Meet Stuart Zidell

Stuart is a native Houston who has watched the city grow and prosper. He graduated from Bellaire High School in 1967 and the University of Houston in 1972. From a very early age, Stuart has achieved success over and above expectations and is a dedicated professional. Immediately after graduating from the University of Houston, Stuart became a Certified Public Accountant and worked as accounting manager and then controller for several companies from 1974 until 1986. In 1986, he started Zidell Properties which owned and managed over 550 rental units. Stuart has achieved Landlord of the Year from the business community and was featured on the front page of the Houston Chronicle business section on Sunday, April 27, 2003.

Thinking that it was time to retire, Stuart retired in 2011 at the age of 61 to pursue other interests but quickly realized that retirement was not for him. He then became passionate about helping young people who were in trouble and addicted to drugs and alcohol. He went back to school and obtained his Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor – Internship license and went to work for the Cenikor Foundation as a Behavioral Technician until a counseling position became available. He completed his internship at Cenikor and had a caseload of over 50 individuals. While working as an LCDC-Intern, his passion for helping people deepened and everyone could see it. He became the most desired counselor at the facility.

After working there for several years, Stuart moved on to the Cheyenne Center where he counseled hundreds of young men during the four years he worked there. He not only counseled them individually but also held over 16 psychoeducational and process groups weekly. While working at the Cheyenne Center, Stuart realized that he wanted more mental health counseling education, so he returned to school and received a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He graduated with a 3.67 grade average out of 4.0.

Currently, Stuart is continuing his education and is striving for a PhD in counseling. His passion for helping others is evident to everyone he meets. He began working at Arise Recovery Centers in 2022.