vailsymposium

Anthony Coulson

2011

Anthony J. Coulson is the President of NTH Consulting, Inc., and Director of ADAPTE International, a non-profit company of Strategic Applications International, LLC.  Mr. Coulson focuses on substance abuse policy for US and International organizations and governments.  Mr. Coulson retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2010.  When he retired he was the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Tucson District Office.

Mr. Coulson directed the Federal Government’s drug enforcement strategy in Southern Arizona and partners with other Federal, State, Tribal, County, and Municipal law enforcement organizations ensuring that there was a cooperative and comprehensive drug enforcement strategy to reduce the availability of drugs coming into and through Arizona.  He had over 100 sworn law enforcement personnel, including DEA Special Agents, State and local Task Force Officers, and other Federal Agents, under his command.

Mr. Coulson began his career with the DEA in 1982.  He has served with the DEA in Washington, D.C. (1982-83); Tucson, Arizona (1983-87); Los Angeles, California (1987-90); Songkhla, Thailand (1990-92); Los Angeles, California (1992-97); Washington, D.C. (1998-2002); Phoenix, Arizona (2002-2004); and Tucson, Arizona (2004-present).

In 2007, Mr. Coulson was appointed by Former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano’s to the Governor’s Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership (ASAP) and was also a Chairman of the Governor’s Methamphetamine Task Force (MTF).  He serves on the Pima County, Arizona Meth Free Alliance (community volunteer coalition) as a Steering Committee Member.  Both the ASAP and MFA required the approval of the Attorney General.  Mr. Coulson is a past member of DOJ’s Joint Automated Booking Service (JABS) Board of Directors.  He has been a member of the Industry Advisory Council (IAC), Federation of Government Information Processing Councils (FGIPC), Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM), former Co-Chair of Counter-drug Intelligence Secretariat (CDX) Systems Policy Review Group (SPRG) and the DOJ Chief Information Officers’ (CIO) Council.

Mr. Coulson has also been recognized by organizations external to DEA.  In 2008 he received the United States’ Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Arizona Victims’ Rights Award, the 2007 USAO Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee’s (LECC) Community Coalition Award for the District of Arizona, the 2006 Metropolitan Pima Alliance Common Ground Public Project Award, and the 2006 USAO LECC Law Enforcement Task Force Award for the U.S. District of Arizona.  In 1998, Federal Computer Week awarded Mr. Coulson the Federal 100 Award.  In 1995 the Australian National Crime Authority awarded him the Chairperson’s Certificate and in 1989 he received the International Narcotics Officers’ Association Law Enforcement Officer of Year.

Mr. Coulson graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1982, with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.  He was Travelli/Ayling Scholar at Northeastern and was a Northeastern Co-operative Education Student of Year in 1982.  In that same year he was listed in Who’s Who of American College Students.  Mr. Coulson has received the DEA Administrator’s Award for Exceptional Service (DEA’s highest award) in 1996 and 2002.

Mr. Coulson resides in Tucson with his wife Jacqueline, sons Taylor (18) and Hunter (15).  His oldest son, Nicholas is married (Misha) and is currently a US Army Cavalry Scout in the 1^st Brigade Combat Team of the 10^th Mountain Division.  He is an Eagle Scout, an Assistant Scoutmaster, and a parishioner of the Corpus Christi Catholic Church.