Leadership

Scientific Education and Professional Development Program Office

Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services

Pat Drehobl, RN, MPH
Associate Director for Program/Communication

Ms. Drehobl is SEPDPO’s Associate Director for Policy and also oversees communication functions. She is responsible for helping develop a diverse public health workforce; promoting programs that encourage health professionals into public health careers; and working with partners in academia, state, and local health agencies, as well as professional organizations to address training and education needs.

Ms. Drehobl first joined CDC in 1990, where she has held a variety of leadership roles. She was director of CDC's Continuing Education Unit, led the development and implementation for CDC's first emergency-response teams after 9/11, and in 2003, she assumed leadership of CDC’s Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, which assigns CDC epidemiologists to state and local health departments. As an advocate for public health nursing, she has forged successful collaborations between CDC and nursing associations.

In recognition of her work, Ms. Drehobl has received the U.S. Public Health Service Chief Nurse Officer Award, the ASTDN Special Recognition Award, the CDC Distinguished Service Award, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service.

Ms. Drehobl earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in public health from Emory University. In 2010, she completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Executive Nurse Fellows program, an advanced leadership program for nurses in senior roles in health services, public health and nursing education who aspire to help lead and shape the U.S. health care system.