Donald J. Kurth, Jr. (born April 26, 1949) is a physician, businessowner, educator, and former mayor of the City of Rancho Cucamonga, California (2006–2011). He was elected President of the Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce in 1994, Director of the Cucamonga County Water District in 1996, appointed to the Rancho Cucamonga City Council in 2002, and elected mayor of Rancho Cucamonga on November 7, 2006.

Early life

Donald James Kurth, Jr. was born in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

, Rhode Island where his father, also named Donald James Kurth, was stationed in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Kurth's father and mother, Isabelle, both served in the hospital corps in the Navy throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His mother taught Navy carrier pilots how to use oxygen masks for high altitude missions. His father served on the heavy cruiser, the USS New Orleans, in battles including

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Tassafaronga. During the night Battle of Tassafaronga in November 1942, the New Orleans engaged the “Tokyo Express” troop convoy which was supplying troops and supplies to block the United States Marine invasion of Gaudalcanal. During the battle, the New Orleans was hit and cut nearly in half by an enemy submarine torpedo, losing her bow and two hundred seamen. The ship travelled backwards to port in Sydney, Australia and was later repaired and returned to action. Following the war, Kurth's father was stationed first in Newport Rhode Island and subsequently transferred to the Brooklyn Naval Yard when Kurth was less than a year old and the family bought a home in northern New Jersey, where Kurth was raised.

Education

Kurth graduated from Westwood High School in 1967. He later completed his undergraduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(BA), graduating cum laude and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1975 before attending medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he graduated in 1979 (MD). Following a fellowship in orthopedic surgery at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he returned to the United States to complete his medical education. After completing his internship at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, he trained at the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Hospital Medical Center and later became Board Certified first in Emergency Medicine and then in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Kurth subsequently received his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

School of Public Health and his Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Kennedy School of Government.

Public policy

Dr. Kurth has been a prolific writer and advocate regarding matters of healthcare public policy, particularly in the area of substance dependence and abuse. In 1999, he founded California Legislative Day for the

California Society of Addiction Medicine California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) is the California organization of physicians who specialize in treating addiction. Addiction medicine is the medical specialty that provides care and treatment for people with substance use disorder. ...

(CSAM), and in 2003 the National Legislative Day for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). He and his colleagues were instrumental in the repeal of the Uniform Policy Provision Law (UPPL) in California and passage of the bipartisan Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. In 2003, Dr. Kurth received the prestigious

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

Fellowship for Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse.

Professional activities

He served as president of the

from 2002 to 2004, and was elected President ElectAddiction Professional enewsletter. “American Society of Addiction Medicine names Donald J. Kurth as president“. Retrieved from the Internet on April 5, 2009 from of the American Society of Addiction Medicine in 2008. In 2002 Dr. Kurth's peers awarded him the title of Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, an honor given to less than 300 physicians worldwide. Kurth also served as the California State Healthcare Coalition Chairperson for Presidential Candidate

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

in 2008. In this capacity, he served as a speaker on national healthcare issues in the state of California. Kurth currently serves on the faculty of

School of Medicine as an assistant professor with appointments in both Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry. In addition, he holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health. Kurth owns the Urgent Care Center and Alta Loma Medical Group in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He is founder of the Children's Free Immunization Clinic, which has provided free immunizations to many thousands of local children since 1983. He has also served as a medical volunteer with

the Flying Samaritans The Flying Samaritans is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free health care for underserved populations in Baja California, Mexico. The organization consists of ten different chapters, each with up to eight branches, that all operat ...

, a group of physicians and other volunteers who use private airplanes to bring free medical care to underserved children in inaccessible regions of rural

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Kurth is married to Dee Matreyek, Ph.D., who is the founder and president of the Restorative Justice Center of the Inland Empire.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurth, Don 1949 births Columbia University alumni Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni American emergency physicians Mayors of places in California People from Rancho Cucamonga, California Johns Hopkins University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Loma Linda University alumni Loma Linda University faculty Living people American addiction physicians