Jeanne Stangel, president and CEO of Curative Connections, presented “Purpose: Finding Where You Belong” on Thursday as a part of the 2025-26 St. Norbert College CEO breakfast series speakers. Insight is an in-kind sponsor of the series.
Stangel has more than 35 years of experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including with The Salvation Army, UW-Green Bay, IBM, Tufco Technologies and Medalcraft Mint.
Stangel spoke about some difficult years in which her father passed away, her marriage was struggling, she had a health scare and her job was being eliminated. It was a time that “forced me to think, really, ‘where is your core, and what’s important?’ So I kind of reassembled and got things back in line.”
She began meeting with people in her life for advice, and discovered that everyone else was going through or had been through difficult things as well. A good friend told her “’when things like this happen, when life turns mad and it’s ugly and it’s dark, look at that as an opportunity to refresh and renew.’”
Stangel found purpose in people: renewing her connection to spirituality, placing more focus on family, and working with a kind and thoughtful team at Curative Connections. The Green Bay nonprofit provides adult day services for people with early memory loss, dementia and other neurological impairments, as well as disabilities and transportation limitations.
The next speaker is Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D., president of St. Norbert College, on Jan. 22.
