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.

In a February, 2002 White House ceremony, President Bush and Mr. Walters released the National Drug Control Strategy, which set aggressive goals of a 10 percent reduction in teen and adult drug use in two years and a 25 percent reduction in teen and adult drug use in five years. The latest Monitoring the Future Study, released in December, 2003, showed an 11 percent reduction in teen drug use over two years, exceeding the President's goal and bringing drug use to its lowest recorded levels since the early 1990s.

Since taking office, Mr. Walters has directed critical changes to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, making the ads harder-hitting and more effective. Award-winning ads linking drug trafficking with terrorism and ads focusing on the harms of marijuana have been credited with helping change youth attitudes and behavior toward drugs. Mr. Walters also led a restructuring of the federal drug control budget so that it more accurately reflects the actual dollars spent on programs aimed at reducing drug use, making it a more useful tool for policymakers.

Plan Colombia has begun to mature and thrive under Mr. Walters' purview. In 2003, over 130,000 hectares of mature coca were sprayed and eradicated in Colombia, where at the start of the year, approximately 145,000 hectares had been planted. This strategic accomplishment prevented the production over 500 metric tons of cocaine, sufficient to supply all the cocaine addicts in both US and European for one year. Further, it eliminated upward of $100 million of illicit income that supports narco-terrorism in Colombia.

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.

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.

During the Reagan Administration, he served as Assistant to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, and was responsible for leading the development of anti-drug programs. He was also the Secretary's representative to the National Drug Policy Board and the Domestic Policy Council's Health Policy Working Group.