Acting Section Chief - Regulatory Drafting
Drug Enforcement Administration
Centennial, Colorado
Heather Achbach is currently the Acting Section Chief for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Regulatory Drafting and Policy Support Section within the Diversion Control Division.
Ms. Achbach began her career with DEA in 2012 as a Diversion Investigator in the Seattle Field Office. While in Seattle, Ms. Achbach worked multiple complex pharmaceutical investigations with national reach and high profile civil and criminal diversion cases. Ms. Achbach also regularly provided training and presentations on diversion control and DEA regulations to area industry professionals and the public. In 2021, Ms. Achbach promoted and was reassigned to DEA Headquarters as the Deputy Section Chief for Regulatory Drafting and Policy Support (DPW). In this role Ms. Achbach leant her valuable DI field experience and knowledge of industry realities to guide the development of new DEA regulations. In late 2023, Ms. Achbach converted to a Supervisory Policy Analyst within DPW and launched the fourth regulatory drafting unit within the Regulatory Drafting and Policy Support Section.
As part of the Regulatory Drafting and Policy Support Section Ms. Achbach guides the research, development, and evaluation of new and existing regulations that implement and interpret the Controlled Substances Act. Ms. Achbach also oversees the development of DEA’s Unified Agenda priorities and, most recently, led the development of regulations to address the prescribing of controlled substances through virtual means.
Prior to joining DEA, Ms. Achbach worked in private industry, for county government, and finally with a counterterrorism and community security non-profit. In her previous experiences Ms. Achbach routinely liaised with federal and local law enforcement agencies, politicians, and public interest groups.
Ms. Achbach is a graduate of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, earning a double Bachelor of Arts in History and International Studies, and Webster University, earning a Master of Arts in International Relations.
Sunday, April 27, 2025
10:15 AM – 11:30 AM
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
