Affiliations:

Legacies of the Great Society
    • About:


      Mr. Califano received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The College of the Holy Cross and his L.L.B. from Harvard Law School. After service in the Navy, Mr. Califano joined the Kennedy administration in 1961 and served as General Counsel of the Army and Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. From 1965 to 1969 he served as Special Assistant for Domestic Affairs to President Lyndon Johnson. From 1977 to 1979 he was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Carter administration. In the intervening years and until 1992, Mr. Califano practiced law in Washington, D.C. and New York City. He founded CASA in 1992.

      Mr. Califano is author of 12 books, including The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson (originally published by Simon & Schuster in 1991, and republished in 2000 by Texas A & M University Press with a new afterward drawing on LBJ tapes) and a memoir, Inside—A Public and Private Life, published in April 2004 by PublicAffairs. His other books include How to Raise A Drug Free Kid—The Straight Dope For Parents (2009); High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What To Do About It (2007); Radical Surgery: What’s Next for America’s Health Care (1995); America’s Health Care Revolution: Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Pays? (1986); and The Student Revolution: A Global Confrontation (1970).