Four-day Event to Help Community Leaders Learn Effective Drug Prevention Strategies
Washington, D.C. – More than 2,500 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists from throughout the country will convene in the Washington, D.C. area for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s (CADCA) 25th Annual National Leadership Forum. The event will be held, Feb. 2-5, 2015 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
CADCA’s National Leadership Forum is the nation’s largest and premier training event for substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and researchers, featuring more than 70 courses to help participants learn effective strategies to address drug-related problems in their communities. This four-day training event brings together community drug prevention coalitions from all regions of the country and internationally, government leaders, youth, prevention specialists, addiction treatment professionals, addiction recovery advocates, researchers, educators, law enforcement professionals, and faith-based leaders. Topics will include everything from how to prevent prescription drug abuse and marijuana use among youth to how to reduce tobacco use and underage drinking.
“More than a conference, the CADCA Forum is a national movement that brings together federal and state officials and community leaders from across the country to find solutions to our nation’s substance abuse problems. For 25 years, participants have left our Forum with new ideas and strategies that they can implement in their communities to prevent and reduce youth drug use,” said CADCA Chairman and CEO Gen. Arthur T. Dean. “This year, to mark the CADCA Forum’s silver anniversary, we’re excited to welcome our nation’s top drug policy experts as well as many leaders from the fields of public health and addiction science.”
Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), will be the keynote speaker at the National Leadership Plenary, which kicks off the Forum. A champion for substance abuse prevention for more than two decades, Botticelli has forged strong partnerships with local, state, and Federal law enforcement agencies; state and local health and human service agencies; and stakeholder groups to guide and implement evidence-based programs.
Following Botticelli’s keynote address, CADCA will host a once-in-a-lifetime panel discussion featuring past U.S. “drug czars”: Dr. William Bennett, Dr. Lee P. Brown, General Barry McCaffrey, John P. Walters and Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. The panel is being moderated by award-winning journalist Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today.
The Forum will also feature several other renowned speakers from many sectors including Dr. Howard Koh, who is receiving CADCA’s National Leadership Award. Koh, former Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at the Harvard School of Public Health.
During Capitol Hill Day on Feb. 4, participants will hear from Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); and U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) and Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). Former member of Congress Nick Rahall (D-WV) will also take part in the annual event.
Several hundred youth will also attend the meeting to take part in CADCA’s National Youth Leadership Initiative (NYLI), where youth will learn how to become substance abuse prevention advocates and powerful community leaders.
For more information about CADCA’s National Leadership Forum, visit https://forum.cadca.org/.
Members of the media interested in press credentials for the National Leadership Forum should contact Natalia Martinez Duncan at (703) 706-0560, Ext. 256 or nmartinez@cadca.org.
