Women of Influence: Commissioner of the Alabama Dept. of Mental Health Lynn Beshear
Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Lynn Beshear is a force against the stigma and barriers against mental health issues few could reckon with. Beginning her career as a nurse in the Intensive Care Nursery at Duke University Medical Center, Beshear has continued her passion for serving others throughout her entire work history. In 1978, she moved to Montgomery, Ala. and began focusing her efforts on changing the lives of those in her community. She served on numerous boards, including the Junior League Advisory Board; Helping Montgomery Families Initiative; Medical AIDS Outreach Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of Hope Inspired Ministries; and many others. In 1999 Beshear, joined several Montgomery influencers; becoming a member of the Montgomery Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Then in October of 2000, she became the only Executive Director for Envision 2020, “a community-driven strategic planning effort involving citizens and leaders in the central Alabama counties, designed to develop 25 shared goals related to the quality of life through the use of active partnerships to overcome challenges and increase opportunities,” according to the Department of Mental Health. Beshear held her position at Envision 2020 until July 2017 when Governor Kay Ivey appointed her as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health. “I am honored to appoint Lynn Beshear as Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health,” Ivey said. “Through active participation in securing mental health services in the River Region, Lynn understands the complexities of the Department, and the importance of its work on behalf of the people of Alabama.” Beshear is a woman of true passion for serving her community; an influencer and a changer of lives. She was also kind enough to answer some of Alabama Today’s questions about her life, work, and influences. How have other women influenced your success? My mother had three sisters and my father had two, so from my earliest memories caring women have been part of my life. My mother died just after my nineteenth birthday, meaning that, as an adult, I never knew her. But there have been and continue to be strong intelligent women from whom I learn. Indeed, all of us are role models for each other – either good ones or not. Here are a handful of my influencers: My mother-in-law Mary Elizabeth lived into her 90’s, so I knew her much longer than either of my parents. She lives on in her five children and in the memories of our three children. Mary Elizabeth had unending common sense and a wonderful sense of humor. My paternal grandmother lived well into her 80’s and is the only person I have known that never said one negative thing about anyone else. She would say about someone’s undesirable behavior, “We don’t know the pressures they are under”. She came to live with my father and sister Frances (Fra), who was still in high school when our mother died. My sister still lives in North Carolina (where we are from) and is a very kind and thoughtful person. A retired teacher, she has a master’s in early childhood education and, for our children, a visit from Aunt “Fra” was a special time. Another very important woman in my life was a neighbor, Jane, whom I first met while in junior high. She was ten years older than I, which is a tremendous gap when one is only 13 years old, but she was a mentor and role model that was a great stabilizing force during those awkward teen years and when my mother died. I am a nurse and a large part of our faculty in nursing school were women from whom I learned the art, science and spirit of nursing, which translates into every-day living. As a member of the Montgomery Junior League, I learned a tremendous amount about leadership, as well as from being in Leadership Montgomery, Leadership Alabama and on numerous boards of directors. Not every person in a position of leadership is an effective leader, but we also learn from them what not do to, which actually is a valuable lesson. It is fair to say that every phase of my life has been blessed by strong, intelligent and caring women – and men. What shaped your desire to work in the medical field? As a teenager, I did a great deal of babysitting for Duke medical students and residents, as well as doing some lab work for one of them. I used to read their medical textbooks and had endless questions. I was fascinated by the workings of the human body. For a couple of summers, I was a “candy-striper” at the local community hospital. What has been your favorite area of service, and what is your favorite thing about that position? To answer your specific question, the most captivating part of being executive director of Envision 2020 was the exhilarating work we did to educate the River Region about Smart Growth and New Urbanism. We conducted the first Smart Growth and New Urbanism conference in 2004 and the rest, as they say, is history. Jones School of Law, through Chad Emerson, reached out to us after that initial conference to partner in those endeavors and we conducted several more conferences. The Envision 2020 modus-operandi is to educate the “correct” people and then get out of the way. And just look at the results! I have enjoyed everything I have done – as a wife, mother, volunteer and in paid positions. It is very fortunate that I been recruited for every position. My life experiences affirm that everything we do prepares us for the next thing – and now as the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, I daily use lessons learned in all past experiences. I would not have missed a single step along the way! What advice would you give to young women who want to pursue careers in the medical field or community leadership? Explore every opportunity that comes to you and “listen”
