Steven Puente is licensed Social Worker and addictions counselor with 14+ years experience in in the field of addiction treatment. His work for therapeutic wilderness programs in the remote settings of Arizona and Utah eventually lead him to New York University where he received his MSW. In 2010 he joined Einstein’s Division of Substance Abuse as a counselor in their methadone maintenance treatment program. Steven is an accomplished storyteller and has been featured on the Moth Radio Hour and Podcast. Interested in the potential of personal storytelling as therapeutic intervention, he has integrated storytelling workshop, groups and programing into Methadone Maintenance Treatment and the HCV peer educator program. Steven lectures to medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine exploring the use of personal storytelling as a tool in health activism. He is currently enrolled at Columbia University in pursuit of a Masters in Oral History to further explore the efficacy of oral storytelling as therapeutic intervention and its effects on community building.