Leadership Spotlight

Brenda Fitzgerald, MD
Director, CDC, and Administrator, ATSDR, Atlanta, GA

Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, was appointed as the 17th director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry on July 7, 2017. Dr. Fitzgerald previously served as the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH)  and state health officer from 2011 to 2017.

“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,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D.

A board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Fitzgerald has practiced medicine for three decades. As Georgia DPH commissioner, Dr. Fitzgerald oversaw various state public health programs and directed the state’s 18 public health districts and 159 county health departments. Prior to that, she held numerous leadership positions. She served on the board and as president of the Georgia OB-GYN Society and worked as a healthcare policy advisor with House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senator Paul Coverdell. She has served as a senior fellow and chairman of the board for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.

Dr. Fitzgerald holds a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from Georgia State University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Emory University School of Medicine. She completed post-graduate training at the Emory-Grady Hospitals in Atlanta and held an assistant clinical professorship at Emory Medical Center. As a major in the US Air Force, Fitzgerald served at the Wurtsmith Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) Base in Michigan and at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC.