Sally Thoren has dedicated her career to the substance use disorder treatment field. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Carleton College, and she studied law at DePaul University in Chicago. Thoren has served in many direct care roles during her career, and she now serves as the Executive Director for Gateway’s services in Chicago. Additionally, she manages relationships with many institutional funders in Illinois, including the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, HFS Medicaid and many local funders. Thoren notes how caring for those with substance use disorders has evolved over the past 35 years, from a fragmented, hierarchical “behavior modification” approach early in her career to our current person-centered, trauma-informed, medication-assisted, multidisciplinary approach. She has been a strident advocate for the field and client advocacy, earning her the Vince Bakeman Memorial Advocacy Award in 2010. In collaboration with the Medical Director, Thoren introduced Suboxone and medication assisted treatment to her agency when it was first available. Later, she proposed and implemented training all direct care staff in the use of naloxone at Gateway, a first in Illinois.