David C. Colby

David C. Colby, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, leads a team dedicated to improving the nation's ability to understand key health and health care issues so that informed decisions can be made concerning the way Americans maintain health and obtain health care. He is guided by the principle that research speaks truth to power when it is practical and communicated to a broader audience, and views his role of developing and disseminating focused research doing just that.

Since joining the Foundation in 1998, Colby has served in a number of leadership positions including interim vice president of Research and Evaluation, deputy director of Research and Evaluation, deputy director of the Health Care Group, interim team leader for the Quality Team, and team leader for the Coverage Team. Through these roles, he sees the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as uniquely positioned to adopt new strategies to shape health and health care policies and programs nationwide.

Colby’s published research has focused on Medicaid and Medicare, media coverage of AIDS, and, in political science, civil rights. He was an associate editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law from 1995 to 2002. In 2000, he was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance for his contributions to the nation’s understanding of social insurance programs.

Born in California, he received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois, an M.A. from Ohio University, and a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University.