Public Health Leader Deb Houry to Deliver 2026 Commencement Address

Nationally recognized emergency medicine physician and public health leader Debra Houry, MD, will deliver the Rollins School of Public Health’s commencement address at this year’s degree candidate recognition ceremony on May 9. 

As the field of public health faces challenging times, Houry’s decades-long career serves as an example for graduating students of how to lead with vision and integrity.

Houry has used her perspective as a physician to guide public health and health care strategy and policy across government, health systems, and academia. Until August 2025, she served as chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recently, Houry took on a role as a senior medical advisor to California’s Public Health Network Innovation Exchange, an initiative that works to build trust in science and modernize public health infrastructure in the state. She is also an adjunct professor at both Rollins and Emory School of Medicine.

Earlier in Houry’s career, she improved national suicide prevention, mental health, and opioid policy as director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. She also helped build the Emory School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine into a top program during her tenure as vice chair for research.

The degree candidate recognition ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 9, at Gas South District Convention Center in Duluth, Georgia. A live stream will be available on our commencement web page for those unable to attend in person.