As President and CEO of D.A.R.E. International, Charlie Parsons heads the world’s largest and most effective drug and violence prevention organization. D.A.R.E. serves children in 46 countries around the globe, empowering them to lead safe and healthy lives. He joined D.A.R.E. in 1996, following a distinguished 27 year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

While with the FBI, Mr. Parsons served in a number of prestigious training, field and management positions. From 1991 until joining D.A.R.E., he was in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division, where he spearheaded successful efforts to reduce bank robberies and violent street gang activities. The Los Angeles Division is the Bureau’s second largest, with more than 1,000 staff serving a population of 19 million in seven Southern California counties.

Prior to accepting the Los Angeles FBI assignment, Mr. Parsons headed the Office of Inspections at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. He held top-level positions with the San Antonio and Kansas City FBI offices, and worked as a Supervisor in the Las Vegas office where he directed investigations into gangland infiltration of casino operations. He also served in New Haven, Connecticut, led high profile investigations into New York City’s five mafia families, and taught gambling/organized crime at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Mr. Parsons joined the FBI in 1969, shortly after receiving his law degree from Bates College of Law at the University of Houston. He also has done post-graduate work at Harvard University and taught at the Baylor University College of Medicine. He is a past president of the Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County and has served on the Board of Directors for the California Peace Officers Association.

Over the years, Mr. Parsons has been honored with numerous awards and citations. Among them was a Presidential Award for his leadership during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. In 1993, he was the first recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s national Jefferson Award for “exemplary law enforcement work.”

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