Kriti Mehrotra
While there’s no denying abuse in every sense is deplorable, it’s honestly even more haunting and offensive when it’s directed towards the future of our whole society — children and teenagers. However, as explored in Netflix’s ‘The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping,’ they’re unfortunately the precise groups that are targeted most owing to the money involved in troubled youth industries. So now, since this original primarily focuses upon the now-closed Academy at Ivy Ridge (AIR) disciplinary school to accomplish its goal, let’s just find out where the featured survivors are today, shall we?
Katherine Kubler is a Woman of Many Hats
It was reportedly back when Katherine was 16 in March 2004 that she was placed in the aforementioned institute by her family, only to be mercifully pulled out by her father 15 months later. That’s when she developed a lifelong anxiety disorder as well as a complex post-traumatic stress disorder, yet she still managed to continue on and is doing wonders today by having realized her childhood dreams. The Cinema & Media Arts Biola University graduate is actually a proud daughter, sister, wife, dog mom, entrepreneur, editor, filmmaker, plus producer based out of Los Angeles, California, at the moment.
In fact, with experience from William Morris Endeavor and Paramount Pictures under her belt, Katherine confidently co-founded her own creative agency by the name of Tiny Dino back in 2016. It thus comes as no surprise that today, she holds the titles of not just founder, chief executive officer, and executive creative director at her firm but also of executive producer at Omnivision Pictures. “My goal with Tiny Dino is to serve a collective of artists and match them with the right projects for their skillset,” she once said. “…I wanted to create an environment conducive to creative work, where artists feel empowered and supported.”
Alexa Brand is Seemingly Traveling the World as a Photographer
Although Alexa wasn’t as lucky as Katherine in terms of the time she spent at AIR after being sent at 15 (22 months; right till graduation), it was the sexual abuse as well as moral dilemmas that broke her. However, today, it appears as if she’s doing her best to move on — in fact, despite her diploma not being valid since the establishment was never a real school, she looks to be doing well these days as a world-traveling wildlife photographer. Whether it be Cambodia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, South Africa, Tanzania, and Thailand, along with many more nations, this Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt-holding dog mom has been to a lot of places until now.
Allison Chee is Based out of Washington
It has admittedly been a long road for Allison to make sense of everything she endured during the 22 months (starting at 15) she spent in strangers’ custody, yet she’s gradually moving on today. In fact, it seems like she is currently residing in Tacoma, Washington, alongside her 5-year-old brother Liam, where she serves at Disney to support them while also building a public presence for herself. After all, she appears determined not to let anything that happened at AIR slide through anymore, especially since the docuseries enabled her to find a support system/family in her fellow survivors.
Dominick is a Proud Family Man
If there’s only one way we can ever describe Dominick, aka Supafly Snukka, it would have to be as a hard worker considering the way he has built himself up following 18 months in the program. He did have a few significant issues by the time he was sent to New York at 16, but he soon became a literal poster child for the organization so as to go through its levels as quickly as possible. Little did the teen realize he’d continue facing unfair struggles in the real world, only to then learn to take responsibility, keep his head up, plus do what’s right, which is precisely how he’s now caring for his three children too, all the while serving in the beauty, cosmetic & home care industry.
Diana Nowak Proves Her Resilience and Patience as a Teacher/Writer Now
There allegedly used to be bets on who would finally break Diana to comply with AIR’s program as a whole because she never once followed their rules during her 3½-year stay, and she won in the end. It’s hence no surprise she then went on to follow her childhood dreams and earned a Bachelor’s in Education, Elementary Education, Teaching from Lewis University (2007-2011) before pursuing a Master’s in Teaching/Learning from the University of St. Francis (2017-2022). So today, splitting her time between Chicago and Denver alongside her long-term boyfriend, she’s a self-proclaimed lifestyle manager by morning, an English language tutor by afternoon, as well as a writer by night.
Sean is Now a Creative Through and Through
Having graduated at the age of 17 after spending two years in what felt like complete isolation/imprisonment, Sean admittedly struggled a lot with the opportunities present in his future. That’s because he had all these plans of attending college, caring for his mother, and making a good life for himself, just to soon realize he couldn’t move further because his AIR degree wasn’t valid anywhere. There were thus several years wherein he seriously contemplated suicide, especially upon losing his mother, but we’re happy to report he never went too far; instead, he managed to evolve into a Northern Essex Community College (NECC) alum before finding his calling as an artist, emcee, lyricist, plus poet. In fact, he’s now better known as either Esarem One or Hip Hop’s Alan Watts, all the while actively serving as an emcee for Estimated Prophets Collective and Honeybrain Band.
Quintin Pedrick is Leading a Happy Life in Pennsylvania
As one of the primary instigators of the May 2005 boys’ riot within this institution, Quintin was arrested for first-degree riot, third-degree assault, as well as fourth-degree criminal mischief. He was hence subsequently arraigned in local Oswegatchie’s court prior to being held at the St. Lawrence County Jail in lieu of $2,500 bail despite being merely 16 at the time. That’s when he reportedly discovered actual jail was much better than AIR, driving him not to obey their rules further and ultimately be pulled out following a total of 8 tumultuous, physically abusive months. Yet now, he’s on an entirely different level as a blue-collar worker in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, where he proudly resides alongside his loving fiance, Katie McCrary. The latter is also a fellow survivor, presently working to organize and return all former AIR students’ official files to them.
Nikki Bilodeau Has Been Sober for Over 18 Years
While it’s true Wilmington, North Carolina, native Nikki was sent away to the New York academy at the age of 17 following some serious issues, she has since truly turned over a new leaf. In fact, from what we can tell, upon graduating two years later, she actively chose to relocate and eventually settled down in Fairfax, Virginia, alongside some of her loved ones. And today, she’s an avid traveler, a dog parent, a space enthusiast, as well as a survivor, all the while remaining conscious of her past so as to continue doing better in the future — the last she ever touched substances was before November 3, 2005.
Molly Rose is Now Moving on in Life
Despite being merely 14 when she was sent into the program, Molly managed to get away from it following a total of 16 months before turning her life around. The truth is she hasn’t shared many details regarding her personal or professional life since, yet it does appear as if she currently resides in California alongside a partner. Moreover, and more importantly, she seems to be coming to terms with her past so as to let it go and move on to the best of her abilities in every sense of the term.
Read More: Katherine Kubler: Where is the Ivy Ridge Survivor Now?
