Name: M. Christine (Chris) Macbeth
Place of Employment: The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Title: President and CEO
What is your three-sentence biography? What is your personal elevator pitch?
My professional career has been dedicated to providing those living with addiction and mental health issues with evidence-based care delivered with compassion and respect for the dignity of people in need of our services. I am motivated every day by three strong beliefs that guide my
work: I believe that everyone in our community benefits when people are emotionally healthy. I believe our work at the Brien Center proves that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover. And I believe strongly in keeping hope alive.
Tell us about a challenge you faced on your path, and what you learned from it.
Thanks to strong mentors, I had the opportunity to move into supervisory and management roles very early in my career, even though it was not part of my “plan.” I quickly discovered that a good leader is not likely to win a popularity contest. My first hard lesson was accepting the reality that I would never be able to please everyone. Yet, this awareness also freed me to focus on making critical decisions that I believed would advance the mission of our organization and better serve the community. In the process, I learned that staff and stake-holders value respect, fairness, and a genuine desire to do the very best for people who depend on us for care.
What “secret to success” would you share with young women entering the (Berkshire) workforce?
Real success rarely happens by chance. It’s the result of a much focused effort to gain the knowledge and experience necessary to be great at what you do. It’s hard work, no doubt about it, with significant challenges along the way. If you’re up for the challenge, you will ultimately prevail. Successful women are those who are accountable, who can be relied on to get the job done, and who acknowledge the contributions of a team. They are persistent and sometimes stubborn. Above all, they love what they do so the considerable effort required to be a success is actually fun – maybe even a joy!
What Berkshire women in business inspire you and why?
Three of the four division leaders at the Brien Center are young women with families of their own who come to work every day committed to our mission. Their responsibilities are enormous, carried out in a constantly-changing environment that is often fraught with serious and complicated crises. Individuals and families experiencing life and death challenges with addiction or mental health issues depend on them and the staff they lead.
