"How often in life do you ever get to be apart of making something really big? And how do you give hope? Because that is really what it is all about. It just happens to be that our issue at the CCAC is sex abuse. But really what our work is all about, is giving hope. How do you tell someone, okay, you’ve had this horrendous experience, but you know what? it’s going to be better.”

Erin Sorenson

Erin Sorenson, A.M., is the executive director of the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center. Prior to the Center in Chicago, Ms. Sorenson was the executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northwest Cook County for nine years. For the past 20 years she has specialized in sexual assault and child sexual abuse issues. She is a forensic interviewing trainer, and has vast experience in the development of multidisciplinary team protocols and procedures. Ms. Sorenson has interviewed more than 3,000 children regarding sexual abuse allegations and has developed procedures on legally sound techniques to interview child witnesses.

Ms. Sorenson has served on various boards, including the National Association of Social Workers-Illinois Chapter, the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) and the Illinois Attorney General’s Violence Against Children Task Force. She has won numerous awards including the NCA’s highest award, the Bud Cramer Award, for her work on developing standards for Children’s Advocacy Centers. She’s also been awarded Chicago Magazine’s Chicagoan of the Year and the Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Social Worker’s Illinois Social Worker of the Year. Ms. Sorenson has a Master’s degree from of the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration.