Press Release

CDC Director Named To Forbes List of 100 Most Powerful Women

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie Gerberding has been named to the Forbes List of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the world. This year marks the fourth consecutive year that Dr. Gerberding has made the list. The ranking, according to Forbes, "measures 'power' as a composite of public profile--calculated using press mentions--and financial heft. The economic component of the ranking considers job title and past career accomplishments, as well as the amount of money the woman controls."

"I am once again humbled by this recognition," Dr. Gerberding said. "It's really a testament of the extraordinary efforts by the greatest workforce in the world who day in and day out go to great lengths to protect our health."

Forbes magazine recognized Dr. Gerberding for the positive strides the agency is making with everyday issues like smoking cessation, screening for heart disease and stroke, and increased physical education in U.S. elementary schools. CDC is ramping up efforts to address these issues and many others that impact health through the establishment of the Healthiest Nation Alliance. This alliance is a collaboration of people and organizations committed to making sure investments prioritize health promotion, prevention of poor health, and preparedness of new threats.

Other prominent Americans included on the list are Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Laura Bush, Oprah Winfrey, and Melinda Gates.

Julie Louise Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H., became the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on July 3, 2002.

Before becoming CDC Director and ATSDR Administrator, Dr. Gerberding was Acting Deputy Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where she played a major role in leading CDC's response to the anthrax bioterrorism events of 2001. She joined CDC in 1998 as Director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, NCID, where she developed CDC's patient safety initiatives and other programs to prevent infections, antimicrobial resistance, and medical errors in healthcare settings.

CDC is a federal agency comprised of 15,000 employees and a budget of $9 billion that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The agency is responsible for protecting the nation's health through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new threats.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES