John B. Crosby, Co-Chair

John B. Crosby, LA69, is a 1969 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis who joined the National Advisory Council of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement in 2013. As an undergraduate, Crosby, also known as “Bing”, was Vice President of Thurtene Junior Men’s Honorary, Homecoming Chair, and President of Phi Delta Theta men’s fraternity.

A three-sport college athlete, Crosby played on the Bears’ baseball team (serving as team captain) as well as the basketball and crosscountry teams. In 1969, he was named one of the Outstanding College Athletes in America.

Crosby went on to earn his juris doctor degree cum laude at The Ohio State University College of Law in 1972 before joining the Thompson & Mitchell (now Thompson & Coburn) law firm in St. Louis. In 1976, he became the Chief of Staff to Congressman Richard A. Gephardt (D, MO) in Washington, D.C. He later served as Senior Vice President for Health Policy at the American Medical Association and Executive Director of the American Osteopathic Association until his retirement in 2013.

Over the years, Crosby has lectured at Harvard, Yale, and Washington University and testified before several Congressional committees on health system reform. He has received a number of honorary degrees and competed in the Boston and New York marathons, among others, and many triathlons. Crosby and his wife, Mary Jo, also a 1969 Washington University graduate and Eliot Society member, are proud parents of three children and seven grandchildren, all of whom live in Chicago, Illinois.