WASHINGTON — Dr. Mandy Cohen, the former state health director for North Carolina, is reportedly set to become the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
NBC affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh and The Washington Post both cited sources familiar with the decision on Thursday, saying President Biden picked Cohen to step into the role. The Post specifically noted three people with direct knowledge of the pending announcement shared details with them, and that Cohen was congratulated this week by federal Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Biden is set to make the formal announcement later this month, according to the Post's sources. Outgoing director Rochelle Walensky is set to step down at the end of June.
Cohen helmed the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) for five years. The last two years of her tenure involved navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, during which she became a household name for North Carolinians.
“At every turn trying to make really, really hard decisions that changed the way people lived their lives. It was really, really challenging,” Cohen told WCNC Charlotte in 2021, prior to her stepping down from the role.
On Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper offered a statement to WCNC Charlotte in light of the reports:
Mandy Cohen used a steady hand to help my administration lead North Carolina through the pandemic to be among the states with the lowest deaths and job losses per capita. She is a brilliant, talented and battle-tested leader who would be a fantastic CDC Director.
Cohen left NCDHHS in 2021 to become the CEO and executive vice president of Aledade Care Solutions, which touts itself as a company that helps health centers and doctors with workflows, support, and data management.
Cohen notably brings experience both in medicinal practice and in federal healthcare leadership to the CDC, having previously worked under the Obama administration as a senior official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services.
Additionally, she earned her medical degree from Yale and her Master's degree in public health from Harvard, and also trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She's also an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill.
While the role of CDC director does not require confirmation in the Senate, Cohen is likely to face scrutiny in Congress nonetheless. The Post notes House Republicans have announced a hearing to examine the agency's response to COVID-19 and other recent health events.