Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price recently appointed Brenda Fitzgerald as the 17th Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and as the Administrator of the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
Fitzgerald joins the CDC after serving as the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health and as a health officer for the past six years. Fitzgerald replaces acting CDC Director and acting ATSDR Director Anne Schuchat, who has been serving in those roles since January 20.
“Having known Dr. Fitzgerald for many years, I know that she has a deep appreciation and understanding of medicine, public health, policy and leadership — all qualities that will prove vital as she leads the CDC in its work to protect America’s health 24/7,” Price said when announcing Fitzgerald’s appointment. “We look forward to working with Dr. Fitzgerald to achieve President Trump’s goal of strengthening public health surveillance and ensuring global health security at home and abroad.”
Fitzgerald is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist. As commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, she ran various public health initiatives and directed 18 public health districts and 159 county health departments throughout the state.
Prior to her time with the state of Georgia, Fitzgerald served on the board and as president of the Georgia OB-GYN society and as a health care policy advisor to for Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA).
Fitzgerald hold a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University and a Doctor of Medicine from Emory University. Her post-graduate training was completed at the Emory-Grady Hospitals in Atlanta.