WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 25, 2025) — The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is pleased to announce that Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, will be the keynote speaker for the 2025 GW MD Graduation Celebration and Diploma Ceremony on May 18, 2025, in Lisner Auditorium.
Cohen is one of the nation’s top health leaders with a proven track-record of protecting and improving Americans’ health and safety. She is widely recognized for her leadership in times of crisis; her skillful executive management of large, complex health organizations; and her strategic and authentic communication with the public.
She serves as a national advisor with Manatt Health — the health care practice within Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips, a multidisciplinary professional services firm. Previously, she served as the 20th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2023 to 2025.
As CDC Director, she transformed the agency’s structure, culture, strategy, and decision-making processes – embedding critical lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Cohen strengthened CDC data, lab, and response capacity; increased investment in genomics, diagnostics, and wastewater detection; modernized how the agency communicates; and built relationships with members of Congress, state and local public health leaders, and health care and community leaders.
Prior to her leadership role at the CDC, Cohen led the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, where she was known for her outstanding leadership during the pandemic. She transformed the North Carolina Medicaid program to managed care with a focus on “whole-person health” and launched the country’s first statewide platform integrating social services with healthcare delivery.
Cohen also served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as Acting Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which oversees the health insurance marketplaces.
In 2019, Modern Healthcare named Cohen one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Health Care. She has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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.
For more information about the GW SMHS Graduation Celebrations visit the Commencement Website.
