Andrea Grubb Barthwell, M.D., FASAM, was nominated by President George W. Bush in December 2001 to serve as Deputy Director for Demand Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The United States Senate confirmed her nomination on January 28, 2002. As a member of the President’s sub-cabinet, Dr. Barthwell was a principal advisor to ONDCP Director John P. Walters on policies aimed at reducing the demand for illicit drugs. Dr. Barthwell provided executive leadership of the Office of Demand Reduction and was responsible for the demand reduction aspects of the National Drug Control Strategy. In July, 2005 she returned to the Chicago area.

During Dr. Barthwell’s first two years in the Bush Administration, ONDCP widely publicized the science-based facts about the dangers of marijuana use and the harms of drug legalization. ONDCP encouraged student drug testing as a deterrent to the initiation of drug use and as an early identification tool, and it promoted the expansion and improvement of drug courts. Through its 25-Cities Initiative, ONDCP fostered local coordination of drug control efforts. ONDCP also worked with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) to provide funding for screenings, brief interventions, and referrals to treatment. In fiscal year 2004, the President’s drug treatment initiative, Access to Recovery, received a $100 million appropriation from Congress.

Dr. Barthwell served on the White House Task Force on Disadvantaged Youth and the White House Domestic Violence Working Group. She worked actively with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to define the scope of its Health Services Research portfolio. Prior to her presidential appointment, Dr. Barthwell was a member of CSAT’s National Advisory Council and the Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Abuse Advisory Committee.

Reflecting her commitment to merging science and practice, Dr. Barthwell has focused on finding innovative ways to bring care to individuals in need of substance abuse treatment. As an author and lecturer, she focuses on the connections between drug use and cultural issues, violence, and infectious diseases. Her work with ethnic minorities, HIV/AIDS, and women with children has focused on helping individuals to become contributing members of society.

Dr. Barthwell received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Wesleyan University and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan Medical School. Following post-graduate training at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University Medical Center, she began her practice in the Chicago area. Dr. Barthwell served as President of the Encounter Medical Group. She was also a consultant to the Cook County Juvenile Drug Court Program. A founding member of the Chicago Area AIDS Task Force, Dr. Barthwell hosted a weekly local cable show on AIDS. She served two terms as president of the Illinois Society of Addiction Medicine and is a past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

In 2003, Dr. Barthwell received the Betty Ford Award, given by the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse, as well as the National Treatment Accountablility for Safer Communities Award for exellence in the field of addiction medicine. In 1997, Dr. Barthwell’s peers named her one of the “Best Doctors in America” in addiction medicine.