Founders and Notable Staff
Brandon Park is the Founder and Executive Director of New Focus Academy. His career in the TTI began when he worked as a Therapist at Aspen Education Group‘s reportedly abusive Outback Therapeutic Expeditions from 2012 until 2013. He then worked at Aspen Education Group’s reportedly abusive Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment from 2013 until 2014, when the program was purchased by Family Help and Wellness and rebranded as Viewpoint Center. He continued to work at Viewpoint until 2016. He then helped create New Focus in October of 2017. He also currently works as a Clinical Neuropsychologist at ClearView Psychological Services, which is a company that provides psychological services to other TTI programs.
John Webb is the Co-Founder and Clinical & Operations Director of New Focus Academy. He has been working with individuals struggling with mental health issues since 1996. He has worked in a variety of programs including wilderness, group home, residential treatment centers and hospital settings. Although many of his former places of employment are unknown, it is known that he previously worked at the confirmedly abusive West Ridge Academy as the Therapeutic Recreation Program Director around 2009.
Alta Swarnes is the Program Director of New Focus Academy. She has a lengthy career in the TTI, beginning as the Recreation Therapy Department Supervisor at the confirmedly abusive Island View RTC from 1998 until 2004. She then went on to work as a Recreation Therapist and Weekend Supervisor at the confirmedly abusive West Ridge Academy from 2005 until 2012. After this, she worked at the reportedly abusive Center for Change in Orem, UT as the Director of Recreation and Experiential Therapies Department from 2012 until 2017. She then worked as the Senior Admissions Counselor & Marketing & Media Project Manager at the reportedly abusive RedCliff Ascent from 2017 until 2020, when she joined New Focus.
Laura Bennion currently works as a Therapist at New Focus Academy. Prior to joining New Focus Academy in 2019, she worked as the Lead Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) at the reportedly abusive Heritage Schools from 2001 until 2019.
Program Structure
No information is currently known regarding the specifics of the program used by New Focus Academy. If you attended this program and would like to contribute information to help complete this page, please contact info@breakingcodesilence.org
Abuse Allegations
Because New Focus Academy is a relatively new program, no allegations of abuse have yet been found. This section will be updated if allegations come to light. If you attended this program and would like to contribute a testimony of your experience, please contact info@breakingcodesilence.org
Survivor/Parent Testimonials
Because New Focus Academy is a relatively new program, no survivor testimonies have yet been found. If you attended this program and would like to contribute a testimony of your experience, please contact info@breakingcodesilence.org
