Richard Besser
President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Richard Besser is president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, since 2017. He was previously chief health and medical editor for ABC News. Prior to that, Besser directed the CDC’s Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response and served as acting director from January to June 2009 during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, he received the Surgeon General’s Medallion for his leadership during the H1N1 response and in 2011 accepted the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dean’s Medal for contributions to public health. He continues to practice as a volunteer pediatrician at Henry J. Austin Health Center.
Previously
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Richard Besser recently assumed the role of president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and...
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