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RE
Person · officer / director

Richard E Besser

Board of Director · Independent Sector

Board of Director at Independent Sector. Listed as an officer, director, or key employee across 1 organization on the Form 990 record.

This is me
Ambiguous identity This name matches 1 other individual we could not verify as the same person. Each is kept as a separate record below — treat them as distinct people unless an explicit match is confirmed.
Organizations
1
Roles reported
1
Others who share this name
1

Who this is

Profile

Everything on the left is verified from the IRS filings. The biography on the right is compiled from public web sources and grounded to that filed record.

✓ Verified from filings
●
Reported as Board of Director of Independent Sector, based in Washington, DC.
Facts extracted directly from each organization's Form 990, Part VII.
Biography Web-sourced

Richard E. Besser, MD, is President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2017.

A pediatrician and epidemiologist, he served as Acting Director of the CDC and ATSDR (2009) and was ABC News chief health and medical editor. Named one of TIME100 Philanthropy in 2026.

Compiled from public web sources (5 cited), grounded to the filed record.

Track record

Career & tenure

Real tenure, career, and education — from public web sources, what you need to vet a founder or leader beyond the filing window.

Tenure here
President & CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2017-present)
Education
  • Williams College · BA Economics
  • University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine · MD1986
  • Johns Hopkins University Hospital · Residency & Chief Residency in Pediatrics

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Find them online

Primary links to check this person directly — their own pages, not an aggregator.

Affiliations

Organizations

Independent Sector Board of Director · $9.2M revenue · Washington, DCWE ENVISION A WORLD OF ENGAGED INDIVIDUALS, ROBUST INSTITUTIONS, AND VIBRANT COMMUNITIES WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE LIVES AND THE NATURAL WORLD, AND…Filed FY2024 · Source: Form 990, Part VII

Disambiguation

Other people named Richard E Besser

Different individuals who share this name, separated by IRS Schedule R, mailing address, and shared-board evidence. The 990 carries no person identifier, so some may still be the same person.

R
Richard E Besser 1 organization · Princeton, NJRobert Wood Johnson Foundation

Network

Serves alongside

Other officers, directors & key employees at this person's organizations, by latest reported compensation.

A
President & Chief Executive Officer · FY2024
$593K
R
Chief Operating Officer · FY2024
$313K
J
Chief Strategy Officer · FY2024
$263K
J
Chief Strategy Officer · FY2022
$242K
K
Chief Marketing & Comm Officer · FY2022
$228K
K
Chief Communication Officer · FY2021
$221K
V
Chief Operating Officer (thru 9/1/20) · FY2020
$198K
R
Director, Finance · FY2024
$164K
E
Director of Operations · FY2024
$161K
H
Sr Dir, Comm Build · FY2022
$160K
B
Dir, Public Policy & Gov't · FY2024
$158K
R
Dir of Finance (thru 9/14/22) · FY2022
$149K

Network

Recommendations

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Public data from IRS Form 990 e-file & the Business Master File. Individuals appear here because they were named as an officer, director, or key employee on a nonprofit's Form 990; people are grouped by name plus corroborating evidence (Schedule R, shared address, shared board members). · philanthropy.org