Donald J. Kurth, Jr. (April 26, 1949 - October 4, 2023) was a physician, businessowner, educator, and former mayor of the City of Rancho Cucamonga, California (2006–2011). He was elected President of the Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce in 1994, Director of the Cucamonga County Water District in 1996, appointed to the Rancho Cucamonga City Council in 2002, and elected mayor of Rancho Cucamonga on November 7, 2006.

Early life

Donald James Kurth, Jr. was born in Newport, Rhode Island where his father, also named Donald James Kurth, was stationed in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Kurth's father and mother, Isabelle, both served in the hospital corps in the Navy throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His mother taught Navy carrier pilots how to use oxygen masks for high altitude missions. His father served on the heavy cruiser, the USS New Orleans, in battles including

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Tassafaronga. During the night Battle of Tassafaronga in November 1942, the New Orleans engaged the “Tokyo Express” troop convoy which was supplying troops and supplies to block the United States Marine invasion of Gaudalcanal. During the battle, the New Orleans was hit and cut nearly in half by an enemy submarine torpedo, losing her bow and two hundred seamen. The ship travelled backwards to port in Sydney, Australia and was later repaired and returned to action. Following the war, Kurth's father was stationed first in Newport Rhode Island and subsequently transferred to the Brooklyn Naval Yard when Kurth was less than a year old and the family bought a home in northern New Jersey, where Kurth was raised.

Education

Kurth graduated from Westwood High School in 1967. He later completed his undergraduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(BA), graduating cum laude and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1975 before attending medical school at the

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

, from which he graduated in 1979 (MD). Following a fellowship in orthopedic surgery at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, he returned to the United States to complete his medical education. After completing his internship at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, he trained at the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Hospital Medical Center and later became Board Certified first in Emergency Medicine and then in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Kurth subsequently received his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) from the

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

School of Public Health and his Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Kurth has been a writer and advocate regarding matters of healthcare public policy, particularly in the area of

substance dependence Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has develop ...

and abuse. In 1999, he founded California Legislative Day for the

California Society of Addiction Medicine California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) is the California organization of physicians who specialize in treating addiction. Addiction medicine is the medical specialty that provides care and treatment for people with substance use disorder. I ...

(CSAM), and in 2003 the National Legislative Day for the

American Society of Addiction Medicine The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), founded in 1954, is a professional medical society representing over 7,000 physicians, clinicians, and associated professionals in the field of addiction medicine. ASAM is dedicated to increasin ...

(ASAM). He and his colleagues were instrumental in the repeal of the Uniform Policy Provision Law (UPPL) in California and passage of the bipartisan Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. In 2003, Dr. Kurth received the prestigious

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

Fellowship for Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse.

Professional activities

He served as president of the

from 2002 to 2004, and was elected President ElectAddiction Professional enewsletter. “American Society of Addiction Medicine names Donald J. Kurth as president“. Retrieved from the Internet on April 5, 2009 from of the

in 2008. In 2002 Dr. Kurth's peers awarded him the title of Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, an honor given to less than 300 physicians worldwide. Kurth also served as the California State Healthcare Coalition Chairperson for Presidential Candidate

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

in 2008. In this capacity, he served as a speaker on national healthcare issues in the state of California. Kurth currently serves on the faculty of

School of Medicine as an assistant professor with appointments in both Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry. In addition, he holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health. Kurth owns the Urgent Care Center and Alta Loma Medical Group in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He is founder of the Children's Free Immunization Clinic, which has provided free immunizations to many thousands of local children since 1983. He has also served as a medical volunteer with the Flying Samaritans, a group of physicians and other volunteers who use private airplanes to bring free medical care to underserved children in inaccessible regions of rural

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Kurth is married to Dee Matreyek, Ph.D., who is the founder and president of the Restorative Justice Center of the Inland Empire.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurth, Don 1949 births Columbia University alumni Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni American emergency physicians Mayors of places in California People from Rancho Cucamonga, California Johns Hopkins University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Loma Linda University alumni Loma Linda University faculty Living people American addiction physicians