Awards & Appearances

2010 - Mental Health Person of the Year: Mental Health Person of the Year - 2010
McAlister Institute received the 2010 Mental Health Person of the Year award. Jeanne was honored for the heroic efforts of serving both substance abuse and mental health disorders in the community of San Diego. McAlister Institute has been providing innovative programs specifically structured and designed for co-occurring individuals and their families.
2009 - San Diego Magazine-Women of the Year Awards: San Diego Magazine-Women of the Year Awards - 2009
Jeanne McAlister received recognition in September 2009 as a nominee for the San Diego Magazine Women of the Year. Being named as one of the Women Who Move the City and for serving the children and families of San Diego for over 33 years.
2006 - Diversity Award: Diversity Award - 2006
McAlister Institute received the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association of California (CADPAAC) Valuing Diversity Award in May 2006. The award was presented in Sacramento to McAlister Institute for exemplifying diversity in providing substance abuse treatment and recovery services to deaf, hard-of-hearing, and late-deafened adults.
2006 - Innovative Recovery Approach Award: Innovative Recovery Approach Award - 2006
McAlister Institute received the award for Innovative Approaches to Recovery from the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs in Sacramento, California, on September 6, 2006.
2006 - Women Who Mean Business Award: Women Who Mean Business Award - 2006
Jeanne McAlister was honored with a WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS award in October, 2006, by the San Diego Business Journal and Foley and Lardner, LLP. This prestigious award recognized Ms. McAlister’s contributions to the business community, the impact her agency’s services have had throughout San Diego County, and her 30 years of innovation and creativity in addressing the needs of community members.
2005 - California Women's Commission Award: California Women's Commission Award - 2005
Jeanne McAlister received The California Women's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Dependencies Award in 2005. Jeanne was recognized as a pioneer in the treatment field and is well known for implementing gender-responsive programs and services. McAlister Institute treatment services have traditionally been designed to meet the individual needs of the target population, a concept McAlister practiced long before many of its predecessors.
2000 - KGTV Outstanding Non-Profit of the Year Award: KGTV Outstanding Non-Profit of the Year Award - 2000
McAlister Institute received the KGTV Channel 10 Outstanding Non-Profit of the year Award in 2000. By paving the way for other agencies to follow, Jeanne McAlister aided in professionalizing the field of alcohol and drug treatment and providing treatment models for others to emulate.
1980 - Sally Jessy Raphael Show: Sally Jessy Raphael Show - 1980
Jeanne McAlister and clients from one of her early treatment programs were guests on the Sally Jessy Raphael Show in the 1980s. Genuine and informative appearances like these gave individuals and families affected by the disease of addiction a sense of hope. McAlister Institute is still committed to providing education and training at a professional and multicultural level to interested parties in all regions of San Diego County.
1980 - Oprah Winfrey Show: Oprah Winfrey Show - 1980
Jeanne McAlister and clients from her Kiva Women and Children's Learning Center were guests on the Oprah show in the late 1980s. The agency made history as the first residential treatment center in California (fifth in the nation) to allow women and their children to reside in treatment as a family unit. This family-centered model paved the way for other treatment providers to be successful at retaining mothers in treatment, allowing many participants to reunify with their children during the course of treatment as they became productive members of society.