W. David Helms, Ph.D.

President and CEO
AcademyHealth
Washington, D.C.

Dr. Helms is president and CEO of AcademyHealth, which was formed on May 1, 2000 from the merger of the Alpha Center and the Association for Health Services Research (AHSR). AcademyHealth seeks to improve health and health care by generating new knowledge and moving knowledge into action. In addition to leading AcademyHealth, Dr. Helms serves as the program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF) State Coverage Initiatives program. He also serves as project director of AcademyHealth's contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to conduct workshops and prepare research reviews for state and local government officials. Dr. Helms founded and directed the Alpha Center from 1976-2000. Through these 25 years, Alpha was known as a non-partisan, nonprofit health policy center that provided expert technical assistance, objective analysis and research, and comprehensive education and facilitation services. Dr. Helms received his doctorate in public administration and economics in 1979 from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.