Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Crute Steiner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jennifer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I never imagined that I would be a CEO growing up! In fact, I always told people that I was going to be an author. However, I was always interested in helping people – and that has proved out through my career. My passion for understanding people began in my undergraduate experience when I majored in Anthropology at The Colorado College. My parents always joked that “there weren’t many jobs for anthropologists out there!” As my career in business began, I decided to go back to school for my MBA. It was a fun and challenging time…working full time, raising my two boys, adopting my daughter and working toward my degree. I earned my MBA from the University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business in 2010.
I’ve spent the majority of my career in health care services – from hospice to dialysis to mental health. I have a passion for serving people who are in a vulnerable stage of their lives. Most of us have experienced a time in our lives when we, or a family member, have struggled with a health condition where we had to rely on medical professionals to survive, and it’s a terrifying experience. For me, it’s a tremendous honor to be able to serve those in that kind of situation.
My most recent company, Alsana, is a family of eating disorder treatment programs with an integrated and holistic treatment approach to healing. Alongside my team of experts, we created the Adaptive Care Model™, which serves each client through a five-point approach: psychological, medical, nutritional, movement and relational. As the only model of its kind in the industry, we’ve integrated all aspects of a client’s wellness. We believe that our multi-dimensional care model is an example of how health care should look for all of us – treating the entire human being.
Lastly, I have a passion for inclusive leadership. I developed a movement called “Lead Like a CHIQ”, which promotes the power of authentically female leadership in creating an opportunity for all kinds of leaders in our world to grow and prosper, while building value for shareholders.
Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing worth doing is ever smooth! I find that challenges and obstacles are what help us to grow and learn. I’ve faced a number of adversities; however, the most prominent one has been the challenge of being a “feminine” female leader in a very “masculine” capitalistic system.
It’s important to note that I do not assign the adjectives “masculine” or “feminine” to either men or women (as I believe all men and women have both male and female characteristics.) Instead, I am describing the challenge of having inherent feminine traits like compassion, kindness, empathy and collaborative decision making in a business world where the characteristics that are valued were more “masculine” (such as commanding presence, competitiveness, assertion and decisiveness.)
In these circumstances, I was often faced with the decision of emulating masculine behavior (so that I would be taken seriously and advance in my career) or being authentically feminine (and not being taken seriously). My value of authenticity is what has guided me through these challenges and ultimately led me to my goal of creating and leading a company authentically. I am delighted that Alsana is an incredibly inclusive culture – welcoming all styles of leaders to our table, and that our guiding principles – servant leadership; let your light shine; be accountable; lovingly direct; be awesome; and clients first; ring true to that authenticity and provide an inspirational foundation for our culture!
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Alsana is an eating recovery community. We combine evidence-based treatment with a fresh, compassionate approach focusing on total health and wellness in recovery from eating disorders and related conditions. We provide a safe and supportive space for those seeking to overcome their eating disorder. We are a passionate, hardworking, and respectful team that works together to offer tailored, collaborative care to help each client heal in their own personal way.
Our Adaptive Care Model™ moves beyond traditional treatment by integrating medical, nutrition, therapeutic, relational, and movement. Alsana offers three levels of care to serve clients wherever they are in their healing journey: residential treatment (RTC), day treatment (often referred to as PHP or partial hospitalization) and intensive outpatient (IOP).
At Alsana, we invite our clients to come as they are and where they are in their recovery journey. We’ll be there with each person every step of the way and at every milestone. We understand the courage it takes to reach out for help.
Contact Info:
- Address: Alsana Home Office: 2545 W Hillcrest Dr. Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
- Website: www.alsana.com
- Phone: (855) 915-0213
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alsana_recovery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alsanallc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/alsanallc
- Yelp: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzr7gK6AXP5ENkjk_CPdf5g
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alsana/
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