There is an established body of research on the effectiveness of comprehensive substance abuse prevention strategies in higher education. There is relatively little research, however, on the characteristics and job functions of prevention professionals and their effectiveness. This study was designed to examine the characteristics of professionals who offer prevention services. It examined the characteristics, training, and job functions of prevention professionals and the relationship between educational preparation and professional affiliations and the comprehensiveness of prevention services. Using multiple regression, a significant relationship was found between the number of prevention workshops and conferences that the prevention professionals attended, the number of professional certifications they held, and the subsequent comprehensiveness of programming offered by their institution. Continued research on the substance abuse prevention professional is recommended in order to better understand the effectiveness of prevention services thus finding the balance between messenger and message in prevention.