Johns Hopkins SAIS to host Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of National Drug Policy at The White House, for a conversation with SAIS Dean James B. Steinberg on September 28

MEDIA ADVISORY

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will host Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)as part of the Dean’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, September 28. Dr. Gupta, the first medical doctor to ever lead ONDCP, will join Johns Hopkins SAIS Dean James B. Steinberg for a discussion about the national opioid and overdose epidemic, its impact on U.S. national security and economic prosperity, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s approach in implementing President Biden’s National Drug Control Strategy to commercially disrupt the international business of drug trafficking and expand access to high-impact public health interventions to save lives.
 
Speakers

James B. Steinberg
Dean, Johns Hopkins SAIS

Rahul Gupta
U.S. Director of National Drug Policy, The White House

Time and Date
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Location
Kenney-Herter Auditorium, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Registration
This event is open to the public and media, with registration. This event is on the record.

Media Contact
Asma Yousef
Associate Director of Communications
Johns Hopkins University
+1 (771) 200-6659
[email protected]

About the Speakers
James B. Steinberg is the 10th Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Most recently, he served as the University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs, and Law at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he was also Dean from 2011 to 2016. Before joining Syracuse University, he was Deputy Secretary of State from 2009 to 2011, serving as the principal deputy to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. From 2005 to 2008, Steinberg held the role of Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Prior to joining the University of Texas, he was vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution from 2001 to 2005. From 1996 to 2000, Steinberg served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Bill Clinton. During this time, he also served as the president’s personal representative to the 1998 and 1999 G8 summits. Before the Deputy National Security Advisor role, Steinberg held positions as director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Analysis at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

Steinberg’s most recent books are A Glass Half Full? Rebalance, Reassurance and Resolve in the U.S.-China Relationship and Strategic Reassurance and Resolve: U.S.-China Relations in the 21st Century. Steinberg wrote both books with Michael O’Hanlon. His recent book chapters and articles include: “Too Much History: American Policy and East Asia in the Shadow of the Past” in Texas National Security Review; “Present at the ‘Re-Creation’: The Role of the State Department in Formulating and Implementing U.S. Global Policy” in America’s National Security Architecture; “United States: Grappling with Rising Powers” in Shaper Nations: Strategies for a Changing World; and “History, Policymaking, and the Balkans: Lessons Imported and Lessons Learned” in The Power of the Past, History and Statecraft. Steinberg is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and recognitions, including the CIA Director's Medal, Joseph J. Kruzel Memorial Award from the American Political Science Association, and Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP is the first medical doctor to ever leadONDCP. He most recently served as the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Interim Chief Science Officer and Senior Vice President at March of Dimes. In his role, Dr. Gupta provided strategic oversight for March of Dimes’ domestic and global medical and public health efforts. He recently served as clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine as well as adjunct professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership in the School of Public Health at West Virginia University and visiting faculty at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

A practicing primary care physician of 25 years, Dr. Gupta began his career in private practice in an underserved community of fewer than 2,000 residents. He has since served under two Governors as the Health Commissioner of West Virginia. As the state’s Chief Health Officer, he led the opioid crisis response efforts and launched several pioneering public health initiatives, including the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Birthscore program to identify high-risk infants. Dr. Gupta also led the development of the state’s Zika action plan and its preparedness efforts during the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak.

A national and global thought leader and a driver of innovative public policies on health issues, Dr. Gupta serves as an advisor to several organizations and task forces on local, national, and international public health policy. The son of an Indian diplomat, Rahul was born in India and grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. At age 21, he completed medical school at the University of Delhi. He earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of Alabama-Birmingham and a global Master of Business Administration degree from the London School of Business and Finance. He is married to Dr. Seema Gupta, a physician in the Veterans Administration for over a decade. They are the proud parents of identical twin sons, Arka and Drew.

Johns Hopkins SAIS
A division of Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues. For more than 75 years, Johns Hopkins SAIS has produced great leaders, thinkers, and practitioners of international relations. Public leaders and private sector executives alike seek the counsel of the faculty, whose ideas and research inform and shape policy. Johns Hopkins SAIS offers a global perspective across three campus locations: Bologna, Italy; Nanjing, China; and Washington, D.C. The school's interdisciplinary curriculum is strongly rooted in the study of international economics, international relations, and regional studies, preparing students to address multifaceted challenges in the world today.

For more information, visit sais.jhu.edu or on Twitter @SAISHopkins

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