Heather Duncan, MPH

Director, Public Health Associate Program

As Director of the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) within CDC’s Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), Heather Duncan, MPH, manages the activities involved in the recruitment, training, and professional development of public health associates. In this capacity, Duncan works with state, tribal, local, and territorial public health partners and with other CDC programs to ensure CDC meets the need for a continual source of field-tested, experienced, and dedicated public health professionals.

Before coming to OSTLTS, Duncan worked for CDC’s Office of the Chief of Staff, where she served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for more than three years. She helped manage the daily operations of the Director's office and provided oversight for services provided by the Division of Executive Secretariat, issues management, meeting and advance planning, and operations.

Duncan began working at CDC in 1991 as a Public Health Associate in Long Beach, California. In 1993, she got the opportunity to work as a Public Health Associate during the height of a tuberculosis (TB) resurgence in New York City; she then served in a number of assignments within the NYC Bureau of TB Control. Duncan later became Senior Public Health Advisor for the Bureau of TB and Refugee Health in Tallahassee. In 2005, she served as Program Consultant with the Division of TB Elimination in Atlanta and eventually as the division’s Associate Director for Management and Operations.

Duncan has a master of public health degree from Tulane University and a bachelor of science degree in biology from Furman University.