David L. Knowlton

David Knowlton is retired president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, an independent, non-partisan organization promoting health care quality, safety, accountability and cost containment. As a founding member of the Quality Institute, Mr. Knowlton has advocated for eliminating medical errors and improving health care quality throughout his career. Under his leadership, the Quality Institute has promoted projects and initiatives that have advanced health quality, education and consumer protections.

Prior to his tenure at the Quality Institute, he served as chairman of the Leapfrog Group, a national organization promoting health care safety and quality. Mr. Knowlton also served as a Leapfrog Group board member for 10 years and currently chairs the Leapfrog hospital safety score committee. He has served, and continues to serve, on numerous National Quality Forum steering committees as well. From 1987 until 1990, Mr. Knowlton served as Deputy Commissioner of Health for the State of New Jersey under the administration of Governor Tom Kean. During Governor Chris Christie’s transition following his 2009 election as governor, Mr. Knowlton was asked to lead the governor’s transition team on health care. Mr. Knowlton was instrumental in the founding of, and currently chairs, Health Care Policy 360, a joint venture of Rutgers University and the Quality Institute. This four-day immersion course explains the real-world impact of emerging health trends to senior-level executives in health care industries.

Mr. Knowlton completed his undergraduate education in psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and was granted a master’s degree from Trinity College in Hartford.