Through a professional career as an educator, Dr. Judi Kosterman found herself working with kids and communities and all the issues confronting them. As a high school teacher, counselor, principal, school district superintendent, and university professor, Judi has shared her heartwork for the learning and growth of youth. Outside the school building itself, Judi served for a decade as Director of Washington State’s High School Leadership and Cheerleader Conferences.

Judi’s doctorate in Educational Leadership and Addiction Studies from Seattle University may seem an unusual combination, but she has found the issues of alcohol and other drug abuse to be a central barrier to the optimal development of students.

Judi’s work brought her recognition as Educator of the Year from the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth. She received Washington State’s Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Education Award and was the first recipient of the" Kosterman" Award for Leadership in Substance Abuse Prevention, named for her.   In January 1990, Governor Booth Gardner of Washington State named Judi to be his Special Assistant on Substance Abuse Issues. She served in that capacity (state Drug Czar) through 1993. As State Drug Czar, in addition to her policy work, she led the statewide effort on Community Mobilization Against substance Abuse, the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse, a statewide public awareness campaign (Face It. Drug Free Communities Are Up To You!), and the Washington Interagency Network Against Substance Abuse. In April of 1994, Judi joined the staff of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and served as CADCA’s Vice President for Training and Technical Assistance. In September of 1999, Judi moved to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as the Assistant Director of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

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