Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Agency overview
FormedOctober 27, 1992
Preceding agencies
  • Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities (1942)
  • Office of Malaria Control in War Areas (1942–1946)
  • Communicable Disease Center (1946–1967)
  • National Communicable Disease Center (1967–1970)
  • Center for Disease Control (1970–1980)
  • Centers for Disease Control (1980–1992)
JurisdictionFederal government of the United States
HeadquartersDruid Hills, Georgia
Employees15,000
Annual budget8.8 billion USD (2008)
Agency executive
  • Mandy Cohen, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Parent agencyUnited States Department of Health and Human Services

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC main office is in Druid Hills, a neighborhood in northeastern Atlanta, Georgia. It works to protect public health and safety. It provides information to enhance health decisions. It promotes health as a partner with state health departments and other organizations. When an infectious disease or bad food can cause health problems, the CDC will tell the nation how to fight it. The CDC works on environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States of America.

Agencies under the CDC

The CDC has agencies that work under it:

Foundation

The CDC Foundation is separate from CDC as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It is incorporated in the State of Georgia. Section 399F of the Public Health Service Act created the foundation to help the CDC work with the private sector.

Leadership

Up to mid-August 2025, Susan Monarez was supposed to be the leader of the CDC. However, in late-August, a decision was made to fire her, and that decision was later confirmed by the US President. Monarez disagreed with the firing, and clarified that she had not resigned. The reason for firing her is very controversial.

List of directors

No. Portrait Director Term start Term end Refs.
1 Louis L. Williams Jr. 1942 1943
2 Mark D. Hollis 1944 1946
3 Raymond A. Vonderlehr 1947 December 1951
4 Justin M. Andrews January 1952 January 1953
5 Theodore J. Bauer January 15, 1953 August 1956
6 Robert J. Anderson October 1, 1956 June 30, 1960
7 Clarence A. Smith July 1960 August 1962
8 James L. Goddard September 1, 1962 January 1966
9 David J. Sencer February 1966 May 1977
10 William H. Foege May 1977 November 30, 1983
11 James O. Mason December 1, 1983 April 1989
Acting Walter Dowdle April 1989 February 28, 1990
12 William L. Roper March 1, 1990 June 30, 1993
Acting Walter Dowdle July 1, 1993 November 14, 1993
13 David Satcher November 15, 1993 February 13, 1998
Acting Claire V. Broome February 14, 1998 October 4, 1998
14 Jeffrey P. Koplan October 5, 1998 March 31, 2002
acting David Fleming April 1, 2002 June 2, 2002
15 Julie Gerberding June 3, 2002 January 20, 2009
interim William Gimson January 20, 2009 January 22, 2009
acting Richard Besser January 22, 2009 June 7, 2009
16 Thomas R. Frieden June 8, 2009 January 20, 2017
acting Anne Schuchat January 20, 2017 July 6, 2017
17 Brenda Fitzgerald July 7, 2017 January 31, 2018
acting Anne Schuchat February 1, 2018 March 26, 2018
18 Robert R. Redfield March 26, 2018 January 20, 2021
19 Rochelle Walensky January 20, 2021 June 30, 2023
acting Nirav D. Shah July 1, 2023 July 10, 2023
20 Mandy Cohen July 10, 2023 January 20, 2025
acting Susan Monarez January 23, 2025 March 24, 2025
acting Matthew Buzzelli March 24, 2025 July 30, 2025
21 Susan Monarez July 31, 2025 August 27, 2025
acting Jim O'Neill August 28, 2025 February 13, 2026
acting Jay Bhattacharya February 18, 2026 Incumbent
22 Erica Schwartz TBD

References

  1. ↑ "Director". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  2. ↑ Home Page. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on November 19, 2008. Archived 2006-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Groundbreaking held for new CDC virus research labs Archived 2017-10-13 at the Wayback Machine. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 3, 1985. A21. Retrieved on February 5, 2011. "[The new facility will sit behind and be connected to CDC's red-brick complex of buildings on Clifton Road in DeKalb County[...]"
  4. ↑ "Druid Hills CDP, GA Archived 2011-11-25 at the Wayback Machine." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
  5. ↑ CDCfoundation.org
  6. ↑ Faust, Jeremy (9 April 2025). "Scoop: CDC has no Acting Director, sources confirm". Inside Medicine. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  7. 1 2 Faust, Jeremy (14 May 2025). "Breaking: RFK Jr. says Matthew Buzzelli, a lawyer with no public health experience, is the Acting CDC Director". Inside Medicine. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Mandavilli, Apoorva (August 27, 2025). "C.D.C. Director Is Ousted After Clashes With Kennedy Over Vaccines". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  9. ↑ Owermohle, Sarah; Cancryn, Adam; Goodman, Brenda; Tirrell, Meg (2025-08-27). "CDC left leaderless after new Director Dr. Susan Monarez is ousted and other key officials follow". CNN.
  10. ↑ "Vonderlehr Succeeds to Health Post". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 2, 1952. p. 12. Dr. R. A. Vonderlehr of Atlanta, medical director in charge of the Communicable Disease Center, Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency, has been appointed Southeastern regional medical director of the Public Health Service. He succeeds Dr. F. V. Meriwether, who has retired after a 32-year career in public health service. Dr. Justin M. Andrews, deputy officer in charge of the Communicable Disease Center for the past six years, has been named to succeed Dr. Vonderlehr as officer in charge of the center.
  11. ↑ "Dr. Andrews Gets Capital Health Post". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 16, 1952. p. 21. Dr. Justin M. Andrews, officer in charge of the Communicable Disease Center, Public Health Service, Atlanta, has been appointed assistant surgeon general and associate chief of the Bureau of State Services of the Public Health Service by Surgeon General Leonard A. Scheele in Washington. Dr. Theodore J. Bauer, chief of the Public Health Service division of venereal disease in Washington, has been named to succeed Dr. Andrews in Atlanta. He will assume his new duties about Jan. 15.
  12. ↑ "Bauer Takes New PHS Post". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 17, 1953. p. 11. Dr. Theodore J. Bauer, veteran Public Health Service medical officer, has assumed his new duties in charge of the Communicable Disease Center, Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency, with headquarters in Atlanta. Dr. Bauer succeeds Dr. Justin M. Andrews, who was appointed assistant surgeon general and associate chief of the Bureau of State Services with headquarters in Washington.
  13. ↑ "Bauer Named Assistant U.S. Health Chief". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 22, 1956. p. 9. Dr. Theodore J. Bauer, chief of the Communicable Disease Center in Atlanta, Tuesday was appointed an assistant surgeon general of the Public Health Service in Washington. The appointment, which will become effective Sept. 1, was made by L. E. Burney, surgeon general.
  14. ↑ "Dr. Anderson Heads Health Center Here". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 31, 1956. p. 7. Dr. Robert J. Anderson, 42, a career officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and an expert in the field of tuberculosis control, has been named chief of the Communicable Disease Center here. Anderson succeeds Dr. Theodore Bauer, who recently was appointed deputy chief of State Services in Washington. The new CDC chief will report for duty in Atlanta Oct. 1.
  15. ↑ "Anderson Gets Top Health Post". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 2, 1960. p. 21. Dr. Robert J. Anderson, chief of the U.S. Public Health Service's Communicable Disease Center here since October 1956, has been appointed deputy chief of the service's Bureau of State Services in Washington.
  16. ↑ "Dr. Smith Appointed CDC Chief". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 5, 1960. p. 17. Dr. Clarence A. Smith has been appointed chief of the U.S. Public Health Service's Communicable Disease Center here, it was announced Monday. Dr. Smith, who came to CDC in February 1957 as deputy chief, succeeds Dr. Robert J. Anderson, who was appointed deputy chief of the Public Health Service's Bureau of State Services in Washington.
  17. ↑ "Dr. Smith Going to Capital". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 14, 1962. p. 3. Dr. C. A. Smith, chief of the Communicable Disease Center here since 1960, will leave for Washington this week to take a new post with the U.S. Bureau of Public Health. He will be replaced at the CDC on Sept. 1 by Dr. James L. Goddard
  18. ↑ "Dr. Goddard To Head U.S. Drug Agency". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 12, 1966. p. 6. Dr. James L. Goddard, chief of the Communicable Disease Center in Atlanta, has been named to head the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  19. ↑ "Dr. Sencer Elevated to CDC ChiefFebruary 9, 1966". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 37. Dr. David J. Sencer, deputy chief of the Communicable Disease Center in Atlanta since 1964, named chief of CDC Monday by Surgeon General William H. Stewart of the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington.
  20. ↑ Hume, Craig R. (February 8, 1977). "HEW Sec Secretary Fires CDC's Dr. Sencer". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 1. Dr. David J. Sencer, director of the national Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta for the last 10 years, was fired Monday by Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) Secretary Joseph Califano. The announcement was made Monday afternoon in Washington by an aide to Califano, while Sencer, along with 20 scientists and medical experts, was meeting in Califano's office to decide whether the government should resume the nationwide swine flu A source at the CDC indicated that Sencer is the fifth director of the six agencies within the U.S. Public Health Service to be removed by the Carter administration.
  21. ↑ Hume, Craig R. (February 9, 1977). "Sencer Says His Ouster Not Political". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 17. Dr. David Sencer said Tuesday afternoon that he was told his ouster as director of the national Center for Disease Control (CDC) was not a political decision, adding his departure will not dramatically affect the operation of the center in the near future... Until a successor is named, Califano asked Sencer to continue running the only federal agency based outside of Washington, D.C. "I'll keep signing the papers around here until then," he quipped.
  22. ↑ Emmrich, Stuart (April 6, 1977). "Foege Is Appointed Director of CDC". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 16. Secretary of Health, Education Welfare Joseph Califano paid a visit to 1,200 employes of the Center for Disease Control here Tuesday and named one of the CDC's own as its new director. The appointment of Dr. William Foege, announced at the close of a 20-minute "get acquainted" speech by Califano, was greeted with a burst of applause and a minute-long standing ovation by the employes packed into the center's auditorium. Foege, named assistant director of the CDC in 1976 and an employee there since 1966, replaces David Sencer, who was ousted from the position by Califano in February after an 11-year stint as director.
  23. ↑ Thompson, Tracy (April 7, 1983). "Foege resigns as director of CDC after heading major health probes". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 46. Dr. William Foege, for six years director of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and the coordinator of such major medical investigations as the probe into the causes of toxic shock syndrome and Legionnaire's disease, announced his resignation Wednesday. Foege, 47, said he will be staying at the CDC to act as a liaison between the CDC and various medical schools across the country in the area of public health. "I've been here for six years, and I believed when I first started that I should only stay five or six years," Foege said today. "I think it's a good time to leave." No effective date for his resignation was set, but Foege said he would stay on as CDC director until his replacement could be found a process he said might take "some months." His resignation, which comes exactly six years after his appointment as CDC director on April 5, 1977, was announced this morning at a CDC staff meeting. It was submitted yesterday in a letter to Dr. Edward N. Brandt, assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services.
  24. ↑ Seabrook, Charles (October 7, 1983). "Injuries concern new CDC chief". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 17. Dr. James O. Mason, who will become the CDC director Dec. 1, has a strong record in disease prevention and a reputation for innovation in the health care field.
  25. ↑ Sternberg, Steve (April 21, 1989). "Atlantan Wins Confirmation To Health Post". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 7. Dr. James 0. Mason has been confirmed unanimously by the Senate to become assistant secretary of health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)... Dr. Walter Dowdle, former deputy director of the agency and a 29-year veteran of the CDC, has been named acting director until a new director is selected.
  26. ↑ Sternberg, Steve (March 2, 1990). "Roper gets off to non-stop start as he takes over helm of CDC". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 17. Dr. William L. Roper's first day at the Centers for Disease Control began Thursday the patriotic fanfare of a John Philip Sousa march and the whispered warning, "You're a minute late..." It was at the conclusion of the ceremony, as Dr. Roper was being shepherded off by the man he replaced, Acting CDC Director Walter Dowdle, and other officials to visit the heads of the six centers that make up his diverse agency, that his meticulously planned schedule began to unravel.
  27. ↑ Seabrook, Charles (June 22, 1993). "CDC director to head Prudential research center". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 130. The man who added "prevention" to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will head a first-of-its-kind research center to tackle health problems among insured Americans. Dr. William L. Roper, who ends his three-year stint as CDC director on June 30, will become president of Prudential Insurance Co. of America's new $20 million National Center for Health Care Research.
  28. ↑ Sternberg, Steve (July 3, 1993). "Meharry chief may head CDC". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 5. The CDC's deputy director, Dr. Walter Dowdle, was named acting director on Thursday. It is his second acting directorship. Dr. Dowdle also led the CDC three years ago, during the search for Dr. Roper, who left the agency Monday...
  29. ↑ "CDC chief to start work Nov. 15". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 5, 1993. p. 38. Dr. David Satcher, appointed in August to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will begin his job on Nov. 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday.
  30. ↑ "CDC directorship could remain vacant for months". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 13, 1998. p. 8. a former CDC staff Deputy Director Claire Broome is expected to be named acting chief until a permanent successor is chosen. Satcher was confirmed Tuesday by the Senate as surgeon general... Dr. David Satcher, outgoing director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is scheduled to be sworn in this morning as U.S. surgeon general.
  31. ↑ "U.S. Surgeon General to Address Commencement". University of Alabama at Birmingham. May 22, 2000.[dead link]
  32. ↑ "National Public Health Institute, NPHI Advocacy". IANPHI. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  33. ↑ Bynum, Russ (July 11, 1998). "'Disease Detective' Named CDC'S Chief". Washington Post.
  34. ↑ Enserink, Martin (February 22, 2002). "CDC Chief Calls It Quits". Science. doi:10.1126/article.25111 (inactive 27 August 2026).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2026 (link)
  35. ↑ "Team of four will lead CDC until new director is named". Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy. University of Minnesota. April 3, 2002.
  36. ↑ "CDC Gets First Female Director". CBS News. July 2, 2002.
  37. ↑ "CDC director resigns, government e-mail says". WTHR. January 9, 2009.
  38. ↑ "Departing director of CDC has drawn praise and criticism". Deseret News. January 11, 2009.
  39. ↑ "Besser Named Interim CDC Director" (PDF). CDC Connection. CDC. January 2009.
  40. ↑
  41. ↑ Branswell, Helen (January 18, 2017). "'We were days away' from Ebola pandemic: a Q&A with departing CDC Director Tom Frieden". Stat News.
  42. ↑ "Principal Deputy Director: Anne Schuchat, MD". cdc.gov. August 2, 2019.
  43. ↑ Hellmann, Jessie (January 31, 2018). "CDC head resigns after report she traded tobacco stocks". The Hill. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  44. ↑ Sun, Lena H. (February 2, 2018). "CDC employees are delighted that their acting director is back in charge". Washington Post.
  45. ↑ Sun, Lena H. (March 21, 2018). "Longtime AIDS researcher Robert Redfield picked to lead CDC". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  46. ↑ Kaplan, Sheila (January 20, 2021). "The departing C.D.C. director discusses his time at the agency". New York Times.
  47. ↑ Jaffe, Susan (January 23, 2021). "Rochelle Walensky: new Director of the US CDC". The Lancet. 397 (10271): 268. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00076-3. PMID 33453755.
  48. ↑ Mandavilli, Apoorva; Weiland, Noah (May 5, 2023). "Walensky Resigns as C.D.C. Director". New York Times.
  49. ↑ Bublé, Courtney (June 30, 2023). "The CDC is getting a new leader as it seeks to remake itself after the pandemic". Government Executive.
  50. ↑ Christensen, Jen (July 11, 2023). "New CDC director brings health care, public health experience to agency facing aftermath of pandemic". CNN.
  51. ↑ Gardner, Sophie (January 23, 2025). "Susan Monarez, a CDC outsider, tapped as agency's acting director". Politico. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  52. ↑ "Acting Director, First Assistant to the Director, Principal Deputy Director". CDC. January 24, 2025. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  53. ↑ "Secretary Kennedy Swears in Susan Monarez as CDC Director to Advance 'Make America Healthy Again' Agenda". CDC. July 31, 2025.
  54. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Mandavilli, Apoorva; Jewett, Christina (August 27, 2025). "New C.D.C. Director Is Fired, White House Says". The New York Times.
  55. ↑ Yousif, Nadine; Bowes, Peter (August 27, 2025). "White House names RFK Jr deputy as replacement CDC director". BBC News.
  56. 1 2 Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (2026-02-18). "N.I.H. Director Will Temporarily Run C.D.C. in Leadership Shake-Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  57. ↑ "New CDC director is confirmed, giving agency its first permanent leader in a year". NBC News. 2026-08-05. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  58. ↑ Mandavilli, Apoorva (2026-08-05). "Senate Confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz as C.D.C. Director". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-05.

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