CDC Leadership

CDC DIRECTOR
Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

ACTING PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Debra Houry, MD, MPH, is the Acting Principal Deputy Director of CDC, and the Designated Federal Officer for the Advisory Committee to the Director. Since 2014, Dr. Houry served as director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). In this role, she led innovative research and science-based programs to prevent injuries and violence and to reduce their consequences.
- Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Deputy Director for Public Health Service and Implementation Science (DDPHSIS)
- Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance (DDPHSS)
- Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases (DDNID)
- Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases (DDID)

CHIEF OF STAFF
Sherri A. Berger, MSPH, is the Chief of Staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, she serves as the principal advisor to the CDC Director by providing strategic advice and ensuring proactive coordination of agency-wide priorities and policies in direct support of CDC’s public health mission.

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Robin D. Bailey Jr., MA, is the Chief Operating Officer 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 this role, he oversees management, facilities, and operations at the Atlanta-based public health agency.

DIRECTOR, CDC WASHINGTON OFFICE
Jeff Reczek, MPA is the Director of the CDC Washington Office. He has a rich history of public service in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government as well as state government.

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND WORKPLACE EQUITY (OEEOWE)
Reginald R. Mebane, MS, is currently the Director of CDC’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Workplace Equity (OEEOWE). 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.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR COMMUNICATION
Kevin Griffis is the Associate Director for Communication and Director of the Office of the Associate Director for Communication (OADC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR LABORATORY SCIENCE AND SAFETY
Jim Pirkle, MD, PhD, serves as the Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Safety (ADLSS) and Director of the Office of Laboratory Science and Safety (OLSS) at CDC. In these capacities, Dr. Pirkle provides high-level oversight and coordination of critical laboratory science policies and operations, and laboratory safety and quality management at CDC.

ACTING DIRECTOR FOR POLICY AND STRATEGY
Laurie Ishak, JD, MA is the acting Director for the Office of the Associate Director for Policy and Strategy (OADPS). Laurie previously served as the Deputy Director, OADPS from October 2019 to December 2022.

DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (NIOSH)
John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM, MBA, serves as the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE AND IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE (DDPHSIS)
Debra Houry, MD, MPH, is the Acting Principal Deputy Director and the Acting Deputy Director for Public Health Service and Implementation Science (DDPHSIS) of CDC. Since 2014, Dr. Houry served as director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at CDC. In this role, she led innovative research and science-based programs to prevent injuries and violence and to reduce their consequences.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH EQUITY (OMHHE)
Leandris Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA, has served as the Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity for CDC/ATSDR since 2011. In this capacity, she leads and supports a wide range of critical functions in the agency’s work in minority health, health equity, and women’s health.

ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (CGH)
Denise Cardo, MD, is the Acting Director for the Center for Global Health (CGH) where she leads CDC’s global efforts to protect and improve health through science, policy, partnership, and evidence-based public health action. Dr. Cardo’s permanent role is as the director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).

DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (CPR)
Henry Walke, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR). In this role, he supports CPR’s three divisions and the Office of the Director to prepare for, respond to, and improve performance in domestic and global public health emergencies.

ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR STATE, TRIBAL, LOCAL, AND TERRITORIAL SUPPORT (CSTLTS)
Celeste Philip, MD, MPH, is the acting director of the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) and the Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases (DDNID) at CDC. CSTLTS is CDC’s connection to health officials and leaders of public health agencies, as well as other government leaders who work with health departments.

ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE AND SURVEILLANCE (DDPHSS)
Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD is the Acting Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance (DDPHSS) at CDC. In this position, she is responsible for strengthening CDC’s scientific foundation by working across the Office of Science, the Office of Laboratory Science and Safety, the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, and the National Center for Health Statistics.

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF SCIENCE (OS)
Rebecca Bunnell, PhD, MEd, is the Director of CDC’s Office of Science. Since joining CDC in 1996 as an EIS Officer in the Division of STD Prevention, Dr. Bunnell has held key CDC positions in Atlanta, California, Uganda, and Kenya.

DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR SURVEILLANCE, EPIDEMIOLOGY, AND LABORATORY SERVICES (CSELS)
Leslie Ann Dauphin, PhD, is the Director of the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where she leads CDC’s efforts to track America’s health, strengthen laboratory networks, and help public health officials identify urgent health threats.

DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS (NCHS)
Brian C. Moyer, PhD, is the Director for the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is the nation’s principal source for health statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health of people. In this role, he is responsible for providing leadership for a wide-range of programs, including research and analysis in health and vital statistics, epidemiology, and related health and statistical sciences.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR NON-INFECTIOUS DISEASES (DDNID)
Celeste Philip, MD, MPH, is the Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases (DDNID) at CDC. In this position, she is responsible for providing leadership and guidance to CDC′s four non-infectious disease centers and helps to advance the agency’s cross-cutting, non-infectious disease priorities such as preventing prediabetes and diabetes, ending the opioid epidemic, reducing birth defects and developmental disabilities, and protecting the public’s health from environmental hazards.

DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER ON BIRTH DEFECTS AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (NCBDDD)
Karen Remley, MD, MBA, MPH, FAAP, is the Director for the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). She has more than 30 years of experience in public health and health care, with leadership roles in the public and private sectors. Her “north star” has always been children and families, and she has shaped her career around helping every family have the best opportunity for health and well-being.

DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION (NCCDPHP)
Karen Hacker, MD, MPH, is the Director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a position she assumed in August 2019. NCCDPHP has an annual budget of about $1.2 billion and more than 1,000 staff members dedicated to preventing chronic diseases and promoting health across the life span.

ACTING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH/AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE REGISTRY (NCEH/ATSDR)
Robin M. Ikeda, MD, MPH, is the Acting Director for the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. As part of this role, Dr. Ikeda leads CDC’s efforts to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and health. She is also the Associate Director for Policy and Strategy at CDC where she supports the policy, performance, and strategy across CDC.

ACTING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR INJURY PREVENTION AND CONTROL (NCIPC)
Christopher Jones, PharmD, DrPH, MPH (CAPT, USPHS), is the Acting Director for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), and a captain in the US Public Health Service. When not serving as the Acting Director, Dr. Jones is the Deputy Director of NCIPC.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES (DDID)
Jay C. Butler, MD, is the Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases. In this capacity, he provides leadership to the efforts of CDC’s three infectious disease national centers and helps to advance the agency’s cross-cutting infectious disease priorities.

DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES (NCIRD)
José R. Romero, MD, is the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, where he leads CDC’s efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to vaccine-preventable and respiratory infectious disease threats.

ACTING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR EMERGING AND ZOONOTIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES (NCEZID)
Daniel Jernigan, MD, MPH, is the acting director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). In his permanent position at CDC, Dr. Jernigan serves as the Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance (DDPHSS).

DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR HIV, VIRAL HEPATITIS, STD AND TB PREVENTION (NCHHSTP)
Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, is the Director of the National Center for HIV, 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.