Alumni Spotlight: Chris Beal

Chris Beal sees the strength in kids who battle mental illness. He was plugged in on mental health conversations and heard compelling stories during his 35-year career in government and policy. 

Those conversations, and a personal journey, inspired Beal to pursue his Master’s Degree in Social Work at 58 years old. He earned his Master’s from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare in Spring 2023.  

Beal, who is approaching one year of working at the Johnson County Mental Health Center, was already considering the idea of returning to school. The corporate life wore him down through decades of stress and travel. It was only through self-determination that Beal decided to go to therapy and work through his struggles with alcohol.  

With that decision came a new path.  

“I said, if I ever had an opportunity to go back to school, and work with people in the substance abuse area, I wanted to do that,” said Beal, who got his undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas in the 1980s.  

Beal returned to his alma mater to get his MSW from the School of Social Welfare – a decision that has only proved gratifying.  

“I think that what I enjoyed the most was just the mix of people, different ages and developing bonds with people that are so much younger than I am and seeing. What their perspectives are on life and their perspectives on people and their perspectives on the world helped expand my worldview,” Beal said. 

He added that his extensive career in politics set him up to succeed as a social worker due to his experience in forming policy. He worked for U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum and U.S. Representative Bob Whittaker for his first three years out of college from 1984 to 1987.  

By 1990, Beal was vice president at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, directing government relations programs. But it was during his 13 years at Eli Lilly, working on mental health policy, when Beal realized just how important mental health was to him.  

“Sitting in on a lot of conferences over the years and getting to know a lot of different people with their struggles,” Beal said. “That's probably where the inspiration came from.” 

Beal uses his MSW now to help adolescents work through their substance abuse disorders. His own experience with alcohol abuse and therapy helped him understand how people struggle. Beal wants to remove barriers to help clients realize that their lives have become unmanageable, and to help them not feel guilt or shame.  

Beal knows his perspective might be different from that of his former MSW classmates, most of whom were much younger.  

He came from a more macro-focused background on global systems and saw how difficult making change could be.  

“I would be the more cynical jaundiced sort of older guy that was in the program, that had been working in the trenches, even though that was at the corporate level,” Beal said.  

But the people he met getting his MSW left an impact. Now instead of working on policy, Beal works with the individual. He wants everyone to see their strengths.  

“The reality is, there's a lot of strength in these kids,” Beal said. “And a lot of kids have a desire to do well.”