CDC Leadership

Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, was appointed as the 17th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry on July 7, 2017.

Anne Schuchat, MD, began her public health career in 1988 when she came to CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer. She is currently CDC principal deputy director, a role she has held since 2015. She served as acting CDC director from January-July 2017 and was director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases from 2006-2015.

Katherine Lyon Daniel, PhD, is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Associate Director for Communication, and is responsible for providing guidance and leadership in the development and implementation of CDC′s communication strategies. She leads the agency’s external and internal communication aimed at putting the best information available into the hands of people who need it to protect their health or the health of others.

Von Nguyen, MD, MPH, is serving as the Acting Associate Director for Policy at the Centers for Disease Control for Prevention (CDC). In this capacity, he supports the policy agenda across CDC and manages the CDC’s efforts to promote collaboration between the public health and health care delivery systems.

Karyn Richman, MPA, currently serves as the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Washington, D.C. Office. Ms. Richman joined the CDC as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office in May 2014.

CDC Washington translates public health developments to the Washington-based policy community, provides strategic direction and support for CDC leadership, and delivers technical assistance on legislation that impacts CDC programs.

Reginald R. Mebane, MS, is currently the Director of CDC’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO). 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.

Michael F. Iademarco, MD, MPH, is the first permanent director of the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CSELS provides scientific service, expertise, skills, and tools in support of CDC’s mission. CSELS contains many of CDC’s core scientific services and products, including the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), The Community Guide, Epi Info^TM, the Epidemic Intelligence Service, the CDC Learning Connection, Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library, and crucial national disease surveillance systems.

Coleen A. Boyle, PhD, MSHyg, serves as Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at CDC. Dr. Boyle began her career at CDC in 1984 as part of a large effort to study the adverse health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War.

Pat Breysse, PhD, CIH, joined CDC in December 2014 as the Director of NCEH/ATSDR. Dr. Breysse leads CDC’s efforts to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and health. He came to CDC from the Johns Hopkins University where he served as Associate Chair for Educational Programs within the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Program Director for the Industrial Hygiene Training Program, and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment.

Nancy Messonnier, MD, is the Director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). Since beginning her public health career in 1995 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Dr. Messonnier has held a number of leadership posts across CDC and within NCIRD.

Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, is the Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP). From 2009-2013, Dr. Mermin served as Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, NCHHSTP. Under his leadership, the Division spearheaded a new approach to HIV prevention, called High Impact Prevention, that aligned funding with epidemiology and ensured program and research activities had the greatest effect on reducing incidence and improving health equity.