Stephanie Zaza, MD, MPH FACPM

Director, Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Dr. Stephanie Zaza joined the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) as its new Director in 2014. She supervises the management of three school-based surveillance systems (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, School Health Policies and Practices Study, and School Health Profiles); research and evaluation studies; research synthesis reports; development and dissemination of tools to help schools and community programs implement evidence-based policies and practices; and programmatic activities, including funding of, and technical assistance to, state and local education agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

Dr. Zaza came to CDC through the prestigious Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Program and later completed CDC’s Preventive Medicine Residency. She helped launch and eventually led the Community Guide Branch and the HHS Secretarial initiative Steps to a HealthierUS. She directed strategic planning for CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, and served as the inaugural director of the Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office. She has served as a senior advisor and team leader in multiple emergency response operations including the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita response (in Baton Rouge, LA), the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic response, and the 2013 H7N9 influenza response. Prior to her appointment as DASH Director, Dr. Zaza collaborated with DASH staff on diverse projects including syntheses of intervention evaluations, integrating and coordinating chronic disease programs under the Steps to a Healthier US initiative, developing guidelines for schools regarding dismissals or closures during a pandemic, and establishing a school dismissal/closure surveillance system during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

Dr. Zaza is a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), holding the rank of Captain. She has received numerous USPHS Commissioned Corps awards recognizing her outstanding accomplishments and service. She has also received academic and service awards including the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Watanakunakorn Lectureship in Infectious Diseases from her medical school alma mater, the Rising Star award of the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Director’s Award for her work on motor vehicle injury prevention.

Dr. Zaza earned her combined Bachelor of Science and medical degrees in 1990 from Youngstown State University and the Northeast Ohio Medical University, and a Masters of Public Health degree in 1995 from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health. She is board certified in public health and general preventive medicine and a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.