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Management Team

Lori Costantino-Brown – President

Lori BrownLori Costantino-Brown was appointed President and CEO of Bridges International in 2006, succeeding Bishop Frank Costantino, the organization’s founder and her father. Over the past 30 years, Ms. Costantino-Brown has played a key role in the transformation of Bridges International from a single contract with the Department of Corrections to becoming the leading provider of substance abuse treatment and community release programs in the state of Florida. Ms. Costantino-Brown has earned her qualifications as a Certified Addiction Specialist, and Certified Associate Addictions Professional. She has personally reengineered the organization as Director of Quality Management, Chief Operations Officer, and Senior Vice President. The result is a new Bridges International – a company where offenders receive supervision, but also are expected to become better people as they prepare to re-enter society. Through an international expansion, Ms. Costantino-Brown is also the President of Bridges of Canada, which was founded by an acquaintance of the late Bishop Costantino, Monty Lewis. In 2012, when Monty’s health began to fail, he reached out to Ms. Costantino-Brown to assume the presidency and continue to reach out to “the least, the lonely, and the lost” in and around Fredericton, New Brunswick. As an advocate for both business and industries related to substance abuse and justice issues, Ms. Costantino-Brown serves on many high profile boards in Florida. Currently, she serves on the board of directors for the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA) and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. For Florida Tax Watch and Associated Industries of Florida, Ms. Costantino-Brown serves on the Executive Board and is a founding member of the Smart Justice committee, and on the Board of Directors and as a founding member of the Florida Smart Justice committee, respectively. Ms. Costantino-Brown is also the founding chairman of the Florida Smart Justice Alliance, the latest development in justice reform advocacy in Florida. Ms. Costantino-Brown has a passion for addiction treatment and recovery. Her insightful experience with substance abuse treatment gives her a unique perspective on the criminal mind and addictive behaviors of offenders at every stage of recovery. Healthy Start Coalition of Orange County Family Advocate Award Lori Costantino-Brown received the Healthy Start Coalition of Orange County Family Advocate Award in May 2016.  It was given in recognition and appreciation of the care and support that Lori Costantino-Brown and Bridges International has always given to Families in the Orange County community.

Father Charles Brown – Senior Vice President

Charles BrownFather Charles Brown currently serves in two capacities as Senior Vice President for Bridges International and Christian Prison Ministry, bringing vast experience in prison reentry, faith based programming, and treatment curriculum development for offenders, prisoners and substance abusers. Soon after his ordination in 1999, which was largely influenced by Bishop Frank Costantino, Father Brown became a Priest in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. Father Brown is uniquely qualified to provide the road map and spiritual guidance for these men placed in Bridges International’s care and supervision. As a young man, he was incarcerated and sentenced to prison, and he has lost several family members to substance abuse. These experiences give him the vision that he uses to mentor offenders who are trying to find their way back to society. Father Brown has pioneered reentry and aftercare programs that focus on spiritual, intellectual, emotional and social growth to combat the high rate at which ex-offenders commit crimes and return to prison. After completing coursework at Barry University, Father Brown attended the International Seminary in Plymouth, Florida. He is a Certified Addiction Professional with the Florida Certification Board. He is also certified as an International Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICADC) with the International Certification of Reciprocity Consortium. In 2003, Father Brown was recognized as FADAA’s “Man of the Year” for his groundbreaking efforts in creating the Bridges International substance abuse treatment programs