Stephen J. Downs

Stephen Downs, S.M. is assistant vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Group, which works to reverse of the epidemic of childhood obesity, drive fundamental improvements in the nation’s public health system and address the needs of our most vulnerable populations. He also is a team member of the Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which seeks innovative projects that catalyze fundamental breakthroughs in health and health care. He leads and advises the development of programs to expand health information technologies that can improve the quality of American health care, including such initiatives as Project HealthDesign, the Health e-Technologies Initiative and Connecting for Health.

Downs previously served as director of the Technology Opportunities Program, a U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration initiative that promoted the widespread availability and use of digital network technologies in the public and nonprofit sectors. Downs was also a former research fellow of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Born in New Hampshire, Downs earned an S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. from Yale University.