Karen Hacker

Karen Hacker, MD, MPH, is the former Director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC  where she served from 2019 to 2025. The Center housed 9 divisions, a staff of 1000 and a budget of $1.4B of which almost 80% funded chronic disease prevention in the field.  During her tenure, she spearheaded groundbreaking social determinants of health activities, expanded maternal mortality programming nationwide, oversaw a continued decrease in cigarette smoking, and shepherded the Center through the COVID-19 pandemic.

With over two decades of progressive leadership, Dr. Hacker’s expertise spans healthcare systems, academia, chronic disease prevention, adolescent health, and health equity.  Prior to CDC, she was the Director of the Allegheny County Health Department in PA where she achieved national accreditation, addressed the opioid epidemic, reduced air pollution, and launched the Live Well Allegheny initiative. Dr. Hacker uniquely bridges critical community needs with national health policy. She is recognized for her practical, solutions-focused approach to complex challenges, consistently delivering real-world impact through strategic vision and collaborative action. She is also widely published with over 100 peer-reviewed articles and an expert in community-based participatory research.

Dr. Hacker received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Yale University, her medical degree (MD) from Northwestern University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) with Honors from Boston University School of Public Health. She completed her internship and residency in primary care internal medicine at Boston City Hospital, followed by an adolescent medicine fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, and is board-certified in internal medicine. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Emory School of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine.