Mandy Cohen MD, MPH

Advisor

Dr. Mandy Cohen was the 20th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2023 to 2025 and is currently a national advisor at Manatt Health. Dr. Cohen is one of the nation’s top health leaders with a proven track-record of protecting and improving Americans’ health and safety. Dr. Cohen is lauded for her masterful leadership in times of crisis, her skillful executive management of large, complex health organizations and her strategic and authentic communication with the public.

As CDC Director, Dr. Cohen transformed the agency’s structure, culture, strategy, and decision-making processes - imbedding critical lessons learned from the COVID pandemic. Prior to leading the CDC, Dr. Cohen was Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services where she was praised for her effective management of the COVID crisis and transformation of the North Carolina Medicaid program to managed care with a focus on “whole person health”, launching the country’s first statewide platform integrating social services with healthcare delivery.

Dr. Cohen previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Cohen was involved in many aspects of the Affordable Care Act policy development and implementation, including the expansion of coverage, insurance protections, and new provider payment models.

Dr. Cohen served as the Executive Vice President at Aledade and CEO of Aledade Care Solutions, a company that helps independent primary care practices, health centers, and clinics deliver better care to their patients and thrive in value-based care.

In 2024, Dr. Cohen was named to TIMES 100 Health list. In 2019, Modern Healthcare named Dr. Cohen one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare. She has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Cohen received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, her Doctor of Medicine from the Yale School of Medicine, and her master’s in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She trained in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Cohen resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband and two daughters, ages 10 and 13.