William L. White

William L. White is a writer on addiction recovery and policy.

Biography White was born the eldest son in an Army family, father, William "Billy" White and mother, Alice White. His father was a construction worker and his mother was a nurse. His family grew quite large with more than 20 adopted, foster, related and siblings living in a small rural home in Decatur, Illinois. He received a bachelor's degree from Eureka College, studying psychology, sociology and history.

Career

His first job was with the Illinois Department of Mental Health in 1967, where his responsibilities were to tour the wards of the mental health institution and screen the alcoholics and addicts for community placement. In the seventies, he became an outreach worker, gathering addicts and alcoholics from jail or hospitals and connecting them with services like Salvation Army shelters, SRO’s and AA meetings. In 1970, he worked at Chestnut Health Systems, one of the first local community treatment centers in Illinois, and became the clinical director of the facility.

In 1975, White left to pursue a master's degree in Addiction Studies at Goddard College. Upon graduating he began working with the Illinois Dangerous Drug Commission, and then became deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s training center in Washington DC. In 1986, he returned to the Chestnut Health System and founded the Lighthouse Institute, an addiction treatment research center. In 1998, he published his best-known book, Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America. He was a senior consultant at the Chestnut Health System engaged in research and writing on addiction treatment and recovery coaching up until his retirement in 2014. He continues to write about the history of treatment and recovery on his website.

Professional appointments Bill White's has held many professional appointments since 2000 to the present day including: Advisory Committee, NAADAC Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Council, Faces and Voices of Recovery Advisory Board, Harm Reduction, Abstinence and Moderation (HAMS) Board of Directors, Betty Ford Institute National Advisory Board, Recovery Research Institute, Harvard Medical School NAADAC Recovery to Practice Advisory Committee UK National Treatment Agency Expert Group on Recovery-oriented Drug Treatment Advisory Panel, State of New Jersey Governor’s Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Scientific Advisory Panel, Phoenix House, Inc. International Advisory Council, SMART Recovery Advisory Board, LifeRing Secular Recovery Advisory Board, Jewish Network of Addiction Recovery Support Advisory Council, Association of Recovery Schools Board of Directors, Wellbriety for Prisons, Inc. Editorial Board, Counselor Magazine Editorial Board, Student Assistance Journal Editorial Board, Quest House Review Board Member, Wired In to Recovery, UK Editorial Board, Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly Editorial Board, Advances in Addiction and Recovery

Awards

Books

Don Coyhis and William L. White, Alcohol Problems in Native America: The Untold Story of Resistance and Recovery. Colorado Springs, CO: Coyhis Publishing & Consulting, Inc., 2006