Emergency Risk Communication Branch Chief

Donda Hansen, BS

Donda Hansen is the chief of the Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB) in the Division of Emergency Operations of the Office of Readiness and Response.

ERCB prepares for and coordinates CDC’s communication response to public health threats and emergencies, including disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism.

Ms. Hansen has more than 25 years of experience in the communication field. She has extensive emergency response and risk communication experience. She provided communication leadership to multiple CDC responses, including Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19.

Before joining ORR, Ms. Hansen worked for eight years at the Center for Global Health (CGH). At CGH, she held leadership positions in media, web, and risk communication. In these roles, she supported CDC country offices around the world. She also supported program-led responses overseas for earthquakes, hurricanes, and other emergencies.

Ms. Hansen deployed for the West Africa Ebola response in 2015. She first went to the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. She then went to Liberia where she worked closely with partners, the Liberia Ministry of Information, and the incident manager on risk communication. She also deployed to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, for the Ebola outbreak in 2019.

Before joining CDC, Ms. Hansen led strategic communication planning for exercises and operations at U.S. Africa Command. During her 24 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, she spent 8 years on active duty. She deployed to the Horn of Africa, Kuwait, and Bosnia Herzegovina.