Dr. Mark Godley was there at the creation, 40 years ago, when he was the first Director of Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute for Research and Training. Dr. Godley pulls back the curtain on a remarkable four-decade journey, from the Lighthouse Institute’s early struggles to keep the lights on to its emergence as the world-class research powerhouse it is today.
He shares behind-the-scenes stories of their bootstrapping early days and major milestones along the way: winning their first major NIH grants in 1997, developing client follow-up protocols that led to a 19-year study, the institute's evolution from program evaluation to investigator-initiated research, among other notable achievements.
We break down: how research shifted from confrontational models to supportive, adolescent-centered care; the secret to building lasting community partnerships; and the surprising ways resilience and vision transformed a fledgling organization into a national leader.
