Director of the Division of Emergency Operations

Chris Brown, PhD, MPH, CPH

Chris Brown, PhD, MPH, CPH, is the Director, Division of Emergency Operations, Office of Readiness and Response. Dr. Brown came to CDC from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), where he was Special Assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary. He served as a senior advisor to the OSHA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary, coordinating the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, Dr. Brown served as Acting Director of the Office of Science and Technology Assessment in OSHA’s Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management. In this capacity, he spearheaded efforts to finalize new technical guidance for protecting workers from a variety of occupational safety and health hazards. He also managed the agency’s internal safety and health program aimed at protecting OSHA staff across the country.

Previously, Dr. Brown led infectious disease and nuclear/radiological preparedness and response efforts as Senior Health Scientist in the OSHA Office of Emergency Management and Preparedness. In that role, he was a principal technical advisor to the OSHA leadership during the Ebola crisis of 2014-2015 and the Zika virus epidemic of 2015-2016. He has been part of the federal response to a variety of natural and man-made disasters and infectious disease events,  as well as efforts to plan and conduct emergency exercises. In conjunction with the White House National Security Council staff, he led the federal government’s planning efforts for managing Category A infectious waste during outbreaks of high-consequence pathogens. He also coordinated the Department of Labor’s involvement in developing and implementing the President’s National Biodefense Strategy.

Brown holds a PhD in biodefense from George Mason University and a Master of Public Health in biostatistics and epidemiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.