Kathryn Burgum
White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery | Co-Chair, Great American Recovery
Reframing Addiction. Restoring Hope. Advancing Recovery.
For more than a decade, Kathryn Burgum has worked alongside policymakers, healthcare and treatment industry leaders, tribal leaders, community organizations, and families to change how America understands and responds to addiction.
Her work is grounded in lived experience - personal and professional - and shaped by years of engagement at the state and national level.
For eight years, as First Lady of North Dakota, she championed eliminating the stigma of addiction with her groundbreaking initiative Recovery Reinvented – using the power of storytelling to change perceptions and inspire recovery. Sharing stories of how lives - including hers, have been impacted by addiction. This approach worked. North Dakota is the first state in the nation to measure the stigma of the disease of addiction. Through Recovery Reinvented, storytelling and the grassroots efforts of communities, stigma was reduced by 20%.
The current approach to addiction is fragmented with gaps in care and is confusing for people trying to navigate treatment options. When addiction is addressed with the same seriousness, continuity of care, and accountability as other chronic diseases, lives are saved and outcomes improve—leading to greater stability for families, stronger communities, and a nation restored.
Kathryn’s work is personal. Like millions of Americans, Kathryn’s life has been shaped by her own addiction and recovery and that experience informs every conversation, recommendation and commitment she makes. She believes recovery is possible on a national scale and complex systems can change.
For more than a decade, Kathryn Burgum has worked alongside policymakers, healthcare and treatment industry leaders, tribal leaders, community organizations, and families to change how America understands and responds to addiction.
Her work is grounded in lived experience - personal and professional - and shaped by years of engagement at the state and national level.
For eight years, as First Lady of North Dakota, she championed eliminating the stigma of addiction with her groundbreaking initiative Recovery Reinvented – using the power of storytelling to change perceptions and inspire recovery. Sharing stories of how lives - including hers, have been impacted by addiction. This approach worked. North Dakota is the first state in the nation to measure the stigma of the disease of addiction. Through Recovery Reinvented, storytelling and the grassroots efforts of communities, stigma was reduced by 20%.
The current approach to addiction is fragmented with gaps in care and is confusing for people trying to navigate treatment options. When addiction is addressed with the same seriousness, continuity of care, and accountability as other chronic diseases, lives are saved and outcomes improve—leading to greater stability for families, stronger communities, and a nation restored.
Kathryn’s work is personal. Like millions of Americans, Kathryn’s life has been shaped by her own addiction and recovery and that experience informs every conversation, recommendation and commitment she makes. She believes recovery is possible on a national scale and complex systems can change.
For more than a decade, Kathryn Burgum has worked alongside policymakers, healthcare and treatment industry leaders, tribal leaders, community organizations, and families to change how America understands and responds to addiction.
Her work is grounded in lived experience - personal and professional - and shaped by years of engagement at the state and national level.
For eight years, as First Lady of North Dakota, she championed eliminating the stigma of addiction with her groundbreaking initiative Recovery Reinvented – using the power of storytelling to change perceptions and inspire recovery. Sharing stories of how lives - including hers, have been impacted by addiction. This approach worked. North Dakota is the first state in the nation to measure the stigma of the disease of addiction. Through Recovery Reinvented, storytelling and the grassroots efforts of communities, stigma was reduced by 20%.
The current approach to addiction is fragmented with gaps in care and is confusing for people trying to navigate treatment options. When addiction is addressed with the same seriousness, continuity of care, and accountability as other chronic diseases, lives are saved and outcomes improve—leading to greater stability for families, stronger communities, and a nation restored.
Kathryn’s work is personal. Like millions of Americans, Kathryn’s life has been shaped by her own addiction and recovery and that experience informs every conversation, recommendation and commitment she makes. She believes recovery is possible on a national scale and complex systems can change.
The Great American Recovery initiative was created through Executive Order by President Trump January 29, 2026. It is a White House-led effort focused on transforming the nation’s approach to prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery from the chronic disease of addiction.
Kathryn currently serves as Co-Chair of Great American Recovery along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. She is also White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery.
Why This Work Matters
America's approach to addiction has long been fragmented, leaving individuals and families to navigate a system that is often confusing, inconsistent, and difficult to access.
Kathryn believes lasting change begins by treating addiction as a chronic disease and building a recovery system that is coordinated, accountable, and centered on long-term healing.
The challenges we must solve:
Families are left navigating a confusing and inconsistent treatment landscape during moments of crisis.
Communities bear the cost through homelessness, crime, workforce loss, and generational instability.
Employers struggle with absenteeism, disability, and lost productivity.
Public dollars are spent downstream on emergency care, incarceration, and child welfare rather than effective treatment and sustained recovery.
This is not a failure of compassion or effort. It is a failure of alignment and design.
Press & Media
Speaking & Advocacy
Kathryn speaks with policymakers, healthcare leaders, employers, treatment providers, foundations, and community organizations across the country. Drawing on lived experience and national leadership, she brings practical insight to conversations about addiction recovery, behavioral health, public policy, and systems change.
Topics:
Transforming America's Recovery System
Treating Addiction as a Chronic Disease
Recovery Leadership & Systems Change
Public Policy & Behavioral Health
Building Recovery-Ready Communities
Reducing Stigma Through Storytelling
Personal Perspective
This work is personal.
Like millions of Americans, my life has been shaped by addiction and recovery. I struggled with addiction for decades, and I have now been in long-term recovery for decades. That experience informs every conversation, every recommendation, and every commitment I make.
I believe recovery is possible. I believe systems can change. And I believe that steady, informed, and compassionate leadership can improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities across our nation.
Connect
For speaking requests, advisory work, media inquiries, or other requests: