The CDC Leaders

“The chief of staff must ensure that the Office of the Director runs as efficiently and effectively as possible so that we can respond to strategic and emerging issues."

- Lynn Austin, PhD

Lynn Austin, PhD

Chief of Staff, CDC´s Office of the Director

As chief of staff, Lynn Austin, PhD, manages day-to-day activities of the Director and the day-to-day operations of the Director's inner office. She provides leadership in the resolution of issues which cross organizational lines, aids in determining policy and program objectives, coordinates scientific and program input to the decision-making process, and assists in maintaining a focus on the highest priority public health initiatives. She also serves as executive secretary for the CDC Director's Advisory Committee and the Executive Leadership Board.

Doctor Austin has been with the federal government for nearly 30 years, including experience at EPA and OSHA. She has been at CDC since 1988. With CDC, she has served as the deputy director, Division of Adolescent and School Health, NCCDPHP; associate director, Management Operations, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, DHAP; and assistant to the director, Policy, Planning, and Partnerships, DHAP.

Before moving to the position of chief of staff, Dr. Austin served on a two-year detail to the Financial Management Office (FMO) as lead for the Business Transformation/Change Management Team, with responsibility for all training and communication activities related to the implementation of CDC's new Unified Financial Management System (UFMS).

Doctor Austin earned a PhD in public policy from Georgia Institute of Technology in August 2000, where she was selected as the Georgia Tech Doctoral Student of the Year. Dr. Austin earned a master's degree in public administration from Georgia State in 1980, and her BS magna cum laude in education and management from Berry College in Rome, Georgia, in 1977.

She is a member of the CDC Watsonian Society, the Federal Manager's Association (FMA), the Association of Professional Women (APW), and the Alpha Chi National Honor Society.