wife and four children his best friends. He loves spending time with his family, camping, hiking or “just hanging out” and playing video games with his kids. Eric has a passion for learning new things and a drive for perfection in everything he does.

Allison Michelle Jenkins, LCSW

Clinical Director

Allison brings diverse clinical experience from outpatient therapy, day treatment, residential care, psychiatric inpatient, and volunteer work at the Refugee Center. Through these intensive exposures to complex patients, she found her passion of working with adolescents in residential settings, like OASIS. As our DBT guru, Allison strives to empower teens with DBT skills and family systems therapy work so that they can progress & thrive despite various challenges in their lives. Born and raised in Utah, Allison graduated from the University of Utah with her MSW in 2008. Growing up, her parents were both advocates of helping those in need which led her to dedicate her career to helping adolescents and their families in the healing process from trauma, attachment struggles, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, neurodiverse diagnoses, and more. Allison believes in the importance of taking in the entire family system picture to ensure sustainable and effective change. Suicide prevention is another important factor integrated into her therapy model. She is EMDR and DBT certified, and works to supervise rising clinicians as well. Allison remains close to her family residing in Draper, Utah where she enjoys riding her bike.

Brian McDonald

Admissions Director

Robert Owen

Residential Director

Rosanna Weeks

Academic Director

Rosanna has 35 years of experience in education. She began her career as an English and theater teacher, completed her master’s degree in educational leadership at BYU, then served as a school principal at the middle school and high school levels in both public traditional and charter schools. “I chose a career in education so that I might help young people see and meet their potential. That continues to be my goal each day,” she says. Rosanna is the mother of four children, and grandmother to three. She is a longtime performer in Utah county in both live theater and film productions, as a solo singer, and a member of the Tabernacle Choir. She enjoys hiking, biking, pickleball, golf, and all things outdoors, along with traveling long distances to be with her children and grandchildren.

Michelle Pattison, RN, BSN

Director of Nursing

Michelle has a passion for her role in the field of nursing. She has many years of clinical and management experience working with people and their families to provide individualized care. Michelle also brings valuable life experience which allows her to make a positive difference in the lives of our students and their families. She models compassion, resilience, and believes it is never too late to make changes in our approach to life. She loves to learn new things and teach them to others.Michelle received her training as a Combat Medic and Licensed Practical Nurse in the US Army as a member of the National Guard. She received her Associates and Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at Nightingale College of Nursing.Michelle loves her family and friends and enjoys spending time with them. Michelle also loves animals and believes that they have a calming effect on people. She is proud to be a part of the Oasis Ascent team.

Madison Prince

Admissions Coordinator

Davey Cox

Academic Advisor

Clinical Team

Allison Michelle Jenkins, LCSW

Allison Michelle Jenkins, LCSW

Clinical Director
Yanni Gallagher, AMFT

Yanni Gallagher, AMFT

Therapist
Christoffer Loderup, MSW, CSWi

Christoffer Loderup, MSW, CSWi

Therapist

Allison Michelle Jenkins, LCSW

Clinical Director

Allison brings diverse clinical experience from outpatient therapy, day treatment, residential care, psychiatric inpatient, and volunteer work at the Refugee Center. Through these intensive exposures to complex patients, she found her passion of working with adolescents in residential settings, like OASIS. As our DBT guru, Allison strives to empower teens with DBT skills and family systems therapy work so that they can progress & thrive despite various challenges in their lives. Born and raised in Utah, Allison graduated from the University of Utah with her MSW in 2008. Growing up, her parents were both advocates of helping those in need which led her to dedicate her career to helping adolescents and their families in the healing process from trauma, attachment struggles, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, neurodiverse diagnoses, and more. Allison believes in the importance of taking in the entire family system picture to ensure sustainable and effective change. Suicide prevention is another important factor integrated into her therapy model. She is EMDR and DBT certified, and works to supervise rising clinicians as well. Allison remains close to her family residing in Draper, Utah where she enjoys riding her bike.

Yanni Gallagher, AMFT

Therapist

Yanni comes to Oasis Ascent with 6 years of experience working in the adolescent treatment program and services industry. He has worked in therapeutic boarding school, wilderness, and short-term residential settings in multiple roles to include milieu staff, transporter, research coordinator, quality assurance, and now as a therapist. Yanni has a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family therapy with an emphasis in child and adolescent therapy. Through the relational approach, Yanni helps adolescents feel they can entrust him with their deepest concerns and gain confidence in their therapeutic journey. Yanni's therapeutic approach is heavily influenced by Narrative Family Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Principles as taught by Arbinger Institute. Yanni loves spending time with his wife, his 1 ½ year old son, and dog. Yanni has a love for the outdoors, sports, and video games. He strives to have a life aimed towards equanimity, learning, and humility.

Christoffer Loderup, MSW, CSWi

Therapist