Kevin P. Costa, M.A. has over 30 years’ experience in the substance abuse and vocational field. He has been involved with the CARF process for over 20 years, is currently an active CARF surveyor in the Behavioral Health and the Employment and Community fields.
Mr. Costa earned his B.A. degree in Business Administration from Columbia College and a Master’s degree in Urban Education Community Counseling from Norfolk State University.
Mr. Costa is a Retired Navy Chief Petty Officer (E-7). During his military career he was awarded Master Training Specialist (MST), a position achieved by only 5% of Enlisted Navy. He was also a Curriculum Development Specialist where he designed, developed and instructed courses covering a variety of broad and complex subject matters. During his military career Mr. Costa was also a Prevention Specialist for the Substance Abuse Programs and serves as Career Counselor within his Department.
In 1994 Mr. Costa started working for the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) as an Addiction Therapist. As part of his role, he designed, developed and facilitated classes to help Veterans learn new coping skills. Additionally, Mr. Costa conducted individual, group therapy and coordinated clinical activities with other treatment team members. He also facilitated Family Education classes to educate family members about the disease of addiction.
In 2006 Mr. Costa changed careers and entered the Vocational Field. His passion was working with Veterans diagnosed with Severe Mental Illness (SMI). He was very successful placing Veterans into actual employment settings. Mr. Costa was quickly named the Program Director. He was then selected to be a National Facilitator training over 450 new employment specialist in the Supported Employment model. During his role at the VA, Mr. Costa was a subject matter expert in the Vocational Rehabilitation Field, and upon request, developed a module to be used in the Career@VA program. Mr. Costa recently retired from the VA after 22 years of service.
Personally, Kevin loves to travel and learn about new cultures. Most recently, Kevin has traveled to Japan, India, Dubai, Italy, France, Spain and Ecuador.