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The esteemed Dr. Reggie Whitten will deliver a presentation on Opioid Dependency and Awareness at the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) Carter Student Union Ballroom on March 11. 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Dr. Whitten is a trial lawyer and is the co-founder and senior partner at Whitten Burrage. Following his son’s death as a result of opioid addiction in 2002, Dr. Whitten established the Whitten-Newman Foundation to prevent addiction and mentor students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Dr. Whitten also founded Fighting Addiction Through Education (FATE), which provides programming and resources to educate Oklahomans about the crisis of substance abuse and addiction within the state.

In addition to his education and awareness efforts, Dr. Whitten served as one of the three lead trial lawyers for in a series of lawsuits against Johnson &Johnson, Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and several subsidiaries, which led to the state being awarded nearly $830 million to fund addiction research, treatment, and pay legal fees. Sponsored by the SOR and HRSA opioid prevention grant programs, this presentation is free and open to the public and no pre-registration is required. Following his address, Dr. Whitten will answer questions from the audience and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office will conduct an opioid awareness training session. For more information, contact Rachel Lloyd at rlloyd@neo.edu.