James R. Knickman
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ph: 212-584-7676
An active philanthropy executive, scholar, and community leader, James R. Knickman is the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth), a private Foundation dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers. Under Dr. Knickman’s leadership, NYSHealth has invested more than $60 million since 2006 in initiatives to improve health care and the public health system in New York State. Today, the Foundation focuses its efforts in three priority areas: reducing the number of New Yorkers without health insurance coverage; improving prevention and management of diabetes; and integrating mental health and substance use services for people who cope with both issues at the same time.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Knickman was the Vice President of Research and Evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in Princeton, New Jersey, where he led and oversaw research initiatives, external evaluations of RWJF’s national initiatives, and internal analyses related to its grantmaking priorities. Dr. Knickman’s experience in research and evaluation has positioned him well to lead NYSHealth, an organization committed not only to grantmaking, but also to achieving measurable outcomes that have a meaningful impact on the state of New York’s health.
Dr. Knickman has a long history in New York State; between 1976 and 1992, he served on the faculty of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he was active in community service directed at improving health care delivery to vulnerable populations. Earlier, he worked at the New York City Office of Management and Budget, and he has been a visiting professor at the University of Rochester, U.C. Berkeley, and Princeton University. He has also served on a wide range of advisory boards and published extensive research on issues related to improving services for homeless families, frail elders, and individuals with HIV. Dr. Knickman is the co-author of a widely used textbook on health policy and management.
Dr. Knickman serves as a board member of the National Council on Aging in Washington, D.C., and of the Center for Effective Philanthropy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a past chair of the New Jersey Department of Health’s Cardiac Health Advisory Council and a past board member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System in New Brunswick, New Jersey; AcademyHealth in Washington, D.C.; and the New York Catholic Health Care System. Currently, Dr. Knickman is a member of the editorial boards of The Milbank Quarterly and Inquiry.
Dr. Knickman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Psychology from Fordham University and his Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Pennsylvania.
