Stuart’s career was launched as a comedy writer penning for Lily Tomlin, Chevy Chase, Redd Foxx, Christopher Guest and Tim Conway and is the recipient of a Writers Guild Award and an Emmy nomination. He is also co-author of the feature comedy Summer School (1987) directed by Carl Reiner. Struggling with his own demons, Stuart’s recovery, now in it’s 31st year, lead him to transition from the entertainment business to the foundation of a national outpatient opiate detox program called Meditox.  In 2007, with the creation of Recovery Advocates, he expanded his services to provide comprehensive care for substance abuse. Birnbaum was co-founder of “Meditox” – a cutting edge medical drug detox program with locations throughout the United States and is currently CEO and Executive Director of the Lakehouse Recovery Center.