Who is ABMI?
Addictive Behavior Ministries International (ABMI) supports the training of addiction counselors in Addictive Behavior Counseling Schools (ABCS) throughout the world. It is our mission to bring hope and healing to the addicted and abused worldwide. ABMI exists to establish communication between ABC leaders, field workers, and ABMI Board members, and to facilitate ease of making donations.
ABMI Founders
Darv’s background is training in addiction medicine; he is an addictionologist. He founded Whole Person Health Center, an addiction rehab program in Boulder, CO, and directed it for 10 years.
Carol trained in education at USC and retrained in counseling gaining an MA as well as training in the addiction field. Together they created the Addictive Behavior School in YWAM, which has been running since 1989 in many nations all over the world.
Darv & Carol Smith
Board President
Linda Subris, from the island of Palau, has been serving in the addiction field (in both programs and training) since her Addictive Behavior Counseling (ABC) school in 1990. She has an MA in Addiction and Culture from the University of the Nations (UofN) and is a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC) in the State of Hawaii. As a member of the College of Whole Person Care and Development committee in the UofN, one of the main roles is giving oversight to the ABC schools internationally. She is presently president of the ABMI Board.
Linda Subris
Board Member
Since 2015 I’ve been on the board of ABMI. I attended and graduated a YWAM discipleship training school in Wadi El Nutran, Egypt in 2008. I have a B.S. degree from Western Oregon State College in 1989. Since college have started, run and sold a number of businesses. Throughout the years I continue to have a heart for the broken and lost people.
Brett Smith
Board Member
I was born in Brazil in 1967. I am married to Ieda and we have five children and eight grandchildren. I have been involved with YWAM since 1987. I have a degree in Theology, Human Resources, Counseling and Health. I have a master's degree in Whole Person and development. In 2006 I attended an ABC school in Chatel, Switzerland which changed my focus to addiction schools and ministry. I worked with an ABC school in South Africa in 2009. Then in 2011 began ABC schools in Brazil which have been running every year since then, now under other leaders. In 2020 I started “The Crossing” project with a team - a rehab program which focuses on leaders in vulnerable situations.
Paulo daSilva
Board Member
Joe is a proponent of counseling work and joined ABMI in 2022. He enjoys building partnerships and making connections to help others overcome life challenges and needs. He is also a board member of the New Life Community Services Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program in Santa Cruz, CA. He is very invested in understanding work involving mental health, 12-step programs, faith-based efforts, and other wellness initiatives.
Joe Esposito
Board Member
Scott grew up in Boulder Colorado and attended medical school at the University of Colorado. At Harvard University he developed an interest in Tropical Public Health which led to a yearlong study as a Fulbright Scholar in Cali Colombia, where he studied improved diagnostic technologies to understand the epidemiology of leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis (River Blindness), a leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. Residency and Fellowship were completed at Stanford University in Medicine then Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine. Scott served as Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine at Kaiser Redwood City for 25 years and taught at Stanford Medical School and directed a course in Human Biology entitled “Parasites & Pestilence” for over 20 years. He was presented the Bloomfield Award in recognition of excellence in the teaching of clinical medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. He has appeared on The Doctors Show (CBS), Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic discussing unusual parasitic diseases in humans including leishmaniasis, tapeworm, leprosy, and hookworm. Along with his new and ongoing personal growth, he now is interested in addiction medicine, learning and updating ABMI on brain science, and how we grow and become more spiritually whole people.
Darvin Scott Smith, MD, MSc, DTM&H, FIDSA
Board Member
Recognized as an entrepreneurial leader and problem-solver, combining strategic thinking and vision with decisive, tactical action to drive impressive results at the highest levels of an organization. Amy is a multi-dimensional executive offering invaluable management perspective gained from over 35 years of experience as a leader for multiple businesses and non-profit organizations. She possesses high-level operations, planning, and development expertise to create innovative programs that produce maximum results with limited capital. Amy has a unique ability to analyze key business drivers and develop strategies that impact partnership and expansion initiatives. Her passion and vision to identify entrepreneurial opportunities to successfully position the organization for strengthening and growth. She has a gift that allows her to effectively communicate operational principles to personnel at all levels in order to facilitate change and initiate turnaround. Her specialties include: Strategic Business Planning, Partnership Negotiations, Cross Functional Collaboration, Revenue and Profit Growth, Business Plan Development, Community Outreach, Operations Turnaround, Profit and Loss Management, Policy Development, Personnel Management, Marketing/Public Relations, Community Relations, Program Management, Budget Administration and Asset Management. Amy is an involved and dedicated member of the community with contacts in countless civic and corporate organizations. She holds Higher Education degrees in Business Administration, Finance, and Psychology.
Amy Friedman
Board Member
Dr. Richard Bledsoe is a Presbyterian pastor, who received his Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, CA in 1984, and his Doctor of Ministry from Bakke Graduate School in Seattle, Washington in 2009. He pastored Tree of Life Presbyterian Church in Boulder, Colorado for 20 years, and is currently serving as Associate Pastor of Congregational Care at Grace Commons Church in Boulder. In his late adolescent years, he met and was mentored by people in what used to be known as The Oxford Group, which is the parent group of Alcoholics Anonymous and all 12 Step Groups. This led to a life long interest in addiction issues, and the possibility of complete life transformation through the power of Jesus Christ.
Rich Bledsoe
Board Member
Michael has worked in the mental health field for over 25 years, primarily focused on addiction, trauma, and co-occurring disorders. Prior to cofounding VL and DCC, Mr. Dinneen served hundreds of patients at CeDAR for over a decade and was responsible for designing and implementing key parts of the clinical programming, including the 30 day Primary Program, the 60 day Extended Care Program, the 71 day Professionals Program, and the Intimacy Disorder track. Mr. Dinneen is an author, an international trainer and mentor for substance abuse counselors, and regularly presents at industry conferences across the U.S. Mr. Dinneen earned a B.A. in education at Boston College, and a Masters of Social Work at the University of Denver. Michael has been happily married to Jill for 20 years, and is a father of two high school aged children. He loves outdoor adventure, travel, and spiritual development.
Mike Dinneen
Board Member
I am a Korean missionary serving in Mongolia since 1998 after I got my ABC training in Chatel Switzerland. I pioneered Addiction recovery ministry in the country with a Minnesota model program for doctors and Celebrate Recovery for churches. Currently, I serve YWAM Mongolia as a national convener role training and mentoring leaders as well as missionary member care ministry.
Jungmi Park
Our Affiliations
Youth With A Mission is a global movement of Christians from many cultures, age groups, and Christian traditions, dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world. We unite in a common purpose to know God and to make Him known.
University of the Nations (UofN):
Founded upon biblical principles, the University of the Nations (UofN) fulfills its commitment to Christ and His Great Commission by equipping men and women with spiritual, cultural, intellectual, and professional training, and inspiring them to continually grow in their personal relationship with God while also seeking to make Him known among all peoples in all nations.
International Substance Abuse and Addiction Coalition (ISAAC):
We are an international network of Christians, responding to the escalating problem of substance misuse and addiction. Members of the network can be individuals or organisations.