The CDC Leaders

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

- Stephen R. Covey,
7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Casey Chosewood, MD

Director, Office of Health and Safety

Dr L. Casey Chosewood is the Director of the Office of Health and Safety for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to this appointment, he served as Deputy Director of OHS and headed the Division of Occupational Health and Prevention Services. In his current role, Dr Chosewood is charged with protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of the CDC workforce as they face the new challenges of the modern public health era - no easy task in the age of increasing globalization, bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases. His office leads CDC’s Biosafety, Laboratory and Animal Safety activities; Radiation, Chemical, and Facility Safety activities; the CDC Clinics and related Occupational Health Services; Environmental and Compliance activities; and workplace wellness and prevention initiatives for the CDC workforce. Other responsibilities include industrial hygiene programs, Agency-wide safety training, and deployment health and safety.

Dr. Chosewood received his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia and completed his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Connecticut. He has been an Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine since 1997.

Before joining CDC, Dr Chosewood was the Medical Director for the Southeastern region of Lucent Technologies where he provided occupational health, disability management, and health promotion services for over 30,000 regional employees. Prior to this work, he practiced Family Medicine in the Virginia Highland community of Atlanta for six years.

Dr. Chosewood has two children, Alec, 16, and Emily, 15. Alec is an avid hockey player and recently participated in the CDC Disease Detective Camp. He′s also an adventure sports enthusiast-- white-water rafting, rock climbing, and mountaineering. Emily plays JV softball for the Parkview Panthers and is in the Marine JROTC program. She also plays hockey and is the only female member of the school’s hockey team.