Jim Knickman has spent four decades splitting his time between academia and the philanthropic sector. His work focuses on health policy and he has played many roles both as a researcher and a leader in philanthropy to advance the use of public policy to improve the American health care system. He was a vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and President of the New York State Health Foundation.

Before retiring in April 2020, Knickman was the Derzon Chair in Public and Health Affairs at NYU with joint appointments at the NYU Wagner School and at NYU Langone’s Department of Population Health. He has published over 50 scholarly articles, a popular textbook (Health Care Delivery in the United States) and is the co-editor of 16 other books focused on a range of topics related to health policy. He has a PhD in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Pennsylvania and did his undergraduate work at Fordham University.

Knickman’s research and philanthropy roles have included work to advance policies such as Participant Directed Long-Term Care, Public-Private Long-Term Care Insurance, and various reimbursement policies related to paying for long-term care and chronic care services.

In addition to his service at NCOA, he serves on the boards at two other nonprofit organizations and on a range of advisory committees. In the past, he has served on six boards, including as Chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System in New Jersey.