Dr. Mandy Cohen was the 20th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is currently a national advisor at Manatt Health. Dr. Cohen is lauded for her masterful leadership in times of crisis, her skillful executive management of large, complex health organizations and her strategic and authentic communication with the public. Prior to leading the CDC, Dr. Cohen was Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services where she led the state through the COVID crisis and transformation of the North Carolina Medicaid program. She was also Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the Obama Administration.
Dr. Cohen was included on the TIMES 100 Health list as a Titan in Health, awarded Tar Heel of the Year by the News and Observer and named one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare. Dr. Cohen received her medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine; master’s in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and trained in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. She resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, Sam and two daughters, ages 11 and 13.