Regina LaBelle is a distinguished scholar and director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O’Neill Institute.

Working at the intersection of law and policy, LaBelle’s work focuses on identifying policies to reduce overdoses, and using the law to promote access to quality addiction treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services.

LaBelle also founded, directs, and teaches in the Master of Science in Addiction Policy and Practice program at Georgetown University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

LaBelle brings decades of public service to her work at the O’Neill Institute. Most recently, LaBelle was an appointee in the Biden-Harris administration and served as acting director in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the Executive Office of the President. The first woman to serve in this position, LaBelle oversaw the establishment of the Biden-Harris administration’s drug policy priorities, which included a historic focus on harm reduction services. LaBelle previously served in the Obama administration as chief of staff at ONDCP and oversaw the agency’s efforts to respond to the opioid epidemic and other drug policy issues, including implementation of the National Drug Control Strategy.

Prior to her work in federal government, LaBelle served as legal counsel to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, providing legal and policy advice to the mayor on high-profile city initiatives. From 1998 to 2005, LaBelle was an adjunct professor of policy and ethics at the Seattle University Institute for Policy Studies.

LaBelle received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from Boston College. She is an active member of the Washington State Bar.

Work

O'Neill Initiatives

Addiction and Public Policy

Advancing a public health approach to substance use disorders and the overdose epidemic through legal and policy strategies that promote evidence-based treatment and support recovery.

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