Konye Ori, Deputy Director of Prevention Insights, presented to the Contemporary Club of Indianapolis on the topic of addiction science. The letter introducing the event and his speech follow:

"Dear Contemporary Club Members,

Our nation is facing a public health crisis, though it looks very different from those that dominated headlines during the past century: thalidomide birth defects, the rampant spread of HIV, and the frightening bird flu pandemic. The opioid epidemic shares common threads with these crises of the past: the devastating and unexpected results of advances in medicine, the stigma and shame of an affliction associated with vice, and the fear of an uncontrollable modern plague.

Former U.S. congressman Patrick J. Kennedy once quipped, “No one is immune from addiction; it afflicts people of all ages, races, classes, and professions.” The opioid crisis has once more proved this true, as millions of Americans find themselves, for the first time, trying to understand how addiction can take hold of a loved one. Understanding addiction has become more important than ever, from underlying societal factors to genetic and neurological science. This new wave of research is arming doctors and policy makers with information that will not only help to transform the way addiction is treated, but also offer hope for prevention in the years ahead.

Please join us for a revealing look into this new research on March 12 as we host Konye Ori, Deputy Director of Prevention Insights at the IU School of Public Health. Mr. Ori has long been a champion of healthier communities and served for many years as the Director of the Eisenhower Institute for Conflict Resolution. Over the course of his career, Mr. Ori has consulted for the U.S. State Department, addressed and delegated at the United Nations, and provided global affairs analysis for the BBC World News Service, Huffington Post, and The Africa Report. Mr. Ori was born in Nigeria, educated in Greece, and is now a proud Hoosier raising a family here in central Indiana.

I look forward to spending the evening with you at Meridian Hills and expanding my knowledge of addiction science as Mr. Ori presents Understanding Addiction: Research into a Public Health Crisis.

Sincerely,

Samantha R. Hyde, President