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Christopher F. Koller will step down as president of the Milbank Memorial Fund after 12 years of leading the 120-year-old foundation dedicated to improving population health and health equity by connecting decision makers with experience and sound evidence. Under his leadership, the Fund launched two successful health leadership programs for state legislators and executive branch staff and has become known for its expertise in state-level primary care and affordability policy.
A coauthor of the 2021 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Implementing High Quality Primary Care, Koller helped develop the Fund’s annual Primary Care Scorecard in collaboration with the Physicians Foundation and the Robert Graham Center to track the health of US primary care and progress on the NASEM policy recommendations. He has written more than 100 blog posts for the Fund, bringing his experience and wit to bear on many timely and perennial topics in health policy.
In 2021, Koller and the Fund’s Board led an effort to publicly acknowledge the organization’s role in the unethical and racist United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama. Koller and past Board Chair Tony Milbank formally apologized to board members of Voices for Our Fathers Legacy Foundation (VFOFLF), an organization formed by descendants of men in the study with which the Fund maintains a working relationship. In addition, the Fund committed to reforming its governance, documenting and understanding its past, and centering health equity in its programming and communications.
“The Board of the Fund thanks Chris for his leadership and vision in leading the Fund for the past dozen years,” said Board Chair John Colmers. “I am also grateful for his wisdom to provide the Board ample time to plan for an orderly transition to new leadership.”
Before joining the Fund, Koller served the State of Rhode Island as the country’s first health insurance commissioner from 2005 to 2013. Prior to serving as health insurance commissioner, Mr. Koller was the CEO of Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island for nine years. In this role, he was the founding chair of the Association of Community Affiliated Plans. Koller is a member of the National Academy of Medicine; received the Primary Care Collaborative’s Starfield Award in 2019; and has served in numerous national and state health policy advisory capacities.
“I am grateful to the Board of the Fund and the team here for the chance to serve the organization and all those who trust it for reliable evidence and partnerships,” Koller said. “This is a challenging time for those committed to making sure all people in the country have a fair chance at a long and fulfilling life. The Fund’s 120-year history and strong, values-based leadership voice is needed now more than ever.”
Milbank Memorial Fund Board Vice Chair Lashawn Richburg-Hayes will lead a search committee to recruit Koller’s successor. Inquiries should be directed to Korn Ferry, the consulting firm that will manage the search.
