We recently connected with Cameron Lundstrom and have shared our conversation below.

Cameron, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My name is Cameron Lundstrom, and my journey into this work wasn’t just professional—it was profoundly personal. I am the founder of NAS Recovery Solutions, an outpatient treatment center focused on recovery and reentry support for individuals coming out of addiction and incarceration. But before I ever became a founder, I was a man in crisis. For years, I battled drug addiction and found myself in and out of the criminal justice system. My life hit rock bottom when I was sentenced to 30 years in prison under the crime of violence statute, with 20 years required before I could even be considered for parole. I was 42 years old and believed I would die in prison.
But something shifted.
While sitting in a county jail cell in 2011, crushed under the weight of that sentence, I made a choice: I would stop blaming, stop justifying, and start taking full responsibility for my life. I began rebuilding myself from the inside out, guided by four core principles—honesty, integrity, accountability, and responsibility.
In those early days, I wrote a simple affirmation on a piece of paper and taped it by my cell door: “Things always work out for me.” I didn’t believe it at first, but I said it every day. Hundreds, then thousands of times. That simple phrase sparked a belief—a faith—that life could be different. That belief led to action. I started taking small steps: reading, enrolling in programs, going to the weight pile, and engaging with others who were also trying to grow.
That’s where I discovered the power of discipline. To me, discipline is faith in motion. It’s the bridge between belief and transformation. Whether it was showing up for my workout or studying in the prison law library, every act of self-discipline was an act of self-love, self-respect, and ultimately self-liberation.
Over the years, that inner work laid the foundation for NAS Recovery Solutions, which I launched after walking out of prison in 2019—with cancer in remission, 20 years of my sentence overturned, and a mission burning in my heart.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

What We Do at NAS Recovery Solutions
NAS Recovery Solutions is an ASAM Level I outpatient treatment center, but we do things differently. We flipped the traditional model on its head. Instead of beginning with clinical and therapeutic care and layering peer support on at the end, we lead with peer connection.
Why? Because we believe the opposite of addiction isn’t just sobriety—it’s connection.
Our coaches—all of whom have lived experience with addiction and incarceration—build authentic, judgment-free relationships with our clients. We help them get mentally and emotionally prepared to engage with clinical services. We don’t replace therapy; we make our clients ready for therapy.
We support reentry efforts, help clients navigate complex systems, offer community and accountability, and above all—we lead by example. At NAS, our motto is: “We fill our clients’ cups so they can show up and do the work.”
We also run Recovery in Action programs that focus on intentional movement—physical, emotional, and mental—as a vehicle for personal development. The prison weight pile saved my life, not just because it strengthened my body, but because it reconnected me to brotherhood, discipline, and self-worth.
What Sets Us Apart
• Lived Experience: Every coach and team member at NAS has been there. We’ve felt the cold floor of a cell and the burn of rock bottom. That gives us unparalleled empathy and credibility.
• Connection-First Approach: We believe you can’t heal what you don’t feel. Connection must come before clinical engagement. That’s where transformation starts.
• Faith & Discipline-Based Growth: Our programming isn’t just about abstinence—it’s about building a new life from the inside out.
• Service as a Path to Healing: We encourage clients to serve others, because service rewires the brain and repairs the soul. I learned this when I mentored fellow inmates during my cancer battle, discovering that giving is healing.
What I’m Most Proud Of
I’m most proud of the lives we’ve helped turn around—men and women who were once homeless, addicted, or incarcerated and are now thriving, contributing, and healing. I’m proud of the culture we’ve built at NAS: one of transparency, grit, hope, and relentless service.
I’m also proud of the brand I’m building beyond NAS. Through public speaking, mentorship, and writing, I’m sharing my story not just to inspire, but to equip. Whether it’s a keynote, a workshop, or a one-on-one conversation, I’m committed to helping people find the path from suffering to significance.
What I Want You to Know
Recovery is not just about avoiding relapse. It’s about finding purpose. My mission is to help people get from crisis to contribution—and then teach them how to lift others along the way. Whether you’re a client, a policymaker, a loved one, or someone just looking for hope—I want you to know: You are not broken. You are becoming.
NAS Recovery Solutions is more than a treatment center. It’s a movement. It’s a message. And it’s proof that with faith, discipline, and service, anyone can rewrite their story.
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Have you ever had to pivot?

In the early years of my business, it was just me—working as an independent contractor within the child welfare system. I was helping parents struggling with addiction find their path to recovery and work toward reunification with their children. It was deeply personal work. I had lived both sides of that experience—having grown up in the California child welfare system myself, and later, during my addiction and incarceration, losing contact with my own children. That dual perspective gave me a unique understanding of the system and a profound empathy for those navigating it. It was an incredible learning experience, and I felt blessed to be given the opportunity to serve in that space.

But my true calling always pointed me back to working with the justice-involved population. That was the community where I had found my own recovery and where I had witnessed the deepest potential for transformation. So, in 2022, as I began to grow the business—bringing on coaches and expanding services through Medicaid billing—I tried to move into community corrections, aiming to support clients transitioning out of incarceration.

Unfortunately, that door wasn’t open at the time. While no one explicitly blocked me from engaging with their clients, the process was anything but welcoming. I faced challenges making contact, securing referrals, and setting up appointments. The lack of support made it clear that I needed to shift focus.

So I pivoted.

Instead of pushing against a closed door, I turned my attention to where I was needed—serving clients in treatment centers and those just completing treatment who were in need of aftercare services. That shift turned out to be both impactful and financially sustainable. It not only filled a crucial gap in the recovery ecosystem but also solidified my company’s role within it. We were able to make a name for ourselves by stepping into that space with integrity, structure, and results.

And as it often goes, success has a way of opening doors that were previously closed. Community corrections programs, having heard about the outcomes we were achieving and the lives we were impacting, began reaching out—this time inviting us in. What was once inaccessible is now an open opportunity.

The journey has been one of faith, flexibility, and following the flow of what was available—without losing sight of my mission. I’ve learned that service isn’t always about pushing into the spaces we desire, but being willing to meet the need where it lives. And sometimes, that’s exactly what earns you a place at the table you were trying to reach in the first place.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

From my perspective, business—at its core—is all about relationships. Not just with clients or partners, but with your team, your mission, and the energy that fuels it all. As a CEO, my first priority is to keep the internal health of our organization strong. I believe that when our team is aligned, energized, and supported, that power naturally flows outward to the clients we serve.

I lead by example. One of the guiding principles I live by is the idea of “eating last”—a mindset of servant leadership. I ensure my contractors get paid before I do, because their well-being and trust are the foundation of everything we build. I stay grounded in the balance between our end goal—what we’re trying to accomplish—and our why—the deeper reason this work matters. When those two are aligned, I’ve found it creates the strongest buy-in from our team and the most meaningful engagement with our clients.

This business was born out of passion, and I continue to serve as its heartbeat. I bring the energy, optimism, and vision to our team, while my operations manager plays a vital role in channeling that passion. With her keen eye for detail, prioritization, and performance metrics, she helps us direct that energy where it’s most needed and most impactful.

Together, we focus on creating a positive emotional environment internally—because emotion is the source of motion. When we are energized, clear, and connected, we move better. We serve better. And that internal health becomes the overflow that touches our clients. For us, it’s a flow: from emotional engagement, to aligned action, to meaningful service. That’s how we stay healthy, grow strong, and make a difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nasrecoverysolutions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nas.recoverysolutions?igsh=MXptY2trb2hzMDFv
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NASrecoverysolutions?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
• Linkedin: Cameron Lundstrom
• Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/NASrecoverysolutions?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr

Image Credits

Photo’s provided by Leland Kessler