Gateway Foundation President Michael Darcy Elected to Board of Directors of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

CHICAGO, Dec. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gateway Foundation, Illinois' largest provider of alcohol and drug abuse treatment, today announces Gateway Foundation President Michael Darcy was recently elected to the board of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. During his two-year term, Darcy looks forward to serving the needs of the Chicagoland business community, especially when it comes to issues surrounding workplace safety, employee productivity and health care.

"It is truly an honor to have an opportunity to collaborate with so many talented and influential business leaders and share my expertise regarding an issue as pervasive as substance abuse. Helping others get the professional help they need for substance abuse means safer, healthier and more productive work places in the long term," says Michael Darcy.

Darcy has enjoyed a career dedicated to helping others overcome addiction through effective substance abuse treatment. Darcy began his career in 1967 working in Greenwich Village in New York as an outreach worker helping teens and young adults who were abusing alcohol and other drugs find their way out of addiction. In 1969, Darcy was asked to come to Chicago to work at Gateway Foundation, one of six new drug treatment initiatives funded by the Illinois Department of Mental Health and organized under the auspices of the University of Chicago's Department of Psychiatry. In 1985, the Board of Directors appointed Darcy to President and CEO after serving Gateway Foundation in the positions of Treatment Center Director, Area Director, Program Director and Executive Director.  

"I'm looking forward to having Michael Darcy serve on the board. In the wake of today's employers demanding more productivity from workers, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge about how companies can offer support to employees who may be struggling to manage stress and turning to substance abuse to self-medicate," says Gerald Roper, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO.

About The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Founded in 1904, we are a private, non-profit business assistance and economic development organization. With 2,600 members, representing over 1.3 million individual employees in the six-county Northeastern Illinois region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry & Will), we are the largest Chamber of Commerce in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation. Our mission is to make Chicagoland the most business-friendly region in America and to enhance our members' success through aggressive advocacy, member benefits, services, and actionable information.

About Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment
Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment is Illinois' largest provider of substance abuse treatment, providing services for adolescents and adults at treatment centers throughout the state. As an organization, Gateway Foundation has treated over 425,000 people and currently helps more than 29,000 individuals a year reclaim productive healthy lives. 

SOURCE Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment