Q: I have not seen Dr. Richard Besser on “Good Morning America” in quite a while. Is he still associated with the show? Also, was he the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prior to being on “Good Morning America?”
—Mary Walsh, Brookhaven
A: Besser, who served as ABC's chief health and medical editor from 2009 to 2017, has since left the network to become the president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the country's largest health philanthropy.
He joined the foundation in April 2017, Jordan Reese, the organization’s director of media relations, told Q&A on the News in an email.
Before working at ABC, Besser was director of the Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response at the CDC and was acting director of Atlanta-based CDC, a role he held from January to June 2009.
He holds a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Williams College.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is based in Princeton, N.J., with satellite locations in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Dillon Thompson contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
About the Author
