Dr. René Lerer

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Dr. René Lerer of Avon has been elected to the board of directors of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the international migration agency of the American Jewish community.  The oldest refugee rescue and resettlement agency in the United States, HIAS is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year.A former refugee, Lerer was assisted by HIAS when he and his family arrived in this country.
Lerer serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Magellan Health Services, a nearly $3 billion specialty health care management organization with four lines of business: behavioral health, diagnostic imaging, specialty pharmaceuticals, and public sector pharmacy administration. Over the course of his 30 year career, Lerer has also served as co-founder and president of Internet HealthCare Group, a health care technology venture fund; as chief operating officer of Prudential Healthcare; and as president of The Travelers Health Network; and also served as senior vice president of operations, pharmacy, and disease management with Value Health, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-listed specialty managed-care organization.
In July 2011, Lerer was appointed to the Board of Regents for Higher Education by Gov. Dannel Malloy. He participates in the New England Chapter of the American Cancer Society’s CEOs Against Cancer, and has served as the  executive sponsor of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Connecticut chapter.  He also leads an effort by the health care industry to employ and support America’s wounded warriors, Hero Health Hire, which currently consists of 25 companies, associations and other health care entities collectively employing more than 300,000 people.
Dr. Lerer holds a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from Oberlin College, a doctor of medicine degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and is board-certified in internal medicine.