2025 Most Influential Women: Jana Greig

Jana Greig has built a career by stepping into the unknown: “I’m most proud of the things that have made my stomach flip — the moments where I knew deep down that something was right, even if it scared me a little or a lot,” says Greig.

She’s stepping into a new phase of her career now, as Greig in September was named CEO-elect for Centerstone’s Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the new organization created by the merger set to close in early November of Burrell Behavioral Health parent Brightli Inc. with Tennessee-based Centerstone. She’s set to become CEO in June 2026 after her predecessor’s planned retirement.

“That quiet, stubborn kind of courage has led me through some of the biggest moves of my career and life,” says Greig, who has been serving as executive vice president of administration at Brightli. 

Another one of those moves came in 2019 when Greig left her position as a national industry marketing leader at Forvis Mazars LLP, where she managed a proposal team, created a women’s development initiative and produced national events, to become marketing director at Brightli. She quickly moved up the ladder several positions before she began overseeing Brightli’s foundation in 2023.

“I’ve scaled a marketing and communications team from two to 30,” says Greig, a 2024 Springfield Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. “I’ve helped increase foundation revenue by more than 1,000% in one year by helping pair the right people with the right strategy. I’ve been part of eight mergers and acquisitions deals, and I’ve learned that integration is less about logos and more about listening and building trust.”

Greig was involved in the merger of Brightli and Centerstone by leading branding and communications for a deal that creates the largest nonprofit behavioral health provider in the country.

“I guided our organization through a strategic transformation, crafting a new mission, vision and voice that refuses to settle for small goals,” she says.

Settling is not in Greig’s vocabulary: “I’m proud of launching campaigns that didn’t play it safe. Of building brand systems that reflect both structure and soul. Of starting a second master’s degree while juggling mom life and executive life — because growth doesn’t wait for your calendar to clear.”

She thinks encouraging people might be her superpower.

“I believe growth isn’t something you gatekeep. It’s something you give away,” Greig says.

She sits on the Leadership Springfield board as vice chair, is an advisory board member of Adult & Teen Challenge USA and is active in her church.

“I don’t chase busy. I chase purpose. Fear is often the sound of a boundary being stretched, and I’ve learned to lean in when it starts to hum.”