Congratulations and Best Wishes to CTTI Executive Director Sally Okun on Her Retirement
T
oday, Sally Okun, who has served as CTTI’s Executive Director since October 2021, is retiring after five decades in healthcare.
“On behalf of the entire CTTI community, we congratulate Sally on her exceptional career and on her retirement,” said CTTI’s incoming executive director, Morgan Hanger. “Sally’s tenacity and gift for storytelling have had a remarkable impact on bringing person-centered research and care into the mainstream. As we move into a phase of AI-driven innovation, her vision for ethical, patient-led data stewardship is providing an invaluable foundation for CTTI. We are so grateful for her 50 years of contributions to healthcare and to the success of this organization.”
During her 20 years as a nurse and palliative care specialist in the community setting, Sally worked with hundreds of patients and caregivers. At the online patient research network PatientsLikeMe, where she served in a variety of roles for 12 years including as vice president of policy and ethics, she led the national conversation on patient centricity and created an evidence base to support expanded use of patient-generated health data. More recently at CTTI, Sally has initiated enterprise-wide measurement, expanded our commitment to diversity in clinical trials, and empowered the team to be independent and creative.
When Sally announced her retirement in August, she committed to ensuring a seamless transition to her successor. In October, CTTI announced Morgan Hanger’s promotion to Executive Director upon Sally’s retirement, and over the past two months they have doubled down on that commitment. With the support and guidance of the CTTI Executive Committee Chairs and team, Sally and Morgan have relied on their shared values of connection, openness, and integrity to stay focused on what matters: the health and growth of our team; exciting, relevant work; and partnership with our members and the FDA.
“It has been a wonderful experience working with entire CTTI team in preparation for my retirement,” said Okun. “I am confident that the organization will flourish through the leadership of my dear friend and colleague Morgan Hanger.”
Please join us in thanking Sally for her service to CTTI and wishing her well in her retirement.