Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH

Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, is the Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. She is one of the nation’s top health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans’ health and safety. As the director of CDC, she manages and directs the activities of the agency which includes developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and health education activities designed to improve the health of the American people as well as other nations and international agencies. Dr. Cohen is an internal medicine physician and led the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, where she was lauded for her outstanding leadership during the COVID crisis, focusing on equity, data accountability, and transparent communication. She also transformed the North Carolina Medicaid program, through the state’s Medicaid expansion and her focus on “whole person health” with the launch of the country’s first statewide coordination platform, NCCARE360. Prior to joining CDC, Dr. Cohen served as the Executive Vice President at Aledade and CEO of Aledade Care Solution, which helps independent primary care practices, health centers, and clinics deliver better care to their patients and thrive in value-based care. Dr. Cohen previously 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. Dr. Cohen was involved in many aspects of the Affordable Care Act policy development and implementation, including the expansion of coverage, insurance protections, and new provider payment models. In February 2019, Modern Healthcare named Dr. Cohen one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare. In September of 2020, Dr. Cohen was awarded the Leadership in Public Health Practice Award from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health for her outstanding leadership through the COVID pandemic and Dr. Cohen was named Tar Heel of the Year for 2020. She has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Cohen received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, her Doctor of Medicine from the Yale School of Medicine, and her Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She trained in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH

As Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Dr. Daskalakis leads CDC’s efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to vaccine-preventable and respiratory infectious disease threats. He oversees and coordinates activities across the Center to effectively balance public health efforts in both domestic and global arenas, and to accommodate the specific needs of a variety of populations at risk for vaccine preventable diseases across the lifespan. Dr. Daskalakis also plays a key role in CDC emergency responses to respiratory and vaccine-preventable diseases such as seasonal respiratory viruses (COVID-19, influenza, and RSV), measles, and avian influenza. Prior to joining NCIRD, Dr. Daskalakis served as the Director of the Division of HIV Prevention in CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention Dr. Daskalakis has been recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in HIV prevention and has focused much of his career on the treatment and prevention of HIV and other STIs as an activist physician with a focus on LGBTQIA+ communities. He also served as the Deputy Coordinator of the White House’s Mpox Response, where he successfully led vaccination and public education efforts that helped to halt the advancement of the virus. Dr. Daskalakis began his career as an attending physician at Bellevue Hospital in New York City (NYC), New York, where he spearheaded several public health programs focused on community HIV testing and prevention. He has since served in several healthcare and public health capacities in NYC, including the Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Disease Control at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Daskalakis also directed the public health laboratory and all infectious disease control programs for NYC, including HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, vaccine-preventable diseases, and general communicable diseases. In addition to his leadership in infectious disease control efforts, he served as the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene incident commander during the measles outbreak of 2018-2019, as well as the 2020 COVID-19 public health emergency. Dr. Daskalakis received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the New York University School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He also completed clinical infectious disease fellowships at the Brigham and Women’s Massachusetts General Hospital combined program and received a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Manisha Patel, MD, MS, MBA

Manisha Patel, MD, MS, MBA, currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases and is a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Patel brings more than 15 years of leadership and technical experience in surveillance, study design and implementation, emergency response, and vaccine policy and communications for vaccine-preventable and other respiratory diseases. As CMO she directs and oversees cross-cutting and multi-functional program activities including NCIRD’s healthcare provider strategy and outreach. Dr. Patel joined CDC in 2005 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer in the Meningitis and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Branch (MVPDB) in the Division of Bacterial Diseases. After leaving CDC to complete a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases, she returned to MVPDB in 2010 as a medical officer, where she led and supervised multiple pertussis and meningococcal outbreak investigations. From 2015 to 2020, she served as a team lead in the Division of Viral Diseases overseeing seven domestic viral programs, including measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, zoster, cytomegalovirus, and acute flaccid myelitis/poliomyelitis. Most recently, Dr. Patel was the associate director for the Office of Strategy and Innovation in the Injury Center, where she provided center-wide leadership and coordination of cross-cutting priorities, such as adverse childhood experiences, data science, and strategic planning. Dr. Patel is double-board certified and completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry and fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. She received her bachelor's degree from Boston College, Doctor of Medicine from Ben Gurion University, Master of Science from Einstein College of Medicine, and Master in Business Administration from Emory University Goizueta School of Business. She provides part-time clinical care to children in Georgia who are medically underserved.

Bruce A. Scott, MD

Bruce A. Scott, MD, is the president of the American Medical Association and a member of the Board of Trustees. Prior to this, he was a member of the AMA House of Delegates for over 20 years, serving as speaker and vice speaker and was the young physician member on the AMA Board of Trustees. Dr. Scott has been president of his county and state medical associations and served on the boards of the Greater Louisville Medical Society and the Kentucky Medical Association (KMA) for over 20 years. As a leader in these associations, he fought for access to care for vulnerable populations, improvement in public health and reduction of administrative burdens in health care. He was awarded the KMA Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his work on behalf of Kentucky’s physicians and patients. Dr. Scott is the president of his six-physician independent private practice group, medical director of a multispecialty ambulatory surgery center and holds a clinical appointment at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He is board-certified in both otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery.