Darrin T. Grondel, EdD, MPA
Dr. Grondel currently serves as the Vice President of Traffic Safety and Government Relations for the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. In this role he leads national efforts to prevent underage drinking and manages various programs to eliminate drunk and drugged driving through federal and state legislation, financial assistance, programming, and technical assistance. A major initiative currently underway is the creation of a national coalition of subject matter experts to address multi-substance impaired driving to improve the DUI system to include training, roadside stops, toxicology, adjudication, sentencing, probation, and treatment.
Dr. Grondel serves as a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Highway Safety Committee, the IACP Drug Evaluation and Classification Technical Advisory Panel, the National Sheriffs Associations Traffic Safety Committee, the Transportation Research Board Behavioral Traffics Safety Cooperative Research Program, and the National Safety Council’s Workplace Impairment Committee. Dr. Grondel is a featured presenter with the National Marijuana Institute Speakers Bureau addressing the impacts of impaired driving and the legalization of Marijuana.
Dr. Grondel previously served as the Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and as a Captain for the Washington State Patrol. He was responsible for initiating and implementing proven traffic safety strategies by partnering with Federal, State, Tribal, and local government agencies, and private/public partners to make Washington’s roadways the safest in the nation.
He began his career as a trooper with the Washington State Patrol in 1992, and over his 25-year career he promoted through the ranks to Captain with varying job assignments and progressive management responsibilities from field operations, criminal investigations, internal affairs, and the commercial vehicle division.
In 2009, Dr. Grondel was nominated to the Governor’s Distinguished Managers Association, and in 2012 he was appointed by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire as Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. (He was later reappointed to the same position in 2013 by Governor Jay Inslee. Grondel served in this capacity for over eight years and the last five of his career with the WSP).
Dr. Grondel holds an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University, a Master’s in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.