Gary L. Fisher, Ph.D

Gary is the Founder and the first Director of the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies at the University of Nevada, Reno. Since 1993, he has received more than $28 million in state and federal grants in the alcohol and other drug field and was the first Director of the Mountain West Addiction Technology Transfer Center and the Western Region Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies.

Gary is the author of seven books and co-edited The Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. His first book, The Survival Guide for Kids with Learning Differences, has sold more than 80,000 copies and been translated into seven languages. His textbook, Substance Abuse: Information for School Counselors, Social Workers and Therapists, is in its fourth edition. As a result of this textbook, the National Board of Addiction Examiners made Gary their “Author of the Year” in 1999. His most recent book, Understanding Why Addicts are Not All Alike will be published in July 2011. 

Gary began his professional career in 1974 as a school psychologist in the Seattle area. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Educational Psychology from the University of Washington in 1982 and accepted a teaching position in 1983 at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has a faculty appointment as Professor with the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies at that institution and is a licensed psychologist in Nevada.