CDC Leadership

Katherine Lyon Daniel, PhD, Associate Director, is responsible for providing guidance and leadership in the development and implementation of CDC′s communication strategies.

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

Patricia M. Griffin, MD is the Acting Associate Director for Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Associate Director for Science (ADS) for CDC is the primary advisor to the director on scientific and medical matters and provides agency-wide scientific leadership.

Karyn Richman, MPA, currently serves as the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Washington, D.C. Office. Ms. Richman joined the CDC as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office in May 2014.

CDC Washington translates public health developments to the Washington-based policy community, provides strategic direction and support for CDC leadership, and delivers technical assistance on legislation that impacts CDC programs.

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.

Sarah Wiley is the Acting Chief of Staff for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  In this position, she resolves issues that cross organizational lines, coordinates decision-making processes, and ensures that CDC focuses on its highest priority initiatives.

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, serves as Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this role, she oversees the work of CDC's Offices of Minority Health & Health Equity and Women's Health, and of Diversity & Inclusion Management. Dr. Liburd has decades of experience in community health, health disparities, and social determinants of health.

Stephen Redd, MD (RADM, USPHS), is the Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This office is responsible for all of CDC's public health preparedness and response activities.

John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM, serves as the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

Rebecca Martin, PhD, is the Director of the Center for Global Health (CGH) at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since 2012, Dr. Martin has served as the Director for the Global Immunization Division, in CGH, which leads CDC’s global polio eradication efforts, accelerated disease control for vaccine-preventable diseases, introduction of new and underutilized vaccines, and the strengthening of immunization systems.

Michael F. Iademarco, MD, MPH (Rear Admiral, USPHS), is the first permanent director of the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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 Boyle 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.

Ursula Bauer, PhD, MPH, is the director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a position she assumed on January 4, 2010.  Prior to becoming director of NCCDPHP, Dr. Bauer held various chronic disease prevention leadership positions at the New York State Department of Health, the Florida Department of Health, and the Louisiana Office of Public Health, where she was stationed as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer.

Pat Breysse, PhD, 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, 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.

Dr. Nancy Messonnier (CAPT, USPHS) is the Director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). Since beginning her public health career in 1995 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer 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, is the CDC Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases and the Director of the Office of Infectious Diseases (OID). She also is currently serving as acting Director for the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.  In these positions, she provides leadership to the efforts of CDC's infectious disease national centers and helps to advance the Agency's cross-cutting infectious disease priorities including the integration of advanced molecular detection (AMD) technologies into public health.  

Dr. Mermin served as Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, NCHHSTP. Under his leadership, the Division spearheaded a new approach to HIV prevention, called High Impact Prevention, that aligned funding with epidemiology and ensured program and research activities had the greatest effect on reducing incidence and improving health equity.