Carrie Bates is an advocate for Recovery. Sharing her truth and living her recovery out loud has been at the center of Bates’ work since 2012 as she helped others access treatment and fought to end the stigma that surrounds the brain disease of substance use disorder (addiction). Joining Caron in 2025, Bates serves as Caron’s Director of Strategic Growth and Advocacy. In her role, Bates works with partners in recovery to help more families in need access treatment and support services, reduce stigma, advance awareness about addiction as a brain disease, the benefits of recovery, Caron’s neurorestorative approach to treatment. In addition, Bates works with Caron’s Education Alliance to support their prevention efforts, especially among student athletes.

A three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming, Bates deeply understands the interplay of the drive for excellence, trauma, life changes and addiction. Bates is especially passionate about the importance of mental wellness, the impact of addiction on families, the difficulties of women to access treatment and recovery support, prevention and the role of employers and workplaces to support recovery.

Prior to joining the treatment field, Bates spent the better part of her sales and marketing career at Nike, Inc. Most recently, Bates served as an Outreach Manager for Hazelden Betty Ford where she worked directly with employers, patients and their families to navigate the process of finding the treatment they need for sustainable recovery. A University of Texas at Austin graduate, Bates has been a fixture in traditional media, podcasts and as a keynote speaker sharing her personal story, tips for families and hope.

Featured media:

• USA Today
• Addict to Athlete
• Medium