Anthony R. Kovner, PhD, is Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, in New York City. He is trained in organizational behavior, health services management, and social and economic development. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University, and his doctorate in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kovner is an experienced health care manager, having served as CEO of a community hospital, senior health care consultant for a large union, manager of a group practice, of a nursing home, and of a large neighborhood health center. He is a board member of the Lutheran Health Care and of Health Plus, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He has carried out several funded research projects, most recently on Factors Associated with Use of Management Research in hospitals and health systems. He is author or editor of 9 books and 43 journal articles and 24 case studies. He has directed several national demonstration programs funded by major foundations. Dr. Kovner was the fourth recipient, in 1999, of the Gary L. Filerman prize for Educational leadership, from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

James R. Knickman, PhD, is the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Health Foundation, a private philanthropy established with resources from Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield's conversion from a non-profit to a for-profit corporation. Prior to joining NYSHealth, Dr. Knickman was Vice President of Research and Evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in Princeton, New Jersey. There, he was responsible for external evaluations of RWJF national initiatives, developing research initiatives, and conducting internal programmatic analyses. Throughout his 14-year tenure at RWJF, Dr. Knickman led grantmaking teams in clinical care for the chronically ill, long-term care, and population health. Between 1976 and 1992, Dr. Knickman served on the faculty of New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He serves on a wide range of advisory boards, including as chairman of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is a past board member of AcademyHealth in Washington, D.C. He has published extensively and currently is an editorial board member for The Milbank Quarterly and Inquiry. Dr. Knickman received his B.A. from Fordham University and his Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Pennsylvania.