Report: Former top NC health official Dr. Mandy Cohen to lead CDC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A former Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is expected to be selected to the lead Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the Washington Post.

Per the report, President Joe Biden is likely to tab Dr. Mandy Cohen for the position, with a formal announcement expected to come later this month.

Cohen was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to lead the NCDHHS in January 2017 before stepping down in November 2021.

She served as the top health official in North Carolina during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, where she played a major role in shaping the state’s pandemic guidelines and efforts to slow the spread.

According to the sources, Cohen met with staff Tuesday morning to announce she is leaving.

Cohen was awarded the Leadership in Public Health Practice Award from Harvard University in September 2020 for her work during the early stages of the pandemic.

Since stepping down from her position at the NCDHHS, Cohen has worked as an executive at Aledade, a private-sector firm focused on improving primary care health practices.

Prior to her leadership of the NCDHHS, she worked as a senior official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under former President Barack Obama.

The Washington Post reports that Cohen has previously been considered for senior roles within the Biden administration, and has close ties with many officials already in the administration.

Cohen will take over for current CDC leader Rochelle Walensky, who is stepping down on June 30.

She has degrees from Harvard, Yale and Cornell, and worked as an adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill.

Related: Dr. Mandy Cohen stepping down as Secretary of N.C. Department of Health and Human Services

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