William L. White is a writer on addiction recovery and policy.
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.[1] He received a bachelor's degree from Eureka College, studying psychology, sociology and history.[2]
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.[3]
Bill White's has held many professional appointments since 2000 to the present day including:
| 1999 | McGovern Family Foundation Award for the best book on addiction recovery for Slaying the Dragon | |
| 2001 | Keith Keesy Memorial Award presented by the Illinois Association of Alcohol and Drug Dependence | |
| 2001 | President’s Award, NAADAC—The Association for Addiction Professionals | |
| 2002 | Lifetime Achievement Award, Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA) | |
| 2003 | National Association of Addiction Treatment Provider’s (NAATP) Michael Q. Ford Journalism Award | |
| 2004 | National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) Award for Compelling Documentation of the Alcoholism Movement in the United States | |
| 2006 | Eagleville Award—an annual award presented by Eagleville Hospital to a person who has made a significant contribution to the field of addiction treatment. | |
| 2006 | Lifetime Achievement Award presented by NAADAC—The Association for Addiction Professionals | |
| 2006 | Jeff Luke Servant Leadership Award presented by White Bison for service to the Native American Wellbriety Movement | |
| 2007 | John P. McGovern, M.D. Award presented by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) for outstanding contributions to the field of Addiction Medicine | |
| 2009 | Lifetime Achievement Award, Mayor’s Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission, City of Philadelphia | |
| 2010 | Dr. Nelson J. Bradley Life Time Achievement Award, National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers | |
| 2010 | The John P. McGovern Award and Lecture, Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. | |
| 2010 | Recovery Award for Excellence in Addiction Research & Education, Foundation for Recovery | |
| 2011 | Recovery Heroes Honoree, NET Institute-Center for Addiction & Recovery Education | |
| 2012 | Norman E. Zinberg Award & Memorial Lecture, Harvard University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry | |
| 2012 | Friend of the Field Award (for extraordinary contributions to the field of opioid addiction treatment), American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence | |
| 2012 | Lifetime Achievement, The Voice Awards, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration | |
| 2013 | Saul Feldman Award for Lifetime Achievement for sustained and significant contributions to leadership and policy in the mental health and addiction recovery field. ACMHA The College for Behavioral Health Leadership | |
| 2013 | Resolution of commendation for sustained and seminal contributions to the addiction treatment and recovery field, Board of Directors, The Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association | |
| 2013 | Distinguished Advocate of the Year Award, Texas Association of Addiction Professionals | |
| 2015 | Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award, America Honors Recovery / Faces and Voices of Recovery for outstanding contributions and lifetime devotion to the recovery advocacy movement. | |
| 2015 | William L. White Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of Recovery Research (year one recipient of named award). Young People in Recovery & Association of Recovery Schools. |