Richard Hodges

Richard Hodges is currently Executive in Residence at Ohio University (OU). He is responsible for population health program design, implementation and outreach.

Prior to joining OU, Hodges was appointed by Ohio Governor John R. Kasich to serve in his cabinet as the Director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). In that capacity he worked on public health system redesign as well as disease surveillance and response, chronic disease programs, a range of regulatory responsibilities and medical service provision.

His professional history includes work in healthcare administration, including a range of management roles in Northwest Ohio. In his role as Director of the Coordinated Care Program for Community Hospitals of Williams County and Director of Planning and Marketing for Fulton County Health Center, he focused on strategic planning and improved access to care and customer service through an approach based on patient-centered care. As Executive Vice President of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Northwest Ohio, he helped manage a self-funded employee health plan for 3,500 covered lives in the construction industry as well as workplace safety and health programs.

In addition to healthcare role, Hodges served as Executive Director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. In that position, he successfully overhauled the turnpike’s operations to reduce costs and led a new bonding effort to help improve the quality of Ohio’s roads linking to the Turnpike statewide. He has also served as CEO of the Tucson Association of REALTORS and Executive Director of the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee.

Hodges served as a state representative in the Ohio legislature from 1993 to 1999. During his time as a legislator he served on several committees including the Health and Retirement Committee, which regularly dealt with healthcare issues impacting everyday Ohioans.