New York, NY, February 15, 2007 — Phoenix House, the nation’s largest non-profit substance abuse services agency, today announced the appointment of Howard Meitiner, an experienced corporate executive, to succeed Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D., the organization’s founder, as president and chief executive officer.
“As we approach our 40th Anniversary, it is time for both celebration and renewal, for new vision and new leadership,” said Dr. Rosenthal. Although he is stepping aside as chief executive officer, Dr. Rosenthal will play a key role in charting the organization’s future as head of the newly created Rosenthal Center for Research and Policy Studies.
A leader in substance abuse treatment and prevention since its founding, Phoenix House has been the field’s chief innovator, introducing treatment models and methods that have become standard practice throughout the country and the world. Plans for the future include enriching the organization’s therapeutic mix with more treatment programs of short and intermediate duration, a greater variety of outpatient services, and a broader focus on families. By expanding its services system, Phoenix House hopes to engage more troubled men, women, and teens early and provide them the ongoing care and support they need.
As Mr. Meitiner explains, “We want to remain connected to our clients—and to their families—throughout their recovery. We want to be there for them whenever they may need us. We believe they deserve this support, and their success will provide huge benefits to each of them, their families, their communities, society, and government. Their potential is extraordinary.
“Together with Dr. Rosenthal,” he said, “we will ensure that Phoenix House grows and thrives, expanding our role and our mission, adding new services and serving new clients, while preserving those standards of quality that have been the hallmark of our programs for the past 40 years.”
Announcing Mr. Meitiner’s appointment, Dr. Rosenthal explained, “The treatment field has become highly competitive, with large profit-making companies vying with nonprofit organizations and both government agencies and insurers eager to cut costs. So, when we looked for my successor, we sought someone with the skills and experience that will keep us well ahead of the field in today’s turbulent treatment marketplace. We were most fortunate to find, in Howard, an experienced and successful executive deeply committed to the Phoenix House mission.”
A leading marketing and retail executive with expertise in managing growth, Mr. Meitiner served on the Phoenix House Board of Directors since 2004 and joined Dr. Rosenthal last summer to help restructure and strengthen the organization’s New York programs. Born and raised in England, he has worked throughout the world – from London to Singapore – and has lived in the USA for 14 years, the last five in New York City. Prior to joining Phoenix House, Mr. Meitiner was involved in turnaround projects in the private sector and served as President and CEO of several companies within retail giant LVMH.
“My first visit to Phoenix House made a profound impression on me,” Mr. Meitiner said, “although I didn’t know at the time how it would affect my life. More than three years ago, Mitch invited me to spend a day at the Phoenix Academy of New York, and what I saw there was stunning. The teenagers I met had been deeply troubled and self-destructive before they came to Phoenix House. But Phoenix House put them in touch with their courage, honesty and humanity. Most of my life I’ve supported and worked with organizations that try to help troubled kids, but never before had I seen a program with so much potential to change young lives.”
“What makes this succession plan work so well,” declared the organization’s Board chairman, Edward D. Miller, former president and CEO of AXA Financial, “is that Mitch will be staying on to support Howard. Mitch is a towering figure in the field and will remain, for some time, the voice of Phoenix House. Creation of the Rosenthal Center gives him a ‘bully pulpit’ from which to exercise continuing influence on clinical practices and government policy.”
The Rosenthal Center has been made possible by a grant from Peter G. Peterson, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and senior chairman and co-founder of The Blackstone Group. Through research, publications, and conferences, the Center will play a leadership role in advancing clinical practice and make meaningful contributions to public policy in the areas of substance abuse, criminal justice, and behavioral health care.
“After four decades of running Phoenix House, I welcome the opportunity to focus on such formidable public policy issues as whether or not the six million Americans in need of substance abuse treatment actually can get it,” Dr. Rosenthal said. “Phoenix House and other organizations long ago proved that troubled men, women and adolescents can turn their lives around to become motivated students, conscientious employees and productive citizens. We have shown that treatment is a cost-effective answer to America’s substance abuse problem. Now, we must marshal the will of the nation to ensure that we use the tools we have to reduce substance abuse to the irreducible minimum that treatment makes possible.”
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