Catching up with, Tim Skinner, 3RNET Executive Director Emeritus

In honor of 3RNET’s 30th Anniversary, our staff has been meeting with the individuals who have made this organization possible through transitions, obstacles, and new demands in the rural healthcare landscape. Earlier in the year, we met with Fred Moskol, 3RNET’s founder and first executive director. This past month, we were able to sit down with the organization’s second executive director, Tim Skinner, who took over when Moskol retired in 2005. 

Searching for the right person to fill Moskol’s shoes was no easy task. After conducting a national search, the 3RNET Board of Directors found the ideal candidate in Tim Skinner, who had been working as an in-house recruiter in Wisconsin. With years of experience in physician recruitment, Tim was well-versed in recruitment and retention issues and brought a new energy to 3RNET. 

Skinner saw that the diversity of 3RNET was its greatest asset while at the same time being its greatest challenge. Though it may at times have felt like herding cats, Tim managed to embrace the diversity of a group of members as unique as the wide range of communities they served. It was his belief that it was critical for the organization to collaborate at every level and he dedicated himself to making that synergy a reality.  

When Tim was brought on board, the organization had been working with an agency in Wisconsin to update the website. As it was Fred’s brainchild and he worked tirelessly to piece it together throughout the years, he agreed to stay on and aid Tim in launching the new site. 

It was our pleasure, then, to share with Tim the website as it currently operates in 2025. One of the most interesting features to Tim was the partnerships 3RNET maintains with state and federal organizations like the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) to piggyback off of our website. “This is brilliant,” he said of 3RNET’s ability to be a job board for so many government organizations. 

During Tim’s time as executive director he diligently worked to increase the membership of 3RNET. By 2007, all fifty states had been brought on as Organizational Members, along with the Cherokee Nation and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (a U.S. Territory), bringing the total membership number to 52. With an increase in membership came an increase in staff, as well, adding another full-time staffer to the team. 

Skinner also saw the organization through a major funding change. In 2009, a cooperative agreement was created with the National Rural Health Association that provided federal funds from the Office of Rural Health Policy. 

In the latter years of his tenure as executive director, Tim oversaw another website redesign, as well as the organization’s foray into social media in 2010. Despite frequently describing himself as a “luddite,” he continued to emphasize the importance of technology in the growth of the organization. 

Tim retired in 2012, after serving a year as co-executive director with Tom Tucker. In 2019, 3RNET named an award after him to continue his legacy within the organization. The Tim Skinner 3RNET Scholarship Award is presented to a 3RNET organizational or associate member seeking to attend 3RNET’s Annual Conference. Throughout his tenure as 3RNET’s executive director, Tim encouraged members to attend the conference because he understood the importance of in-person networking and education. 

Keep following along each month as we share the history of 3RNET on our blog, as well as on social media. 30 years is a big accomplishment, and we know that in rural and underserved healthcare you need to celebrate the wins when they come.