John Rivers served as president and chief executive officer of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association from March of 1986 until January of 2011 when he retired. Prior to joining the Association, Mr. Rivers served eight years as regional director of the American Hospital Association in Kansas City, Missouri. He was a lobbyist for AHA in Washington, D.C., for four years and served as legislative assistant to a United States Congressman for three years. Mr. Rivers is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1968. He served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971, with an 18-month tour of duty as an infantry captain in Vietnam.Mr. Rivers is a Lifetime Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and served as Arizona’s Regent to the College from 1992-1997, He also served as a member of the National Steering Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s SmokeLess States Project. He is a member of Rotary 100 and the Gift of Life Board of Directors, the Veterans Medical Leadership Council Board of Directors, and Chairman of the Board for the Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), and an active participant in numerous other civic and community activities.