Angie Alvey | executive Director | Alpine Academy | Learn More                   

Alpine Academy is deeply grateful for Christian Egan and his dedication throughout the years as we share the news of an exciting chapter in his legacy.  He will resign as the Director of the Alpine Experience on June 22 to open and operate an outpatient therapy clinic in the Salt Lake Valley.  While we are profoundly sad, we are thrilled that Christian has this opportunity to fully delve into his education and training in counseling after serving nearly two decades as a leader at Alpine Academy.  Although he will be incredibly missed on a daily basis, we are pleased that Christian will continue to serve and influence Alpine as a member of our Board of Directors. 

Christian’s impact on Alpine Academy over the course of 18 years is difficult to put into words. He began as a social worker for Alpine’s parent company, Utah Youth Village, one of the oldest nonprofit organizations in Utah, and then became Alpine’s Admissions Director in 2006, just over four years after opening. Over the next 12 years he helped Alpine grow, and in 2018 stepped into the role of Director of Alpine, overseeing the entire program through the challenging years of COVID and beyond. Over the past year his role shifted to be centered on the Alpine Experience, focusing on students, their parents, and professionals.  

Angie Alvey, Vice President of Utah Youth Village with direct oversight of Alpine Academy, states, “Christian embodies The Alpine Way of believing in others, making them feel important, and showing them unconditional positive regard.  Through the years, he has inspired countless employees, professionals, students, and families, and we are so fortunate to have been impacted by his example.  I am convinced that he will always be an important part of Alpine as a foundational piece of how and why we do this critical work.  Change can be difficult, but it’s also exciting…for Christian and for this new leadership opportunity at Alpine!”  

Jason Stout, Alpine’s Director of Admissions and Development, shares, “For nearly 17 years I have had the immense privilege of working closely with Christian in a variety of capacities.  His compassion and care for others, his way of being, has had an immeasurable and profound impact on me.  I have loved attending conferences with Christian and seeing the way he not only remembers people, but also remembers details about them.  To me this demonstrates how much he cares for and values others.  I feel especially honored to have been his travel companion and doppelgänger for well over a decade.  He has taught me that people matter most.  The work we all do is increasingly challenging, with new obstacles arising every day, it seems.  For Christian, I know it has been a labor of love; love for the individuals we serve, and those whom we are privileged to serve beside.  His labor of love has left an indelible impression upon me and Alpine Academy.  While I will miss our daily association, I am excited for his new opportunity and am grateful that his influence will continue to be felt directly and indirectly at Alpine Academy and within our field.” 

Reflecting on his years of tenure at Alpine, Christian remarks, “Alpine Academy is where I have grown up professionally. I fell in love early on with the Teaching-Family Model and Alpine’s family-centered approach to treatment, which made it easy for me to be a dedicated promoter and advocate of it ever since. I am regularly in awe of the life-changing impact these methods have in the lives of youth. Just as important are the people whose compassion and commitment influence these young lives, just as they have influenced mine.” 

He continues, “I am ever confident in the devoted and incredible leadership at Alpine Academy, most of whom I have worked with for over 10 years. It’s amazing and unique to be part of a team this experienced. I am thrilled with the ongoing direction of Alpine Academy, both in terms of the aim as well as the leaders at the helm. They are incredible and I am excited for Alpine’s future in their hands.” 

Christian also expresses his deep gratitude for his many years of associations with Educational Consultants and leaders of NATSAP programs, from whom he has learned so much and by whose side he has worked and served to support the youth and programs, promoting best practices and the field at large.  

As one might imagine, filling Christian’s shoes is a tall order. Alpine Academy has begun their search for just the right person to assume and address the duties and responsibilities Christian has so capably filled. They look forward to announcing their decision prior to Christian’s departure at the end of June.