At A Glance:

John P. Walters is president and chief executive officer of Hudson Institute.

Assistant
Juliana Struyk
Special Assistant to the President and CEO

Biography

John P. Walters is president and chief executive officer of Hudson Institute.

From 2009 through 2020, Mr. Walters served as chief operating officer of Hudson, in which role he oversaw Hudson’s research staff and operations. He was appointed president and CEO in January 2021.

Mr. Walters also directs Hudson Institute Political Studies—an undergraduate summer fellowship program—and Hudson’s Center for Substance Abuse Policy Research. In addition, he was a member of the Independent Review Committee, hosted by Hudson Institute from 2019 to 2022 and established to advise the Attorney General and Congress on the implementation of criminal justice reform under the First Step Act.

From December 2001 to January 2009, Mr. Walters was director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and a cabinet member during the Bush administration. As the nation’s “drug czar,” Mr. Walters guided all aspects of federal drug policy and programs—supporting efforts that drove down teen drug use 25 percent, increased substance abuse treatment and screening in the healthcare system, and dramatically dropped the availability of cocaine and methamphetamine in the US.

From 1996 until 2001, Mr. Walters served as president of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a national association of charitable foundations and individual donors. His prior government service included work at ONDCP, at its founding in 1989 as chief of staff, and later as deputy director of supply reduction. He was assistant to the secretary and chief of staff at the US Department of Education during the Reagan administration. He also served in the Division of Education Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1982 to 1985.

Mr. Walters has taught political science at Michigan State University’s James Madison College and at Boston College. He holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MA from the University of Toronto.

Events
11
December 2023
Past Event
Beyond the SCIF: Countering Chinese Influence Operations on American Soil
Featured Speakers:
John P. Walters
Miles Yu
John Lee
Craig Singleton
Moderator:
Rep. Mike Waltz
(Getty Images)
11
December 2023
Past Event
Beyond the SCIF: Countering Chinese Influence Operations on American Soil

Representative Mike Waltz will moderate a panel on China’s influence operations in the United States.

(Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
John P. Walters
Miles Yu
John Lee
Craig Singleton
Moderator:
Rep. Mike Waltz
01
December 2023
Past Event
US National Security and Ukraine: A Bipartisan Conversation with Representatives Don Bacon and Chrissy Houlahan
Featured Speakers:
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan
Rep. Don Bacon
Tamar Jacoby
John P. Walters
Luke Coffey
Ukrainian soldiers train in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on October 29, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
01
December 2023
Past Event
US National Security and Ukraine: A Bipartisan Conversation with Representatives Don Bacon and Chrissy Houlahan

Please join Hudson Institute and the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) for a discussion with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) on these critical questions. The event will be moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey and Tamar Jacoby, who directs PPI’s New Ukraine Project, with brief opening remarks from Hudson President John Walters.

Ukrainian soldiers train in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on October 29, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan
Rep. Don Bacon
Tamar Jacoby
John P. Walters
Luke Coffey
15
November 2023
Past Event
Presidential Speech Series: Chris Christie
Featured Speakers:
Governor Chris Christie
Michael Doran
John P. Walters
Presidential Speech Series
15
November 2023
Past Event
Presidential Speech Series: Chris Christie

Governor Chris Christie, presidential candidate and former governor of New Jersey, will give a foreign policy address at Hudson Institute. 

Presidential Speech Series
Featured Speakers:
Governor Chris Christie
Michael Doran
John P. Walters
14
November 2023
Past Event
Still Friends after All These Years? The US-Canada Relationship in a Dangerous World
Featured Speakers:
Brian Lee Crowley
Charles Burton
John P. Walters
Miles Yu
Moderators:
Matthew Boyse
Patrick M. Cronin
.
14
November 2023
Past Event
Still Friends after All These Years? The US-Canada Relationship in a Dangerous World

Hudson Institute, in partnership with MLI, is proud to host the launch of the Center for North American Prosperity and Security.

.
Featured Speakers:
Brian Lee Crowley
Charles Burton
John P. Walters
Miles Yu
Moderators:
Matthew Boyse
Patrick M. Cronin