Michael P. Botticelli (born January 2, 1958) is an American public health official who served as the director of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Office of National Drug Control Policy The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The Director of the ONDCP, colloquially known as the Drug Czar, heads the office. "Drug Czar" was a term first used ...

(ONDCP) from March 2014 until the end of President Obama's term. He was named acting director after the resignation of

Gil Kerlikowske Richard Gil Kerlikowske (born November 23, 1949) is a former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He assumed office on March 6, 2014 and retired January 20, 2017. He also served as the Director of the Office of National Drug Cont ...

, and received confirmation from the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in February 2015. Prior to joining ONDCP, he worked in the

Massachusetts Department of Public Health The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with various responsibilities related to public health within that state. It is headquartered in Boston and headed by Commissioner Monica B ...

. Following completion of his service as ONDCP Director, he became the executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at the Boston Medical Center.

Early life and education

Botticelli was born in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

and raised in

Waterford, New York Waterford is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 8,423 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. The town is located in the southeast corner of Sara ...

. He attended Catholic Central High School. He later received a Bachelor's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

and a Masters in Education from St. Lawrence University. Botticelli began drinking alcohol regularly in his junior year of high school. By his 20s, he was an alcoholic. He also experimented with cocaine and

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. He was arrested for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

following a traffic collision on the Massachusetts Turnpike in 1988. A judge gave him the option of going into treatment or being sentenced to prison, and he chose to enter treatment.

Career

After achieving sobriety, Botticelli joined the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, in 1994. He worked as a coordinator for alcoholism programs from 1994 through 1995, as contract manager for HIV-related policies and services from 1995 through 1996, as an assistant director for policy and planning from 1996 through 2000, as the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to the public health commissioner from 2000 through 2003, and as director of substance abuse services from 2003 to 2012. In the latter role, he oversaw the pilot program for

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, police to begin carrying

naloxone Naloxone, sold under the brand names Narcan (4 mg) and Kloxxado (8 mg) among others, is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. It is commonly used to counter decreased breathing in opioid overdose. Effects begin within ...

to treat

opioid Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid us ...

overdose, and the expansion of substance abuse treatment services in community health centers.

, serving as the director of the

(ONDCP) under President Barack Obama, met Botticelli on a visit to Massachusetts and asked him to serve as deputy director. In March 2014, following Kerlikowske's confirmation as commissioner of

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

, Botticelli became acting director. He is the first director of the ONDCP to be in recovery for substance use. The

confirmed Botticelli in February 2015 by a vote of 92-0. As director of ONDCP, Botticelli has advocated to expand the usage of naloxone, improved education for providers around prescription painkillers and providing clean syringes for

injection drug users Drug injection is a method of introducing a drug into the bloodstream via a hollow hypodermic needle, which is pierced through the skin into the body (usually intravenously, but also at an intramuscular or subcutaneous location). Intravenous t ...

to limit the spread of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

. Botticelli criticized the nation's previous approach to dealing with drug issues stating that "We can't arrest and incarcerate addiction out of people". He believes the focus should be on treatment rather than incarceration. He does, however, oppose free marijuana for its effects, for the publicity similar to tobacco it might get and for the dependency the states might get on its taxes. Following the end of the Obama administration, the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at the Boston Medical Center named Botticelli its executive director. Botticelli is a member of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. He has been an advisory committee member of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

Honors and awards

*ASAM Public Policy Award (2015)
*Ramstad/Kennedy National Award for Outstanding Leadership in Promoting Addiction Recovery (2008) *National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors Service Award (2012)

Personal life

Botticelli and his husband, David Wells, were married in 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Botticelli, Michael 1958 births Directors of the Office of National Drug Control Policy LGBT appointed officials in the United States LGBT people from Massachusetts LGBT people from New York (state) Living people Massachusetts Democrats Obama administration personnel Politicians from Troy, New York Politicians from Boston Siena College alumni St. Lawrence University alumni