Office of National Drug Control Policy, Director John P. Walters

John P. Walters was sworn in as the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on December 7, 2001. As the nation's "Drug Czar," Mr. Walters coordinates all aspects of federal drug programs and spending.

Mr. Walters has extensive experience at ONDCP. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Walters was chief of staff for William Bennett, and was Deputy Director for Supply Reduction from 1991 until leaving the office in 1993. During his service at ONDCP he was responsible for helping guide the development and implementation of anti-drug programs in all areas. During that period overall federal spending for drug control programs increased by 61 percent. By 1992, drug use in the United States reached its lowest levels in the past 23 years.

From 1996 until 2001, Mr. Walters served as president of the Philanthropy Roundtable. The Roundtable is a national association of over 600 foundations and individual donors. It provides publications and programs on all aspects of charitable giving.

Before joining the Roundtable, Mr. Walters was president of the New Citizenship Project, an organization created to advance a renewal of American institutions and greater citizen control over our national life.

Mr. Walters co-authored-with William J. Bennett and John J. DiIulio Jr.—Body Count: Moral Poverty and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs. During 1993 he was a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, writing and speaking about anti-drug policy.

Between 1985 and 1988, he worked at the U.S. Department of Education, serving as Assistant to the Secretary and leading the development of anti-drug programs for the Secretary and the Department. He was also the Secretary's representative to the National Drug Policy Board and the Domestic Policy Council's Health Policy Working Group.

Mr. Walters served as Acting Assistant Director and Program Officer in the Division of Education Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1982 to 1985. He has previously taught political science at Michigan State University's James Madison College and at Boston College. He holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MA from the University of Toronto.