William F. (Bill) Alden Bio
Bill Alden came on board with DEA’s predecessor agency, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, in Cleveland as a Special Agent in 1966, freshly graduated from Indiana University. He went on to serve as DEA’s Resident Agent in Charge of the Las Vegas office and later, as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s San Diego Division.
Mr. Alden was then transferred to headquarters in 1984, where he served as the Deputy Chief of the Heroin Investigations Section, the Chief of the Office of Management Staff, and finally, as the Chief of the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs.
While head of DEA’s Public Affairs shop, Mr. Alden did more than probably anyone else ever had to publicize the mission and accomplishments of DEA. He coordinated the NBC award-winning mini-series, “Drug Wars: The Camarena Story,” and the six-hour BBC documentary called “DEA.”
Following his retirement from DEA, Mr. Alden remained very involved in the drug law enforcement cause and drug abuse prevention. He was the Deputy Director of DARE America and established the organization’s government relations office. He is the past President of the Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents, the founding President and CEO of the DEA Educational Foundation. Mr. Alden currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the DEA Educational Foundation.