NEW YORK, NY -- The National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)* at Columbia
University announced today that Join Together will
be merged into CASA and David L. Rosenbloom,
Ph.D., will become the President and Chief
Executive Officer of CASA on May 1, 2009,
succeeding Joseph A. Califano, Jr., the former
U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
who founded CASA in 1992 and has been its Chairman
and President since that time. Califano will
continue to serve as CASA chairman.
"Naming David Rosenbloom CASA's new president
is the result of more than two years of work by
the Board which involved an analysis of CASA's
first 16 years, discussions with 100 individuals
and institutions about CASA achievements and
potential, the needs of the substance abuse field,
and an intensive search involving a number of
qualified candidates. The Board and I are
convinced that David Rosenbloom is the individual
best suited to move CASA forward and increase its
influence and activities," said Califano.
"Merging Join Together into CASA will greatly
strengthen CASA's ability to inform the American
people of the economic and social costs of
substance abuse and its impact on their lives,
make CASA's research findings and recommendations
widely available to those working on the front
lines to prevent and treat substance abuse and
addiction, and significantly expand our nationwide
advocacy capacity. The combination of CASA
and Join Together will produce a total far greater
than the sum of the parts."
Rosenbloom, 64, has been Director of Join
Together since he founded it in 1991. He is a
Professor of Public Health at the Boston
University School of Public Health. For eight
years, from 1973 to 1985, he was Commissioner of
the Department Health and Hospitals for the city
of Boston and CEO of Boston City
Hospital. For several years after that he was
president and CEO of Health Data Institute, a
company that pioneered the clinical analysis of
medical claims data and developed managed care
techniques. He received his BA from Colgate
University in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970.
"Progress in addiction prevention and treatment
is essential in order to reform America's health
care system and address most other critical social
problems facing the nation. Combining the
resources of CASA and Join Together creates the
critical mass needed to focus the attention of our
nation and its leaders on the need for effective
prevention and treatment policies to achieve such
progress. It blends the formidable research
of CASA and the public and policy attention that
CASA has attracted with the unique web based
education and advocacy and tools of Join Together.
I am excited by the opportunity to combine and
lead these talented teams and work with Joe
Califano," said Rosenbloom.
Join Together is the leading provider of news,
information and continuing education on tobacco,
alcohol and illegal, prescription and performance
enhancing drugs to policy makers, community
leaders, parents, and front line prevention and
treatment practitioners; all free of charge to
more than 50,000 subscribers and 7,000 daily users
of its website http://www.jointogether.org/.
Its advocacy campaigns promote adoption of
prevention and treatment policies and practices
that research has shown to be effective.
"CASA is the premier think/action tank in the
field with the brightest group of professionals
ever assembled under one roof to research and
combat substance abuse and addiction. David has
the right experience, talent and creativity to
enhance this national asset. We are fortunate that
he has accepted this challenge," said Califano. "I
look forward to working with him."
CASA is the only national organization that
brings together under one roof all the
professional disciplines needed to study and
combat all types of substance abuse as they affect
all aspects of society. CASA and its staff of
more than 50 professionals has issued 66 reports
and white papers, published one book, conducted
demonstration programs focused on children,
families and schools at 224 sites in 87 cities and
counties in 34 states plus Washington, DC and two
Native American tribal reservations, held 17
conferences attended by professionals and others
from 49 states, and has been evaluating the
effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment in a
variety of programs and drug courts.
CASA is the creator of the nationwide
initiative Family Day -- A Day to Eat Dinner
With Your Childrentm -- the fourth
Monday in September -- the 28th in 2009 -- that
promotes parental engagement as a simple and
effective way to reduce children's risk of
smoking, drinking and using illegal drugs. In May
2007, CASA's Chairman Joseph A. Califano, Jr.,
called for a fundamental shift in the nation's
attitude about substance abuse and addiction with
publication of his book, HIGH SOCIETY: How
Substance Abuse Ravages America and What To Do
About It.
For more information visit http://www.casacolumbia.org/.
*The National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse at Columbia University is neither
affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the National
Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (also
known as "CASA") or any of its member
organizations, or any other organizations with the
name of "CASA".