Chief Operating Officer

Sherri A. Berger, MSPH, became Chief Operating Officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of 10 major operating divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in August 2011. As COO, she oversees management, facilities, and operations at the Atlanta-based public health agency. She provides substantial strategic direction for CDC’s workforce and budget, while ensuring CDC has proper resources to fulfill its critical work to save lives and protect people from health threats.

Specifically, Berger manages CDC’s budget; oversees facilities design, maintenance, security, management analysis, and safety and personnel security; leads acquisitions, contractual assistance and grants; manages information technology and security; and directs human resources strategy, training, and workplace development.

Berger’s oversight and management as Chief Operating Officer has intensified CDC’s business services by:

• Transitioning the agency’s business services offices from a direct appropriation to the Working Capital Fund
• Consolidating the agency’s financial management functions into a single Office of Financial Resources to ensure fiscal accountability, oversight, and ensure compliance with external and internal controls
• Consolidating five offices responsible for a broad portfolio of crosscutting services, including safety and security, to effectively deliver a safe, secure functional, and healthy workplace for CDC staff
• Ensuring the agency’s information technology portfolio is current and state-of-the art with a customer-driven focus
• Serving as a champion for the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, using results to drive agency improvements to better serve CDC staff and the public they serve

Berger is a manager with extensive experience at both the program and senior leadership level. She began her federal career in 1996 as one of four graduate students selected nationwide to participate in the CDC/Association of Schools of Public Health Experimental Learning Program. Berger worked as an epidemiologist at the community level until moving to CDC headquarters in Atlanta to serve as a principal epidemiologic investigator. As a result of her management at the program level, she was nominated to participate in the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, where she expanded her career into business management. Berger has held several leadership positions at CDC, including associate director for formulation, evaluation, and analysis in CDC’s Financial Management Office, deputy director of one of CDC’s national centers, and director of the agency’s Recovery Act Coordination Unit.

Berger received her bachelor’s in political science from the University of Florida and a master’s of science in public health with a concentration in epidemiology from the University of South Florida. She enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her son.