Manages the CDC’s mission to monitor and respond to threats to public health and safety, including from international sources.
Dr. Mandy K. Cohen is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Dr. Cohen previously served as the Executive Vice President at Aledade and CEO of Aledade Care Solution. She also served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and served as Acting Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. She is an internal medicine physician and led the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. She is also the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Past statements on development, diplomacy, and U.S. global leadership:
On U.S. Global Health Security: “CDC is one of a number of ways in which the U.S. government partners together to think about global health security and to partner with countries in a number of ways, whether it’s health work groups or others that have brought different parts and different strengths across the U.S. government together in service of health promotion and health strengthening for individual countries.” (source)
On Health and National Security: “CDC has a critical mission of protecting the health of this country. It is an important national security asset. And so, we need to think of it in that way.” (source)
On Public Health: “The CDC, as well as the whole public health infrastructure, is such an important asset for our country, in order to protect us from threats. Just like we rely on the military to protect us from threats, the CDC is doing the same thing. These are just biologic threats or chemical threats. And so we’re working hard to make sure that folks know that they have a trusted partner in the CDC that’s looking out for their health.” (source)
On Rebuilding Trust: Dr. Cohen gave a speech to the Guilford College’s Class of 2023 and remarked: “Trust in institutions, such as government, or media, or business, has been eroding in recent years. This lack of trust has led to polarization and division and has made it harder to solve important issues facing our world. As you move forward in your lives, I encourage you to think about how you can also contribute to rebuilding trust in institutions and creating a more trusting and united society.” (source)