For six months beginning last May, Breyer took on the "temporary" position of president/CEO, but she didn't approach the job like a lame-duck leader. Rather, working closely with board members and senior leadership, she dug in on the difficult issues and vowed to "keep the momentum going."

Marvin Koslow, chairman of the Hazelden Board of Trustees, was particularly impressed with her approach. "She really got to know the detailed operations of the whole organization," said Koslow. "She didn't avoid the tough issues. She demonstrated a genuine care for Hazelden and will do a great job of leading us forward."

Koslow said Breyer brings an extensive background in business development, marketing, and strategic planning, both in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. But aside from her solid business background and technical job qualifications, what really stood out was her compassion and understanding of the recovery world.

"Ellen served on our Board of Trustees for two years before taking the interim position," said Koslow, "and she also chaired our Strategic Planning Committee. As I worked with her then, I was impressed that she not only addressed issues from a business standpoint, but she wanted to know how it would help people, or how it would improve recovery and contribute to our mission. I saw that she was a very sympathetic and caring person."

Ethics, values are 'second to none'
"And then I watched her go to work as our interim president," he continued. "I found she was extremely intelligent and challenging--a real visionary, a person who understood the issues. What's more, Hazelden had the great opportunity to watch an executive actually demonstrate the compassion and human skills that are so important--qualities not just desired in a Hazelden president, but key qualities for the president/CEO of any company or organization. She displays ethics and values that are second to none."

Dick Kling, a member of the Hazelden Board of Trustees who headed the Hazelden president search team, said three things stood out about Breyer: (1) "She was highly qualified, (2) she did a terrific job as interim president, proving herself on the job, and (3) her management style seemed to work very well with existing staff."

Indeed, the more Breyer did the job, the more she seemed a perfect fit with the caring community of Hazelden. "She clearly fits the Hazelden culture," said Koslow.

Even though she declared in May that she would not be a candidate for the permanent position, board members and staff saw her great potential. In just a few months, she helped stabilize Hazelden by building staff leadership, implementing sound business practices, and scaling back unsuccessful programs. She led a team that developed a national strategy based largely on adding value to Hazelden's core competencies. Just a couple of months into her interim term, staff sent the search committee a clear message: Please strongly consider Ellen for the permanent position.

Breyer gradually warmed to the idea of staying permanently. On Nov. 21, she was the Board of Trustees' unanimous choice as the sixth president/CEO in Hazelden's 54-year history and its first woman president. "On Thanksgiving Day, I gave thanks for the great honor and privilege to lead Hazelden, a tremendous pioneer and leader of the addiction and recovery field," said Breyer.

"Hazelden is a great fit for me," continued Breyer. "I've essentially had two careers going. I've had senior-level management positions for several for-profits, and since moving to Minneapolis in 1988 I've had a very rich nonprofit life as a board member for several organizations. I've always done the two simultaneously. Now I have the great opportunity to work in a nonprofit organization that's run on a business model."

Breyer brings a wealth of business experience to Hazelden. From 1999 to 2001, she was vice president of Business Development & Marketing for Ryan Companies US, Inc., a large construction firm in Minneapolis. Five years prior to that, Breyer headed marketing for Leonard, Street and Deinard, a Minneapolis law firm where she earned several marketing awards, including one for "Law Firm Branding Efforts." She served as president and CEO of Truffles Group Inc., in Minneapolis from 1988-1990 and was director of Corporate Marketing for Campbell Soup Company/Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., in New York from 1984-1988.

She currently serves on the board of directors for several nonprofit groups, including Freedom From Hunger, WATCH, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. In addition, she is a Thomas Swain Fellow in Nonprofit Leadership at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. She earned her MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University in 1983 and received her undergraduate degree in English Literature from the College of New Rochelle.

Personal connection to Hazelden
Breyer became sold on Hazelden in 1996, when she participated in Hazelden's residential Family Program in Center City. "My father died of alcoholism at age 52, about 24 years ago," said Breyer. "As you get further on in life, you start to recognize patterns in your personal and career life. I realized that I had not resolved certain issues about my father's addiction. I was talking to a friend about this, and she told me about Hazelden's Family Program and thought that it might help.

"The Family Program had a tremendous impact on my life. It helped me understand my father and his disease and helped me deal with the profound sadness I felt when he died. The counselors were very helpful, and it was helpful to hear people talk about their own families and what their lives were like and what they had suffered. Our Family Program is a very special, healing place."

The challenge, said Breyer, is to take the magic and knowledge at Hazelden and have it affect the lives of "many more people than we are helping today. We are the largest, most-respected and best-known private treatment organization in the country and probably in the world. This field of substance abuse treatment, prevention and recovery is looking for leadership from us and we are going to provide it."

The tremendous intellectual asset of Hazelden is something "we need to leverage to help more people," she added. "We can't rest on our laurels."

Building the core, expanding, innovating
Three key concepts will guide Hazelden strategy: building on Hazelden's core competency of treating people with addiction; expanding, extending and linking the Hazelden continuum of services; and integrating services across the organization and encouraging innovation in the development and delivery of new services and products.

"We know our core competency is residential care in a campus setting," said Breyer. "Any enhancement of that--optimizing the capacity of existing facilities or acquiring additional centers--and continuing to deliver the highest quality care, are key objectives."

In addition, Breyer sees opportunity for growth in developing specific services that support "a lifetime of recovery." For instance, she's committed to Hazelden expanding its range of continuing care options for people at any time during their recovery. She points to the well-rounded offerings provided by the Continuing Care and Alumni Services division, which provides continuing care groups as well as a range of programs at the Renewal Center.

Breyer is anxious to see Hazelden "bring its diverse resources and initiatives together to make a great impact on specific populations and find innovative ways to help people recover from addiction." For instance, she hopes to better integrate the many different aspects of Hazelden that address the needs of professionals--our Graduate School of Addiction Studies, Professionals-in-Residence training, research, our publishing division, intern programs, conferences, and more.

Finally, "we need to always have new ideas, products and services in sight," she said. "That means we have to encourage our staff and stakeholders to bring innovative ideas to the table. That's difficult in an organization that does things so well. That might mean finding different ways to deliver treatment, perhaps through technology, providing significantly lower-priced treatment programs, or responding to the needs of special populations."

Koslow feels the hiring of Breyer sets the stage for a bright future at Hazelden. "Hazelden is at a wonderful point where we stand to treat more people and improve our outcomes," he said. "We have key people in place. We've brought in some very dedicated and qualified people for a number of key positions. With this kind of leadership in place we are embarking on the golden age of Hazelden. I have very high expectations for Hazelden."

--by Marty Duda

The Hazelden Voice -- Winter 2003