Office of the Chief of Staff

Kate Wolff, MPA
Kate Wollf, MPA

Kate Wolff, MPA, is CDC’s Chief of Staff. Wolff has more than 16 years of experience both inside and outside of government, creating positive organizational outcomes though strong collaboration, effective problem-solving, and crisis management. Wolff first joined the federal government at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2009, working in a variety of roles in the HHS Secretary’s office, including director of scheduling and advance, before joining the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to help manage the response to the 2014 influx of unaccompanied children, and the first chief of staff for the Office of Refugee Resettlement in 2015. Through her various roles at HHS, she has demonstrated the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, often with competing goals, to solve complex, high-stakes problems.

Since re-joining HHS Secretary’s office in 2021 as a Counselor, Wolff has continued to move the needle to support HHS’s goals across public health and human services priorities and led complex policy development and implementation, including COVID-related policy in Head Start, as well as engagement with diverse partners, including the disability community, child welfare advocates, and local officials. Wolff led work on immigration on behalf of HHS, including day-to-day oversight of the Unaccompanied Children’s (UC) program, HHS-wide efforts to support new arrivals, including Ukrainians, Afghans and asylum-seekers, and preparations for the termination of the title 42 Order. Wolff has also been responsible for interagency negotiations to support Tribal sovereignty and overseeing efforts to distribute infant formula through Operation Fly Formula. Prior to joining the Secretary’s office, Wolff served as senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for ACF, playing an instrumental role as part of the team responsible for stabilizing the UC program in the wake of unprecedented organizational challenges, resulting in program improvements and ongoing change management efforts to reduce the amount of time children spend in congregate settings.

Wolff has an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas and a Master of Public Administration from the University of the District of Columbia.