Remembering Robert A. (Rob) Fordham

By Mark Gibson*  It was with sorrow that the Milbank Memorial Fund received news of the passing of friend and former program officer Robert A. (Rob) Fordham. Rob died peacefully at home of natural causes on October 13, 2016, surrounded by family and friends. He was 87 years old.

Rob’s career spanned over five decades, during which he served in government under eight presidents from Eisenhower to Clinton. His work in international aid took him to numerous postings around the globe, including Europe and the Middle East. In the last three decades of his career, he focused on health policy. He served as director of the first White House conference on health, and was commended by President Johnson for his role. He was the original director of the User Liaison Program from 1979 to 1993, where he pioneered a process for bringing top researchers and other experts to meet directly in informal settings with state health officials. This approach fostered extended conversation that enabled the research community to better understand how its work could be useful to policymaking while helping public officials better understand the strengths and weaknesses of research when applied to the questions they faced.

After leaving government, Rob joined the Milbank Memorial Fund as the first program officer for the Reforming States Group (RSG). The RSG is a self-governed, non-partisan collaboration of state, local, and provincial health policymakers from both the executive and legislative branches of government and several other countries. Drawing on and expanding the methods he developed in the User Liaison Program, Rob’s vision and skill yielded tightly organized and highly productive RSG meetings with deep learning by all participants and consensus on joint action aimed at improving the health of millions of constituents.

Notwithstanding the cosmopolitan nature of his career, Rob returned to his birth state of Vermont. In true Vermont tradition, he believed in the importance of community and respected the institutions of government and those who worked honorably within them. More comfortable in plaid flannel shirts than a coat and tie, he looked the part of a true “Green Mountain” boy. He loved the outdoors, especially in his native state. With his wife Kay Johnson, he sailed and skied well into his 70s. One could not visit without hearing the latest news of the furred and feathered inhabitants that visited his property. He relished the fall colors and the view from his home in Hinesburg, which looked west toward Lake Champlain and the White Mountains of upstate New York.

Special times come to mind as I remember days spent with Rob—sailing in the Bahamas, the Chesapeake Bay, and the San Juan Islands; listening to the coyotes while sleeping under the stars at horse camp in the Oregon high desert; sharing an “adult beverage” after a long day of policy discussions in cities across the United States, and; visiting him and Kay at their home. Memories of his friendship, humor, and loyalty will continue to warm all our hearts.

* Mark Gibson is director emeritus, Center for Evidence-based Policy, Oregon Health and Science University, and former program officer, Milbank Memorial Fund.