Mandy K. Cohen, M.D., M.P.H., 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.
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. Dr. Cohen is married and has two daughters.