The CDC Leaders

“Too many people fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions.”

—Lee Iacocca

Louise Galaska

Acting Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Louise Galaska, MPA, is the Acting Director for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), where she works to prevent injuries and violence and reduce their consequences. The Center′s current program priorities are preventing child maltreatment, older adult falls, and residential fire injuries and deaths.

Ms. Galaska joined CDC in 1978. Her first assignment was with the Chicago Department of Health, where she worked in the STD program and learned public health through "shoe-leather" epidemiology. She spent 15 years working in STD, HIV and TB control and prevention in state and city health departments in Chicago (3 times), Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida. In 1993, she came to Atlanta and, for the next eight years, served as the Deputy Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). In 2001, she joined CDC Injury Center as deputy director.

In 2006, Ms. Galaska became the Chief Management Officer for the Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, responsible for improving business services, practices, and systems through effective and efficient strategic thinking, critical analysis, resource and performance management, change leadership, policy development, communications and coalition building. As a member of the CDC Management Council, she helped govern and set the agency's direction for business and administrative services, strategies, and operations.

Ms. Galaska completed undergraduate studies at Barat College, earning two Bachelor of Arts degrees—one in history and one in American studies. She earned her Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1990.