Stephen A. Somers, PhD, is a senior program consultant at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). As president and CEO of CHCS from its founding in 1995 until July 2019, he oversaw the organization’s growth into a nationally recognized center on improving care for beneficiaries of the country’s publicly financed health care programs, particularly those with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Before starting CHCS, Dr. Somers was an associate vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and, prior to that, he was a professional staff member at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania. For nearly 20 years, Dr. Somers also served as a visiting lecturer on health policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He earned his doctorate in the politics of education from Stanford University.