Lynn R. Goldman, dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, has accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The 14-member ACD advises the CDC director, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the assistant secretary for health on policy and broad strategies that will enable CDC to fulfill its mission of protecting the nation’s health. The committee specifically recommends ways to prioritize CDC’s activities, improve results and address health disparities.
Dr. Goldman brings a wealth of public health knowledge and experience to the committee. She was formerly the assistant administrator for toxic substances at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she oversaw the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. She is a renowned expert in pediatric environmental health and chemicals and pesticides policy. She also has engaged in translating research to policy. She has experience in writing policy analyses and in Congressional testimony in service of successful efforts by Congress to achieve passage of reforms both to federal pesticide law (the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act) and federal chemicals law (the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century) as well as legislation to establish California’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
As an official federal advisory committee, the ACD also provides guidance to help CDC work more effectively with its various private and public sector constituents to make health protection a reality. Meetings are open to the public, and at least one member is a public representative.
Originally established in 1962, the ACD was terminated in 2019. As advertised in the Federal Register, the committee charter was renewed in 2021.
According to the Public Health Service Act, the ACD is authorized to: “(1) conduct, encourage, cooperate with, and assist other appropriate public authorities, scientific institutions, and scientists in the conduct of research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, and studies relating to the causes, diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of physical and mental diseases, and other impairments; (2) assist States and their political subdivisions in the prevention of infectious diseases and other preventable conditions, and in the promotion of health and well-being; and (3) train State and local personnel in health work.”
Committee members include people with expertise in areas pertinent to the CDC mission, such as public health, health equity, medical education, industry, healthcare delivery, health policy, preventive medicine, allied field, and communication.
ACD meetings are typically held twice a year. The committee is chaired by Dr. David Warren Fleming, clinical associate professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health.