"I feel strongly about helping people recover from alcohol and drug addiction. On a personal level, my father died of alcoholism."

Ellen Breyer, CEO of Hazelden Foundation, the leading chemical dependency treatment organization, relies on passion to guide her leadership. Breyer married after graduation and went into business, rising to head of corporate marketing for Godiva Chocolate. After her three sons were born, she cut back on her work schedule to spend time raising them.

As a result of her husband's promotions at American Express, the Breyers moved to London, back to New York, and then to Minneapolis. Each time Ellen took a new position in the corporate world. When her youngest son graduated from high school, she decided to take a sabbatical. "It is interesting how my life came full circle," she reflected.

I was spending a lot of time on nonprofit volunteer activities and enjoying that more than my day job. I went skiing in Aspen for a season and thought about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I asked myself, how can I make the transition from the for-profit environment to working in a nonprofit?

While serving on the board of Hazelden Foundation, Breyer was made interim CEO as the board conducted a national search. Seven months later she became permanent CEO, enabling her to fulfill her desire to help people with dependency issues.