Leadership Insights: A Talk with CEO Thane Solberg · Fargo INC!
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Leadership Insights: A Talk with CEO Thane Solberg
On any given day in downtown Fargo, the barriers facing people in recovery or reentering society after justice involvement are often invisible to those who don’t encounter them firsthand.
In shortJustice Well Program CEO Thane Solberg describes how the Fargo nonprofit bridges gaps in recovery and reentry support that insurance, grants, and traditional funding models often cannot fill.
3 things to know
1The Justice Well Program operates as the nonprofit arm alongside for-profit clinical provider The Ridge, designed to cover gaps insurance and traditional funding cannot.
2The program uses a low-barrier, case-by-case model funding small critical expenses—bus passes, medication co-pays, housing debts—with no rigid eligibility formula.
3Participants can remain connected to the Justice Well Program for up to five years; the organization has worked with roughly 100 participants since its launch.
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On any given day in downtown Fargo, the barriers facing people in recovery or reentering society after justice involvement are often invisible to those who don’t encounter them firsthand. A missed bus ride. A $65 licensing fee. A prescription that insurance won’t cover. A $900 housing debt that quietly blocks the door back into stability.
For Thane Solberg, CEO of the Justice Well Program, those gaps are the difference between progress and relapse, housing and homelessness, connection and isolation.
When you help someone get into housing and stay in recovery, that’s great for them. But it’s also great for the community. We’re treating the whole ecosystem.
A Dual Structure Built for Flexibility
The Justice Well Program exists under a unique model. The Ridge operates as a for-profit clinical treatment provider, offering residential and outpatient behavioral health services. The Justice Well Program, meanwhile, functions as the nonprofit arm, which is designed to do what insurance, grants, and traditional funding models often cannot. “The nonprofit exists to bridge the gaps,” Solberg said. “If someone needs treatment, medication, transportation, housing support— and their insurance won’t cover it— that’s where we step in.”
Unlike many assistance programs, the Justice Well Program doesn’t operate from a checklist or rigid eligibility formula. There’s no universal threshold, no one-sizefits-all definition of “deserving.”
Instead, the organization works case by case, intentionally keeping barriers low.
“There is no beautiful structure we can sell to you,” Solberg said. “It’s very much a ‘come as you are’ model, and that’s on purpose.”
Funding is often directed toward small but critical expenses, including bus passes, phones, medication co-pays, medical procedures, housing-related debts, and shortterm emergency support. In one recent case, the Justice Well Program funded a hotel stay so a woman living in a van could safely recover from a medical procedure.
“It’s not a long-term solution,” Solberg said. “But it’s a humane one—and it’s something you’re not going to find in many other places.”
Treating the Whole Ecosystem
Most participants served by the Justice Well Program are justice involved, which reflects the population The Ridge already works with through its downtown location and partnerships with the Department of Corrections and Bureau of Prisons. Medicaid makes up roughly 80% of The Ridge’s payer base, naturally aligning both organizations with individuals navigating complex systems. But the Justice Well Program’s mission goes beyond individual outcomes.
“When you help someone get into housing and stay in recovery, that’s great for them,” Solberg said. “But it’s also great for the community. We’re treating the whole ecosystem.”
That ecosystem includes public safety, healthcare costs, family stability, and taxpayer resources—all of which are affected when people fall through the cracks.
The man is now 18 months out of treatment and continuing to thrive. While Solberg is careful not to attribute success to any single intervention, he’s confident the support mattered.
“That’s the hard part to quantify,” he said. “You can put a dollar amount on a raise, but you can’t put a price on family connection.”
That ecosystem includes public safety, healthcare costs, family stability, and taxpayer resources—all of which are affected when people fall through the cracks.
Small Dollars, Outsized Impact
At the Justice Well Program, the most transformative interventions often cost less than a utility bill.
Solberg recalled a participant who needed just $65 to obtain a basic driver’s license. With a valid license, the individual received a $10-an-hour raise, regained the ability to visit his children without relying on them for transportation, and reclaimed a sense of independence that had been eroded by years of instability.
“That $65 didn’t just increase his income,” Solberg said. “It gave him time with his family. It gave him dignity.”
The man is now 18 months out of treatment and continuing to thrive. While Solberg is careful not to attribute success to any single intervention, he’s confident the support mattered.
“That’s the hard part to quantify,” he said. “You can put a dollar amount on a raise, but you can’t put a price on family connection.”
That ecosystem includes public safety, healthcare costs, family stability, and taxpayer resources—all of which are affected when people fall through the cracks.
The Loan-Repayment Model
One of Justice Well’s most misunderstood tools is its loan-repayment option, designed not to extract money from people with limited resources but to remove structural barriers that keep them stuck.
In one example, a participant owed $900 to the Fargo Housing Authority, which was a debt that made them ineligible for housing assistance. Without housing, recovery and stability were nearly impossible.
The Justice Well Program stepped in, not with a lecture or rigid repayment demand, but with a conversation.
“We sit down and talk about what recovery looks like,” Solberg said. “What’s realistic? What keeps you connected to us and on track?”
In many cases, repayment is symbolic rather than financial, especially for individuals living on fixed incomes. The real accountability comes through continued engagement, peer navigation, and alignment with recovery goals.
In many cases, repayment is symbolic rather than financial, especially for individuals living on fixed incomes. The real accountability comes through continued engagement, peer navigation, and alignment with recovery goals.
“I’m not going to take money from someone who’s living on $300 a month,” Solberg said. “But getting them housed benefits them, and it benefits the entire community.”
Scaling the Right Way
The Justice Well Program is trying to grow its impact, but it’s trying to do so in a smart way.
“We can’t help 1,000 people a month,” Solberg said “And we’re okay with that.”
The organization has worked with roughly 100 participants since its launch, prioritizing depth over volume. Unlike many programs capped at two years, the Justice Well Program can remain connected to individuals for up to five years.
Scaling, Solberg acknowledged, is harder when services are deeply individualized.
“But we’re not just handing out money,” he said. “We’re cutting through red tape, reducing barriers, and helping people reintegrate, and that takes time.”
The long-term vision includes expansion beyond Fargo and eventually statewide support across North Dakota. Already, the Justice Well Program partners with organizations like ShareHouse, extending services to individuals outside its immediate clinical ecosystem.
A CEO Who Stays Close to the Work
Thane Solberg stepped into the role of CEO of the Justice Well Program just over a month ago, a position that was previously filled by Justice Well and The Ridge’s founder and CEO Dr. Jacqualine Gervais. Gervais transitioned into the role of Executive Director of Justice Well Program while Solberg took over the day-to-day operations of the non-profit. Solberg’s leadership philosophy was shaped long before the title. Previously serving as director of engagement and events, Solberg now oversees strategy, fundraising, donor relations, and every funding request that comes through the organization.
Yet he’s intentional about staying close to the people the nonprofit serves.
“Nine times out of ten, I meet with the individual,” Solberg says. “I want to put a face to the name. What good am I if I’m just sitting in an office looking at numbers and emails? I need to understand what people are actually going through.” A practice he admired in Justice Well’s founder Dr. Jacqualine Gervais. Gervais believes in direct client care at all levels of practice, thus laying the foundation of what makes the Justice Well Program unique.
The long-term vision includes expansion beyond fargo and eventually statewide support across north dakota. Already, the justice well program’s goal is to offer their services to individuals outside its immediate clinical ecosystem. – Thane Solberg
From Community Volunteer to NonProfit Executive
Solberg’s career path into nonprofit leadership was anything but accidental, but it wasn’t always intentional either.
Raised in Maddock, ND, he spent his early years immersed in community fundraising and event planning. Over time, that involvement evolved into professional roles, including serving as operations manager for a local non-profit, a board position with the Peer Support Alliance of North Dakota and other local volunteer boards.
“Nonprofit work just kind of became my career path,” he said. “Especially in behavioral health and mental health—that’s where my heart is.”
Solberg believes communities benefit when people with lived experience are empowered to lead.
“Bridging the gap between what we call ‘normal’ life and the lives of people in recovery is critical,” he said.
That philosophy shows up in unexpected ways, including taking program participants to the Red River Market, the Christkindl Market, or organizing family skate nights and sober dance events.
Solberg’s goal is to show people that participation is still possible. “Social connection is what truly heals people,” he said. “Recovery struggles when people are isolated.”
“These are the things that reintegrate people into society,” Solberg said. “The things they may not feel comfortable doing otherwise.”
In 2026, the Justice Well Program plans to expand its slate of sober social events, including partnerships with We Are One Services to host substance-free dance nights.
“We live in an alcohol-heavy society,” he said. “That’s not going to change.”
As someone in recovery from alcohol himself, Solberg understands how isolating early sobriety can feel.
“People avoid events because they don’t trust themselves yet,” he said. “And then it becomes a pattern—they stop participating in community life altogether.”
Solberg’s goal is to show people that participation is still possible.
“Social connection is what truly heals people,” he said. “Recovery struggles when people are isolated.”
A Personal Journey that Informs the Mission
Solberg has been in recovery for nearly seven years. The son of two parents in long-term recovery themselves, he understands addiction as both personal and generational.
“My chances of not having a problem with alcohol were pretty slim,” he said.
Unlike stereotypical portrayals, Solberg wasn’t a daily drinker—a reality that made it harder to recognize the problem.
“I wasn’t the bar regular,” he said. “So I kept telling myself I didn’t have an issue.”
What ultimately forced the reckoning were the accumulating consequences like job losses, financial strain, and emotional instability. He entered treatment at 30.
“Something just clicked,” he said. “I still don’t know exactly what made that decision stick, but it did.”
Today, Solberg speaks openly about living with bipolar II disorder, ADHD, and substance use disorder. Rather than seeing those diagnoses as limitations, he sees them as sources of insight.
“Some of my best ideas come from the same brain that creates challenges,” he said. “The key is knowing when to slow down and not act on every idea.”
That self-awareness, he believes, is one of recovery’s greatest gifts.
Did You Know?
Participants can benefit from The Ridge’s program for up to 5 YEARS!
Business Lessons from the Nonprofit Front Lines
For business leaders, nonprofits, and for-profits alike, Solberg offers the straightforward advice of staying open.
“Don’t put blinders on,” he said. “You don’t always know what your organization is capable of until you try.”
He urges nonprofits to explore unconventional funding models, remain flexible with grant criteria, and resist the temptation to define themselves too narrowly.
“Everyone’s fighting for the same donor dollars,” Solberg said. “You have to be willing to think creatively.”
Equally important, he adds, is maintaining joy in the work.
“Have fun,” Solberg said. “This work can be heavy. If you lose the joy, you burn out.”
Editor of Fargo INC! — covering the founders, companies, and ideas shaping business in Fargo-Moorhead. Eleven years in, still no opinions, no politics, all business.
