Drug Czar Visits New England

R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, travelled to Phoenix House Exeter Center, Exeter, Rhode Island, on Thursday, July 16, 2009, as part of his ongoing efforts to visit substance abuse treatment facilities across the country and speak with staff and clients in recovery.
More than 110 guests were present to meet Director Kerlikowske, including a number of prominent Rhode Island political and community leaders, health care and drug treatment professionals, and Phoenix House staff and clients. A highlight of the morning was a round-table discussion at which Director Kerlikowske took off his jacket, straddled a chair, and spoke in depth with adolescents attending from Phoenix Academies in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Appointed by President Barak Obama, Director Kerlikowske assumed office on May 7, 2009, and was officially sworn in on Friday, June 19, 2009, by Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.