Welcoming a New Face to Advance Public-Private Partnerships

Betty Wolf this month joined the CDC Foundation as our new vice president for advancement. Betty brings significant biomedical research, healthcare and programmatic fundraising experience to the CDC Foundation team, and we are pleased to welcome her aboard. In her role at the CDC Foundation, Betty will play an integral role in connecting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the private sector—individuals, foundations and businesses—on programs designed to advance public health priorities.

Betty is joining the CDC Foundation at an important time. Today, our national, state and local governments offer outstanding programs aimed at improving communitywide health. Though significant public health challenges remain, great progress is being made on many fronts, including treatment of AIDS, cancer and viral hepatitis, to name a few.

While in the past, government entities could fund and carry out much of our nation’s public health programming, other sources of support, particularly philanthropy, are needed to bolster public funding in today’s fragmented and resource-constrained world. Of course, the private-sector can provide more than funding. They also have knowledge and expertise that can be used to help invigorate public health priorities, adding value to needed, existing or planned government programs.

In recent years, we’ve seen growing appreciation for how public health programs can be used to improve the collective health of our nation’s citizens as well as the health security of our nation and health of our economy. We are excited that Betty is joining our team to bring CDC together with the private sector to help extend the agency’s vital life-saving work.