BIO

Christie Owen was named Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) in February 2022. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), beginning her career with Birch Tree Communities in 1997. Before being named CCO, she served as the Director of Branch Operations at the Hope House and Benton Town branch.

Owen started her journey with Birch Tree working as a paraprofessional on nights and weekends during her undergraduate years at Henderson State University. She soon became passionate about serving the seriously mentally ill population, and she changed her career path. She continued working at Birch Tree while she obtained her Master of Science in Counseling and has worked at several of our branches in many different roles over the years.

After becoming licensed, Owen joined the Benton Town team as a therapist in 2002. She became the Director of Branch Operations of Benton Town in 2007 and added the leadership of Hope House in 2018. She has served on numerous committees within the organization, including the Admissions Committee, Quality Assurance, and Policy & Procedures. She also supervises the Mobile Response Team, which operates statewide.

Owen was born in Fort Smith and spent her early years in Greenwood. After her family moved to Central Arkansas, she attended Cabot schools. She received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Henderson State University, as well as a master’s degree in Community Counseling.

While in college, Owen met her husband Chris, who serves as the Director of Training and Programs for Birch Tree Communities. They reside in Saline County and have three children, two dogs, two cats, and a pot belly pig. She stays busy with kids’ activities and spends lots of free time in the concession stand. Christie enjoys sewing, woodworking, crocheting, painting, and anything else crafty. She is a MacGyver of sorts and can fix, build, or craft most anything she sets her mind to, including broken toys and toilets, changing oil in cars, solving a Rubik’s cube, and much more.