Leadership

Henry Walke, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Office of Readiness and Response (ORR). In this role, he supports ORR’s three Divisions and the Office of the Director to prepare for, respond to, and improve performance in domestic and global public health emergencies. ORR enhances CDC, state, and local health department preparedness and response capacity; ensures lifesaving research with select agents, toxins, and poliovirus is conducted safely and securely; and develops scientific principles, tools, and the next generation of public health preparedness professionals and leaders.

Office of the Director

Director: Henry Walke, MD, MPH

• Deputy Director Management & Operations: Lovisa Romanoff, MS, MPH
  • Associate Director of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation: Emily Eisenberg Lobelo, MS, ScD
  • Associate Director of Communications: John P. Anderton, PhD, MPA
  • Associate Director of Management Resources: Monique Williams Jester, BS, MPA
  • Associate Director of Information Resources: Chare Brown, BS, MBA, MPH
  • Workforce Relations Officer: Marvin (Bryan) Weekley
• Deputy Director: Ian Williams, PhD, MS
  • Associate Director of Science and Public Health Practice: Joanne Andreadis, PhD
  • Senior Advisor for Medical Care and Countermeasures: Joanna Prasher, PhD, MPH
  • Director of U.S. National Authority for Containment of Poliovirus: Lia Haynes Smith, PhD

Division of Emergency Operations

• Director: Chris Brown, PhD, MPH, CPH
  • Operations Branch, Branch Chief: Luis C. Poblano
  • Plans, Exercise, and Evaluation Branch, Branch Chief: David Kennedy, MBA
  • Resource Support Branch, Branch Chief: Bryan Taylor, MSS
  • Emergency Risk Communication Branch, Branch Chief: Donda Hansen, BS

Division of Select Agents and Toxins

• Director: Samuel Edwin, PhD
  • Operations Branch, Branch Chief: Von McClee, DrPH
  • Program Services, Branch Chief: Glen DeGruy, MS

Division of State and Local Readiness

• Director: Christine Kosmos, RN, BSN, MS
  • Applied Science and Evaluation Branch, Branch Chief: Rachel Avchen, (ret) PhD
  • Field Assignee Services Branch, Branch Chief: Randolph Daley, DVM, MPH
  • Program Implementation Branch, (Acting) Branch Chief: Jerome Simmons