Gary VanderArk, MD was born and raised in western Michigan, educated at Calvin College with a bachelor of science degree, and The University of Michigan with his medical degree. He spent three years serving his country at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
He came to Denver to start the neurosurgical program at Denver Health and Hospital. Over the course of thirty years of neurosurgical practice in south Denver, he has organized and continues to provide leadership to the Colorado Neurological Institute, Doctors Care, and The Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.
He moved to the University of Colorado Medical School to become the Director of the Neurosurgery Residency Program in 2003 and now serves as a volunteer, teaching medical students. He is the recipient of the 2012 Daniel L. Ritchie Award from the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance (CEBA)
Gary is married to Phyllis, a full-time community volunteer, and has a family of two children, and four grandchildren.