Meet our President
John H. Klippel, M.D., President & CEO, Arthritis Foundation
John Howard Klippel, M.D., is president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation, the largest voluntary health organization serving the 46 million Americans living with the nation’s most common cause of disability. Dr. Klippel has held the position since October, 2003.
Under his leadership, the Arthritis Foundation continues to grow in national prominence as well as in provision of services to local communities. There are currently more than 150 local offices nationwide.
Dr. Klippel is currently spearheading an ambitious strategic plan that will lead the Arthritis Foundation through the most significant change in its 60-year history. The plan will greatly improve the organization’s efficiency while ensuring continued investment in research, public policy, and the provision of evidence-based public health programs and services in communities throughout the nation.
Dr. Klippel joined the Arthritis Foundation in September, 1999, as Medical Director. He was the principal liaison for the organization for medical research and professional affairs with responsibility for oversight of the Foundation’s research programs.
Prior to joining the Arthritis Foundation, Dr. Klippel served as Clinical Director of the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. During his professional career at the National Institutes of Health, he authored or co-authored 190 peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters related to arthritis. He has served as editor of the Primer on the Rheumatic Diseases and the textbook Rheumatology.
Dr. Klippel earned a B.A. magna cum laude in chemistry and mathematics at Bowling Green State University and an M.D. at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed internship and residency training in internal medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital and fellowship training in rheumatology at the National Institutes of Health and the University of California at San Diego. Dr. Klippel is a member of several academic honor societies including Alpha Omega Alpha, Phi Eta Sigma, and Omicron Delta Kappa and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. His honors and awards include the Borden Research Award, the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Award, and the Distinguished Clinical Teacher and Directors Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Klippel resides in Atlanta with his wife Sally who is the Managing Director of the National Capital Club Managers Association. They enjoy golf, tennis, collecting decoys, walking on the beach, and their Portuguese water dog Reilly.
