Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will step down at the end of June after more than two years in service.
The agency announced Friday that Walensky submitted a letter of resignation—the same day that the World Health Organization declared the end of the COVID-19 global health emergency.
Walensky was instrumental in restoring public health normalcy after two years of the COVID pandemic. She launched a series of reforms under the Moving Forward campaign, working to improve communications and response missions within the agency.
During her term, the CDC invested in infrastructure modernization, creating the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, digitalizing information systems, and increasing the public health workforce.
“As Director of the CDC, she led a complex organization on the front lines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity,” President Joe Biden remarked. “Dr. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans.”
