Debra Houry, MD, MPH

Dr. Debra Houry is a nationally recognized physician, researcher, and public health leader with nearly three decades of experience guiding health care and public health strategy across federal government, health systems, and academia. She has consistently stepped up to address urgent challenges, ranging from hands-on trauma care in bustling county emergency rooms to tackling major issues at the forefront of the nation’s most prominent public health agency. Through her current LLC she is an advisor to governors, state and regional health networks, health systems, and technology companies. A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Houry brings a clinician’s lens to national policy and organizational leadership. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), she served across four presidential administrations, including as the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science. Over her tenure at CDC, Dr. Houry guided more than $8 billion in public health programs, fostered cross-sector coalitions spanning all 50 states, and helped steer the nation through some of its most complex public health emergencies ranging from outbreaks to firearm violence. During the transition into the second Trump administration and the early RFK Jr.-led HHS era, she served as the senior-most career leader and scientist at CDC, working to safeguard the agency’s scientific integrity and continuity of mission amid political transition. In 2025, Dr. Houry publicly resigned from CDC and later testified before Congress, speaking candidly about the challenges of maintaining scientific independence and protecting the public’s health in times of deep political polarization. Dr. Houry has appeared on CNN, NPR, and major national outlets, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal for her leadership in crisis response and public health. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, she is the recipient of the American Medical Association Award for Outstanding Government Service, American College of Emergency Physicians Public Health Trailblazer Award, and has also authored 100+ academic articles.