The CDC Leaders

“The art of leadership is in saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.”

—Tony Blair

Joe Henderson

Acting Chief of Staff, Office of the Director

As the acting chief of staff for CDC, Joe Henderson is responsible for managing day-to-day operations of the Office of the Director. He helps resolve issues that cross organizational lines, determine policy and program objectives, coordinate decision-making processes, and maintain a focus on the highest priority initiatives.

Mr. Henderson served almost 10 years in the US Air Force working in the field of environmental health services and was based all over the world. He began his career with CDC in 1992 as the senior public health advisor assigned to the New York State Department of Health. He was reassigned to CDC Atlanta in 1997 working in the National Immunization Program.

Mr. Henderson left CDC in 1999 to learn about hospital information system development and the pressures of Y2K, but returned in 2000 to help establish the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program in the National Center for Infectious Disease. In 2002, Henderson became the CDC’s first associate director for the Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, now the Coordinating Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response.

Later, he was named CDC′s first senior management official and was assigned to New York State Department of Health providing strategic oversight of all of CDC resources invested in public health activities in New York State. In January 2008, Dr. Julie Gerberding appointed him to serve as the acting CDC chief operating officer. He served in this capacity until May 2008.

In December 2008, he left CDC for a short stint with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supporting global health delivery as a Senior Program Officer for Leadership and Accountability.

Joe retains an academic appointment at the Harvard University School of Public Health to support public health leadership development. He has a Masters Degree from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Wilmington College.