CDC Leadership

Robert R. Redfield, MD

Robert R. Redfield, MD, is the 18th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS, RET)

Anne Schuchat, MD, is the Principal Deputy Director of CDC. She has been CDC’s principal deputy director since September 2015. She served as acting CDC director from January-July 2017 and February-March 2018.

Katherine Lyon Daniel, PhD

Katherine Lyon Daniel, PhD, is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Associate Director for Communication, and is responsible for providing guidance and leadership in the development and implementation of CDC′s communication strategies. She leads the agency’s external and internal communication aimed at putting the best information available into the hands of people who need it to protect their health or the health of others.

Steve Monroe, PhD

Steve Monroe, PhD, is the Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Safety (ADLSS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He oversees the Office of the Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Safety (OADLSS) which provides high-level oversight and coordination of critical laboratory policies and operations, particularly those associated with laboratory safety and quality management programs at all CDC campuses.

Michael Bell, MD

Michael Bell, MD, is serving as the Acting Associate Director for Policy at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this capacity, he supports the policy agenda across CDC and manages CDC’s efforts to promote collaboration between the public health and health care delivery systems.

Leslie Dauphin, PhD

Leslie Dauphin, PhD, is the Acting Associate Director for Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Mitch Wolfe, MD, MPH (RADM, USPHS)

 Mitch Wolfe, MD, MPH, is currently the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Washington, D.C. Office. As a member of the US Public Health Service since 1998, Dr. Wolfe worked at CDC in a number of capacities. From 2009–2014 he was Director of the CDC Thailand Office (2012–2014), and Director of the CDC Global AIDS Program Thailand/Asia Regional Office (2009–2014). From 2004–2009 he was Director of the CDC Vietnam Office, leading the establishment of Vietnam as a PEPFAR focus country, as well as developing an influenza program and many other technical collaborations with Vietnam.

Sherri A. Berger, MSPH

Sherri A. Berger, MSPH, became Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of 10 major operating divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in August 2011. As COO, she oversees management, facilities, and operations at the Atlanta-based public health agency. She provides substantial strategic direction for CDC’s workforce and budget, while ensuring CDC has proper resources to fulfill its critical work to save lives and protect people from health threats.

Kyle McGowan

Kyle McGowan is the Chief of Staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to joining CDC, Kyle most recently served as the Director of External Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Reginald R. Mebane, MS

Reginald R. Mebane, MS, is currently the Director of CDC’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO). As Director, Mr. Mebane is responsible for advising and counseling CDC′s executive leadership team on a variety of equal employment opportunity, diversity management, civil rights and human resources issues impacting the agency′s complex and diverse global workforce.

Leandris Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA

Leandris Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA is the Associate Director for the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role she leads a wide range of critical functions in the agency’s work in minority health and health equity, women’s health, and diversity and inclusion management.

William R. Mac Kenzie, MD (RADM, USPHS)

William R. Mac Kenzie, MD, is the Acting Director of the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS). CSELS is a cross-cutting center that acts as an interface between CDC programs and state and local health departments, focusing on surveillance, data science, workforce development, laboratory systems, and information dissemination. In his regular role as the Deputy Director for Science in CSELS, Dr. Mac Kenzie oversees the management and improvement of about 40 of CDC’s scientific services.

Charles J. Rothwell, MBA, MS

Charles J. Rothwell, MBA, MS, serves as the director for the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). His center conducts a number of nationwide surveys that provide information on health status and on the healthcare system. He came to Federal government service in 1987 as Associate Director of NCHS responsible for IT and information services of the Center.

Coleen A. Boyle, PhD, MSHyg

Coleen A. Boyle, PhD, MSHyg, serves as Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at CDC. Dr. Boyle began her career at CDC in 1984 as part of a large effort to study the adverse health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War.

Dana Shelton, MPH

Dana Shelton, MPH, is the Acting Director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a position she assumed July 2, 2018.

Patrick Breysse, PhD, CIH

Pat Breysse, PhD, CIH, joined CDC in December 2014 as the Director of NCEH/ATSDR. Dr. Breysse leads CDC’s efforts to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and health. He came to CDC from the Johns Hopkins University where he served as Associate Chair for Educational Programs within the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Program Director for the Industrial Hygiene Training Program, and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment.

Debra Houry, MD, MPH

Debra Houry, MD, MPH, is the Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at CDC. In this role, Dr. Houry leads innovative research and science-based programs to prevent injuries and violence and to reduce their consequences. She joined the CDC in October 2014. She has previously served as Vice-Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and as Associate Professor in the Departments of Behavioral Science and Health Education and in Environmental Health at the Rollins School of Public Health.

Nancy Messonnier, MD (CAPT, USPHS, RET)

Nancy Messonnier, M.D., is Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). Since beginning her public health career in 1995 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in 1995 in the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Dr. Messonnier has held a number of leadership posts across CDC and within NCIRD.

Rima Khabbaz, MD

Rima Khabbaz, MD, is the Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). In this capacity she helps to advance the agency’s cross-cutting infectious disease priorities, including the integration of advance molecular detection (AMD) technologies into public health. She served as acting CDC Director for Infectious Diseases and acting Director of the Office of Infectious Diseases (OID) from 2010 to 2017 where she provided leadership to the efforts of CDC’s infectious disease national centers.

Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH (RADM, USPHS)

Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, is the Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), and a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service. He oversees the nation’s efforts to prevent HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis.