Message from Chef Zia Sheikh
Founder & Executive Director

​My name is Zia Sheikh and I am an 20-year hospitality industry veteran.  The journey from where I started to where I ended up was not easy.  When I was a line cook the names of the legendary three-Michelin starred chefs inspired me and pushed me to be better every day.  Ripert, Vongerichten, Kunz, Keller, Robuchon, Adria, Trotter, and even Julia Child - to be one of the greats required a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft.  Hours on your feet doing hours of repetition.  Trial and error until you got it right.  The benefit at the end was exquisite artistry, craftsmanship, sophistication, teamwork, camaraderie, and indulgence.

The same year I attended culinary school was the same year "Kitchen Confidential" was published.  Anthony Bourdain was one of the first chefs to write and speak about the secrets and stories of the gang of macho misfits, drug abusers, and sexual offenders behind kitchen doors.  Along with the success of Emeril Lagasse on The Food Network, chefs became rockstars overnight.
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​It wasn't the fame that attracted me to the hospitality industry.  It was the dream of knowing I could nourish people.  Knowing that there could be a dining room full of happy guests enjoying the fruits of my labor.  Knowing that for a fraction of an instant, I could reach out and touch someone's soul.  The major benefit was that I could do it without anyone ever seeing me.

Throughout my years in the industry I began to get into a cycle.  I fell into "the dark side" of the hospitality industry and started to abuse alcohol.

The more experienced I became, the harder I pushed.  The harder I pushed, the more I drank.  The more I drank, the less I thought about how depressed I actually was.  For years I abused alcohol and drugs to help me put a band-aid on the demons I was holding within myself.

For years I used this industry as a way to hide from the outside world. I never minded the long hours and broken relationships.  I pushed myself forward to learn the craft and work alongside the best.

I struggled with my mental health for decades, until finally, I made the decision that it was finally time to work on myself. It was a hard decision to let those close to me know I was taking a sabbatical from the industry.  That I lost all hope and could barely get up in the morning. That I was now struggling to find inspiration in an industry that saved me from previous suicide attempts when I was 19.  I thought I would look weak to those around me. However, that was not the case. In fact, it was far from.  I now know making the decision to focus on your mental health is not a sign of weakness, but of wisdom and strength.

I took 6 months off from the industry to focus on my own well-being, and I took my last drink on December 3rd, 2018.  I can now proudly say it's time to look for a brighter and healthier future.

And that is why I decided to start Restaurant After Hours.  I love this industry.  I love the art, the people, and the business of it.  I don't want others following in my destructive footsteps.  It leads to a dark place that is hard to get out of.  Each of us has wings to fly, however some of us just need support in learning how to spread them.  I founded Restaurant After Hours to help you soar.

To make it in this industry you need to be mentally strong and focused.  However, therapy is far out of reach for most financially.  We are here to support you.  So you do not have to quit your job.  So you do not have to drag yourself through daily living.  So you can smile and put together the building blocks of where you want to be.  The industry is hard enough, you do not need to be hard on yourself.

You're not alone.  Reach out.  We are here with you.

Zia Sheikh
www.chefziasheikh.com​

​Sara Nahshon
Board Member, Restaurant After Hours

Sara studied psychology as an undergrad at UC Berkeley, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the inner worlds of herself and those around her. She went right to work in restaurants, hostessing at a French bistro, being part of the opening team of a beer and BBQ restaurant, eventually moving on to managing an infamous rowdy college bar blocks away from her Alma Mater for several years.⁣
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Since moving to New York City in 2008, she's worked in the catering world, West Village pubs, trendy Manhattan and Brooklyn fine dining, and even a start-up six-seat takeout cafe.
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She is also a recovering alcoholic. She began drinking while working in bars as a way to "loosen up" and become more sociable. Alcohol addiction quickly grew out of control and nearly took her life. She is particularly interested in the unique challenges sober people face in hospitality, and is dedicated to fighting the stigmas folks with mental health issues face. She is also involved in the eating disorder recovery and 12 step communities.

​Harris Mayer-Selinger
Board Member, Restaurant After Hours⁣⁣
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Founder, Hospitality Made Simple⁣⁣
Owner, Creamline and Pulkies Restaurants⁣⁣
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Harris is the Founder of Hospitality Made Simple, a management company based in his native New York. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Hospitality Management in 2006, and from the Culinary Institute of America in 2007.  Harris spent over 10 years working in restaurant kitchens in New York City including Winebar, Hundred Acres, and Five Points.  Harris has also cooked at restaurants in Las Vegas and Taiwan.  
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In 2014, Harris partnered with Ronnybrook Farm Dairy to conceptualize, build, and open Creamline American Classics in Chelsea Market.  Over the past 6 years, Harris has become a highly skilled operator proficient in controlling costs, growing revenue, and navigating the difficult landscape of running a restaurant in New York City.

In 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in New York, Harris conceptualized and launched Pulkies, a Jewish-style barbeque restaurant. Originally conceived to make use of Creamline's dormant kitchen space, Pulkies began as a delivery-only and now has a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Brooklyn's Dekalb Market.

​Harris has recognized that restaurant leaders should not only be mentors to employees, but also serve as resources that people can depend on for personal reasons.  As a person who has been in therapy since he was 16, he believes that destigmatizing mental health issues is important to the future of hospitality because it facilitates stability in an often unstable industry and job market. For Harris and his team, being a good person is good business.⁣⁣ 

​Ethan Frisch, MSc
Board Member, Restaurant After Hours⁣
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Co-Founder, Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Spices⁣
Co-Host, Why Food? On Heritage Radio Network⁣
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Ethan is a native New Yorker, entrepreneur and activist around issues of intercultural communication, food systems, and social justice. Ethan has spent significant time in the kitchen as a line cook and pastry chef in New York and London, and as the chef behind Guerilla Ice Cream, an activist ice cream cart that he co-founded. As a humanitarian aid worker, he worked with NGO's including the Aga Khan Foundation in Afghanistan and Doctors without Borders on the Syrian/Jordanian border.⁣
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He has been an adjunct lecturer at the City College of New York and an instructor with the Experiment in International Living's Leadership Institute. He is honored to serve on the Board of Directors of the Bond Street Theatre, which uses theater to teach conflict resolution and resilience in areas of instability around the world, and Restaurant After Hours, addressing mental health crisis in the restaurant industry, and on the Advisory Boards of the student-led racial literacy and justice organization CHOOSE and Fragments Theatre, a youth theatre company in Palestine. He is also on the Organizing Committee of the Queens International Night Market.⁣
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Ethan holds a dual Bachelors Degree in Conflict Studies and Education and Social Change from the City of New York, and a Master's Degree in Violence, Conflict, and Development from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.⁣ 

Erin Reifsnyder, MA, MHC
Board Member, Restaurant After Hours

Erin is a mental health advocate with nearly a decade of experience in the hospitality industry. With backgrounds that range from serving in restaurants to assisting in VIP concierge services, she has pursued a diverse career path that has always centered on human service. 

Upon moving to New York City, she worked as a concierge and guest experience manager at popular boutique hotels across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Through her experiences in guest facing roles she was inspired to return to her academic roots, graduating from Columbia University with a master’s in counseling psychology. Since then, she has counseled individuals and groups from a variety of backgrounds, and specializes in Latinx psychology and Spanish language therapy. She believes that access to culturally adaptive mental health care is essential for healing and that all are deserving of that care.

Erin is passionate about destigmatizing mental health in the hospitality community and increasing access to fundamental health services. With a keen interest in the intersection of hospitality and mental health access, she is excited to join the Restaurant After Hours team, with the ultimate goal of improving the mental health of our industry.

Christopher Russell, LP
Board Member, Restaurant After Hours
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Christopher is a psychoanalyst in private practice and a member of the faculty at The Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies. In addition to his clinical and academic work Christopher is engaged in the latest psychoanalytic research through his role as a host on New Books in Psychoanalysis, an author interview channel on The New Books Network whose mission is public education.
 
Christopher spent 35 years working for some of the leading hospitality groups in the country, starting with the Clyde’s Restaurant Group in his native Washington D.C. and with Union Square Hospitality Group, Patina Restaurant Group, and Restaurant Associates in New York City. He is honored to have been director of restaurant operations at both Mets (Opera and Museum), and to have been entrusted with roles at Gramercy Tavern where he was a member of the opening service team and Union Square Cafe (16th Street) where he served as General Manager.
 
Hospitality is emotional labor for all involved. From leaders to line cooks, everyone needs to attend to their mental health.

Julie D'Amico, MA, EdM, LCMHCA
​Director of Mental Health Operations, Restaurant After Hours

Julie is a psychotherapist, consultant, and mental health advocate in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has a dual Master’s degree from Columbia University in Psychological Counseling and Mental Health Counseling, with a special concentration in Bilingual Latinx Mental Health.

While in NYC, Julie worked at a community-based nonprofit organization providing free mental health services in English and Spanish to low-income New Yorkers. Through this work, she gained experience in individual and group counseling, peer consultation, and community presentations, and recognized the need for comprehensive community support in mental healthcare.

In her clinical psychotherapy work in Raleigh, Julie uses an integrative, strengths-based approach from trauma-informed care, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, motivational interviewing, and positive psychology. She tailors her approach to provide individualized, person-centered care for clients to safely explore emotions, behaviors, and life experiences. She specializes in helping children, teens, adults, and couples navigate life challenges such as anxiety, OCD, depression, trauma, changes and transitions, acculturation, and identity exploration. Julie is passionate about providing safe healing spaces for individuals with diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, religions, body sizes, abilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Kiri Lester-Hodges
​Outreach Coordinator & Support Group Facilitator, Restaurant After Hours

Kiri is a graduate student studying Creative Arts Therapy at Pratt Institute.  She has experience working front-of-house positions in bakeries, cafes, bars, restaurants, and currently is working as a host in a well-known restaurant and wine bar in Brooklyn, NY. 

The virtual support groups are important to her because she has witnessed and experienced first-hand the particular strain on mental health that occurs in the hospitality industry.  She feels strongly about creating and holding spaces where peer-to-peer connection, discussion, and healing is encouraged and supported.  

Taylor Bauer
​Social Media/Marketing Manager & Support Group Facilitator, Restaurant After Hours

Taylor was born and raised in Minnesota, where she lives and works today.  She always had a calling to roles that allowed her to help others.  

She has worked in the hospitality industry for over six years, taking on different roles as they come such as catering, valet, and working the front desk and concierge service of a luxury hotel in Minneapolis.  These positions have been some of the most rewarding as well as the most emotionally challenging she's had.  

When she came across Restaurant After Hours, what drew her to the position of Facilitator was the opportunity to give back to the people who spend their days giving, oftentimes thanklessly, to others as their profession.  Knowing that she gets to hold emotional space for people in the industry and help them feel heard is truly priceless.   

Lynda Thomas
​Support Group Facilitator, Restaurant After Hours

Lynda lives in Dallas, TX and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in clinical psychology, after receiving her Bachelor's Degree in psychology from the University of North Texas.  

Before joining Restaurant After Hours, Lynda worked in the hospitality industry for over six years in multiple different roles.  She is excited to begin helping others have healthy conversations surrounding mental health and hopes to help them feel empowered.