Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Community Well-Being and the Blue Zones Institute, Adventist Health

Board Member and Past President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Former Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs, Zipongo, Inc.

Former Chief Medical Director and Executive Director for Global Health and Wellness, Cummins Inc.

Former Chief Medical Director of the Employee Health Plan for Vanderbilt University and Medical Center

Former Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Internal Medicine and Public Health, Vanderbilt University

Dexter Shurney, MD MBA MPH FACLM DipABLM is a population health innovator responding to chronic disease and health disparities with workplace wellness incentives, food-as-medicine strategies and Blue Zones insights.  Board certified in Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Lifestyle Medicine, he earned his medical degree at Howard University College of Medicine and his Masters in Public Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin, after attending Loma Linda University.  He previously served as President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, where his membership in the board of directors spans many years.  In 2021 he has joined Adventist Health as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Community Well-Being and the Blue Zones Institute, where he is described as "leading the work of the Blue Zones Institute as a 'Living Lab' to create and codify best practices that can be replicated across regions as well as capitalizing on and enhancing the strength of the Blue Zones portfolio to serve communities of greatest need".

In his former role as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Foodsmart by Zipongo, Dr. Shurney executed a national food as medicine strategy employing tele-nutrition solutions to address poor nutrition and food insecurity.  He also served as Chief Medical Director / Executive Director for Global Health Benefits and Corporate Wellness for Cummins, Inc., and before that as Chief Medical Director of the Employee Health Plan for Vanderbilt University, where he also held joint faculty appointments as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Internal Medicine and Public Health, and as Adjunct Faculty in the Owens Graduate School of Management.  He has served as Editor of the Journal of Managed Care Physicians, and has held other employment or board positions related to health policy, global health or managed care.

Dr. Shurney promotes a 360-degree approach to lifestyle changes to manage chronic disease, and is co-author of the book “Integrating Wellness into Your Disease Management Programs.”  He previously served as Chair of the Tennessee Diabetes Prevention and Health Improvement Board, and as Chair of the Business Strategies Committee for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Diabetes Education Program.  For 12 years he served as the American College of Medical Quality’s elected delegate to the American Medical Association.  He has demonstrated a rare talent for bringing key stakeholders together to drive population health innovation in multiple settings and environments, and is a visionary regarding how the U.S. health care landscape may beneficially be redesigned throughout the future.