09/09/2020
Jeanne McAlister will be one of our featured speakers at the Recovery Happens San Diego 2020 Virtual Event this Saturday! Don't miss out on this exciting event. Register now!
Jeanne McAlister, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of McAlister Institute, is a pioneer. Beginning as an advisor to the Superior Court in 1973, she has consistently advocated for responsive and needed services and developed prototypes for substance abuse recovery services that could be replicated by others. Examples include being among the first five organizations in the nation to develop a residential program for women and children, the first in San Diego County to help pregnant addicts become clean so that their children could be “born free,” and the first to create a social model detox. Transitional living houses, halfway houses for returning prisoners, and services to the deaf are other examples.
Jeanne McAlister is the “heart” of the services provided by her agency, and visionary in her dreams. At 85 years of age, she rarely misses a day of work and is an inspiration to her staff, clients, and the community. Her energy is boundless. She celebrated 60 years of sobriety on November, 2016 and in May, 2017, McAlister was 40 years old – created from her own recovery and dreams to help others.
Starting with one funded program in north county in 1977, McAlister Institute has grown to support 27 programs throughout San Diego County and Napa County, with over 200 employees. Ms. McAlister’s experience spans 40 years including administration, management, human resources, program design, development, implementation and evaluation, property and facility development and maintenance, public relations and advocacy, systems change and social entrepreneurship.
In 1998, The National Judicial College and the Office of Treatment Improvement honored Ms. McAlister for her outstanding service to the field of substance abuse prevention and treatment. Other honors have come from the Human Relations Commission (1989), the California Women’s Commission (1987), the California Association of County Drug Program Administrators (1987), the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (1987), the field of corrections (Robert Burch Memorial Award, 1984), and the Non-Profit of the Year Leadership Award from Channel 10 (2001). That is why today McAlister Institute is synonymous with quality services, compassion, advocacy, social entrepreneurship, and cutting-edge programming in San Diego County.
While Ms. McAlister has received numerous awards and recognition throughout the years, the true reward for her is the changed lives of the clients, the hard work of her staff, and the constant pursuit of the dream of helping those without dreams or hope of their own.
