50 Most Influential Physician Executives – 2017

Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey is the former president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, positions she held from 2003 until this spring. Under her leadership, the foundation, the nation's largest philanthropic organization focused solely on health and healthcare delivery, researched, evaluated and implemented transformative programs tackling some of the nation's most pressing health issues, with the goal of building a national culture of health. Tobacco use and end-of-life care were prominent issues. Before joining the foundation, Lavizzo-Mourey was a professor of medicine and healthcare systems at the University of Pennsylvania. A geriatrics specialist, she also directed Penn's Institute on Aging and was chief of geriatric medicine at the medical school.