Staff
From psychiatrists and psychologists to master’s-level therapists, dietitians, behavioral health technicians, and registered nurses, The Meadows Ranch is made up of knowledgeable, experienced, compassionate professionals committed to providing quality, cutting-edge care.

Kara Fowler, LPC-S, RD, LD
Executive Director
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Dallas, Texas, Kara Fowler is a registered and licensed dietitian and a licensed professional counselor who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nutrition from Texas A&M University and a master’s in health psychology from Texas State University. She joined the Meadows Behavioral Healthcare team in early 2023. program, before moving over to our flagship program, The Meadows.
Previous experience, which includes working with people recovering from eating disorders and trauma-related diagnoses in a variety of settings, make Fowler a perfect fit for the role of executive director at The Meadows Ranch. Varied positions in group practices, intensive outpatient programs, partial hospitalization programs, and private practice all inform the work she does helming our eating disorder programs.
Fowler discovered this line of work after responding to an ad from a psychologist needing an RD. She immediately fell in love with this population, but she saw a clear need to incorporate trauma recovery. That led Fowler to return to school as well as complete training in EMDR and Somatic Experiencing, preparing her to address not just a wide range of eating disorders but co-occurring conditions including complex trauma and dissociative disorders.
Married for more than three decades, this mother of two adult children loves walks with family, watching comedy, listening to music, reading, and spending time with two family dogs.

Anna Contor
Clinical Director
A Michigan native, Anna Contor earned a BS in psychology from Central Michigan University followed by a master’s in sport and exercise psychology and a master’s in mental health counseling, both from Argosy University.
While working with athletes for sport performance and mental skills consulting, Contor noticed eating disorders and other related issues were interfering with performance. She then finished her master’s and started an internship in the eating disorder field in 2009. She joined the team at The Meadows Ranch in February 2014, first as a primary therapist. She then became program director and assistant clinical director before being named clinical director in December 2020.
In her current role, Contor manages the clinical team and supervises the training of therapists. She also oversees programing, the Brain Center, school for our adolescents, and daily activities. You can find Contor providing daily support to clinical, nursing, and other staff with patient care. She says being able to see the growth and development of individuals and patients is what really makes her work worthwhile.
Downtime is spent traveling and taking scenic pictures — often of sunsets or sunrises. Contor also enjoys movies, reading unique music industry memoirs, and learning new information about various topics from philosophy to sports.

Brandi Koch, MA, RD
Director of Nutrition
Born in Spokane and raised in Oakesdale, Washington, Brandi Koch earned her BS in food science and human nutrition from Washington State University. That was followed by an MA in clinical mental health counseling from Valparaiso University.
A childhood best friend who struggled with an eating disorder and her own experience as a high school athlete both helped spark her interest in this career path. She has worked at all levels of care, from residential to outpatient, including stints at The Renfrew Center of Dallas and A New Beginning in Phoenix.
Koch’s current role as director of nutrition includes supervising the dietitians to help them become the best around and working with the diet techs to make sure groups and experientials are both challenging and informative for the patients. She also works with kitchen staff closely to make sure meal plans and menu items are appropriate and balanced. “Working with a talented and knowledgeable staff who can help me increase my knowledge and understanding both of eating disorders and leadership” is her favorite part of the job, Koch says.
A mother of four, she enjoys hiking, spending time with family, puzzling, concerts, and trying new restaurants.

Kim Murphy, LCSW
Assistant Clinical Director
Arizona native Kim Murphy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who holds a master’s degree in psychology in education and a master’s in social work, both from Arizona State University. Always passionate about working with individuals with eating disorders, she previously managed home visiting services and provided counseling to at-risk parents and their children.
Murphy first began working at The Meadows Ranch in 2015 as a primary and float therapist. In her current role as assistant clinical director, she oversees the provision of quality programming and evidence-based practices while being sensitive to the individual needs of patients and their families. She says she enjoys “working with a caring and talented team of staff and leadership and observing patients blossom, heal, and feel inspired to continue the difficult yet rewarding road to recovery.”
Married for more than three decades, Murphy has three children and five grandchildren. She enjoys hiking in the desert park close to her home, family get-togethers, vacationing at the beach, and spending time with friends.

Kimberly Rice, RN
Assistant Director of Nursing
Kimberly Rice grew up on a dairy farm in New York state near the Pennsylvania border. She began her education at Jamestown Community College where she earned an AS degree in nursing. Her career started in telemetry/ICU before she became a traveling nurse, working from coast to coast for more than seven years. She was drawn to Arizona after doing many assignments in the state.
Rice began her work in Wickenburg at Remuda Ranch in 2002 before joining the team at The Meadows. She was able to watch the growth and changes as Remuda became The Meadows Ranch. In her nearly two decades working with eating disorder patients, she has been a unit coordinator for the acute care center, an appeals manager where she obtained her CLNC certification and overturned 6.5 million in overturns in five years saving countless families from bankruptcy. She was also house supervisor on the TMR campus for six years before becoming assistant director of nursing in 2019. In this current role, she is responsible for patient safety, staff education, training and retention, carrying out policies and procedures, working with Compliance, audits, overseeing nursing scheduling and budget, on call duties, covering shifts, and working the floor as needed.
Married to a firefighter/EMT, Rice and her husband have three children and three grandchildren from their blended family. She keeps busy gardening and landscaping the 10 acres where they plan to build a house, homeschooling her youngest, working on DIY projects, and spending time with her family.

Gejia Capasso
Family Week Therapist
It was Gejia Capasso’s passion for being part of creating positive change in families experiencing a difficult time that led to her current role as Family Week therapist at The Meadows Ranch. A graduate of University of South Dakota, she went on to earn her master’s from Ottawa University. Now with more than two decades in the counseling field, she says she loves working with complex issues like eating disorders and educating families on these topics.
Capasso joined the team at The Meadows Ranch in 2016, first as a primary therapist. Today, she facilitates opportunities for family members to improve communication skills around difficult subjects and provides information on skills to continue the recovery process after treatment. A married mother of two, she says one of the most fulfilling aspects of her job is seeing shifts and growth within family units.

Billie Church, MC, LPC, CEDS
Survivor’s Workshop Therapist
Raised in Ashland, Nebraska and Glendale, Arizona, Billie Church stayed close to home for her education. She earned her BA in psychology from University of Arizona followed by a master’s in counseling from University of Phoenix. Church is also a certified eating disorder specialist, certified EMDR therapist, and NARM therapist.
Past experience includes spending a decade as a family therapist at an eating disorder treatment center, working in home-based therapy, and referrals from the Arizona Department of Economic Security and The Juvenile Probation Department. Then a restructuring left Church looking for work. What she sees as “a divine intervention by my Higher Power” helped her stumble upon a job opening in eating disorder treatment. And the rest is history!
She joined the team at The Meadows Ranch in October 2018. Originally hired as a float therapist, she facilitated groups and supported the therapists when the clinical department was experiencing a transition. In her current role, she facilitates Pia Mellody’s Survivor’s Workshop for Meadows Ranch patients. This provides an opportunity to delve into the unresolved childhood traumas that impact their current lives and perpetuate their eating disorders, allowing them to continue on their healing journey.
Married for more than 20 years to a sixth-grade math teacher, Church has two children and loves to travel and read.