Closing the Gaps

Dr. Neeraj Gandotra serves as the Chief Medical Officer for SAMHSA. Previously, Dr. Gandotra served as the Chief Medical Officer for a large nationwide addiction treatment network where he has developed national strategies specifically aimed at reducing risk and improving outcomes. Read more...

Dr. Gandotra began his Addiction career in public health serving an underserved community in Washington DC where he developed his perspective of how a nationwide approach to addiction treatment is greatly needed. As Medical Director of Addiction Treatment Services at Johns Hopkins he directed patient care through implementation of department initiatives and medical center resources. Dr. Gandotra has also worked as a Medical Director for federally qualified health centers where it was necessary to develop policies mindful of specific catchment area needs. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Gandotra is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. Dr. Gandotra has worked with the Maryland State Attorney General on cases of physician misconduct, specifically those involving prescriptions of controlled substances. Dr. Gandotra also has been a consultant for the NFL player’s assistance program for substance use disorders. Dr. Gandotra received his medical degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) School of Medicine and completed his Psychiatric residency at Howard University. He completed an Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine.

Over the past thirty years, Michael Botticelli has held a variety of leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. He was most recently the inaugural director of the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center and a Distinguished Policy Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to these positions, he was the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for the Obama Administration and the long serving Director of the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. He is also a person in long term recovery celebrating over 35 years in recovery. Read more...

He has also served in a variety of leadership roles for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. He was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. He has also co-authored many peer-reviewed articles that have significantly contributed to the field. While mostly enjoying a leisurely life in retirement, Michael is currently consulting to the United States State Department leading efforts to establish a Global Recovery Network. Michael’s work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and on 60 Minutes. Born in Upstate New York, Mr. Botticelli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Siena College and a Master of Education degree from St. Lawrence University.