Andy Harris is a physician, peacemaker, activist, husband, father, grandfather, and follower of Jesus. 

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He was born in New York City and raised in Princeton, NJ. He received a BA from Yale University (1964) and a MD degree from the University of Virginia (1969).  He completed an internship in internal medicine and a residency and fellowship in ophthalmology at University of Wisconsin (1974).  

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Dr. Harris practiced ophthalmology for over 30 years in Salem, OR.  He then had a second career at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, as founder and director of Professionals’ Training in Global Health, a course to train health professionals who want to volunteer in low-income countries.  Graduates of the program have served on hundreds of missions to 58 countries around the world. He himself has worked and taught overseas in Ethiopia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Moldova, India, China, and Mexico. 

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For four decades Andy has volunteered on the state and national boards of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). PSR was co-recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize with International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War. In 1998 he was national PSR board president.

 

He is the founder of the Salem Free Medical Clinic at Trinity Covenant Church in Salem, using the church facility to see patients on Saturdays. He is also the co-founder of Salem Outreach Shelter (SOS), providing housing and support services for Salem’s homeless population. 

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At the height of the Cold War in 1985 Andy and his wife, Sue, visited Simferopol in the Crimea and co-founded a Sister City relationship between Salem and Simferopol. The partnership spawned numerous exchange programs including teachers, students, musicians, artists, vintners, soccer teams, and mountaineers, before the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

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Current interests include working with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Advocacy Team to promote public policy for the common good on issues of poverty, hunger, homelessness, immigration, health care, economic justice, and environmental stewardship. He is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon where he serves on the Racial Justice Task Force and Adult Education Committee. 

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Dr. Harris volunteered at various free medical clinics, including Salem Free Medical Clinic, Essential Health Clinic (Tigard), Wallace Medical Concern  (Gresham), and North by Northeast Community Health Center (Portland). Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the medical care for many of these patients subsequently transferred to established medical clinics. 

 

Andy is the author of Spirituality and Social Action, published by Wipf & Stock in 2020. He has written approximately 25 op-ed guest opinions in the Statesman-Journal, Oregonian and Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspapers on a variety of public health and social justice issues.

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Awards include: 

• Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) Broad Street Pump Award (1992) 

• Oregon Academy of Ophthalmology Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award (1997) 

• Oregon PSR Peacemaker Award (2006) 

• Salem Annual Peacemaker Award (2006) 

• Princeton Day School Alumni Service Award (2007) 

• Annual Salem Peace Plaza Award (2009) 

• Encore’s Purpose Prize Fellow Award (2011) 

• University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences’ Distinguished Alumni Award (2019)