Dr. Woodrow A. Myers Jr.

Healthcare executive Dr. Woodrow A. Myers, Jr. was born on February 4, 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Charlotte E. Tyler and Woodrow A. Myers, Sr. He received his B.S. degree in biology in 1973 from Stanford University, his M.D. degree in 1977 from Harvard Medical School, and his M.B.A. degree in public sector and healthcare management in 1982 from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

After completing his residency at Stanford University Medical Center, Myers began his career as an emergency room physician and clinical teacher. In 1982, he was named associate director of the medical/surgical intensive care unit at San Francisco General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Then, from 1985 to 1990, Myers served as health commissioner for the State of Indiana. Following this, Myers was named New York City’s commissioner of health under Mayor David Dinkins. In 1991, he was hired as senior vice president and corporate medical director of The Associated Group, predecessor to WellPoint. Myers then was named director of healthcare management at Ford Motor Company in 1995. In 2000, he joined WellPoint, later Anthem, as executive vice president and chief medical officer. In 2006, Myers founded Myers Ventures, where he served as managing director until 2013. That year, he was named CEO of Corizon Health. From 2018 to 2019, Myers was chief medical officer and chief healthcare strategist of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. In 2020, he was the Democratic candidate for Governor of Indiana, and in 2008, he was a candidate in the Democratic primary election for Indiana’s 7th Congressional District.

In 1984, Myers served as a health advisor to the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. He has served on numerous boards, including as chair of the Mozambique Healthcare Consortium and director of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Sera Prognostics, Freespira, Personalis, Express Scripts, Genomic Health, LipoScience, and SynGen, and as a consultant to the California Endowment. Myers also has served as chairman of the visiting committee for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a trustee of Stanford University and of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and on the board of overseers of Harvard University.

Myers’s many honors and awards include being named a master of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the American College of Physician Executives and being a recipient of the National Medical Association’s Scroll of Merit and the U.S. Public Health Service Award from the United States Surgeon General.

Myers lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife, Stacy R. Myers. Together, they have five children.

Dr. Woodrow A. Myers, Jr. was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 20, 2022.