Following Dr. Rochelle Walensky's announcement of her departure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra praised her outstanding leadership and dedication to public health.
Walensky reported she intends to leave the public health agency by the end of June, according to a May 5 news release.
“Dr. Walensky helped lead an unprecedented whole-of-government response during a historic pandemic," Becerra said in the release. “We are living our lives again and the American people are safer now because Dr. Walensky led the CDC with real facts and science. She did not yield to the pressures of expediency or politics. And she always put people first."
Becerra noted they began the vital task of "modernizing our public health infrastructure" under the direction of Walensky, the release reported.
"She leaves the CDC better positioned to respond to public health threats," Becerra added, according to the release. "Working alongside Dr. Walensky as a partner and friend has been an immense honor. I thank her for her leadership and look forward to witnessing her future successes.”
In addition to serving as CDC director, Walensky was the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, according to her CDC bio. She also worked as chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Infectious Diseases 2017-20 and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School 2012-20.
"She is an influential scholar whose pioneering research has helped advance the national and global response to HIV/AIDS," her bio reported. "Dr. Walensky is also a well-respected expert on the value of testing and treatment of deadly viruses."
She is recognized internationally for her efforts to improve HIV screening and care in South Africa, according to her bio. She is a former chair of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council at the National Institutes of Health, chair-elect of the HIV Medical Association and served as an advisor to the WOrld Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
