Brown Alum Erica Schwartz Nominated to Lead CDC

Erica G. Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, has been nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bringing a background that spans military service, federal public health leadership, and private healthcare.

In announcing the nomination on Truth Social, President Donald Trump called Schwartz “incredibly talented” and highlighted her service as Deputy Surgeon General during his first term.

A Rhode Island academic connection, Schwartz is a graduate of Brown University’s Program in Liberal Medical Education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in 1994 and her medical degree from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in 1998.

Her path into medicine and service was shaped early.

“My parents said we have two choices—go to college, but you have to figure out how to pay for it, or join the military as an enlisted person,” Schwartz recalled in a Brown Alumni Magazine profile.

Schwartz’s father was a career Navy master chief petty officer stationed in San Diego, and three of her siblings also served in the military. She combined both paths, joining the Navy while attending Brown, where she worked part-time and studied biomedical engineering while completing a minor in East Asian studies. She later described her time on College Hill—moving between the Sci-Li and the Rock—as “a great opportunity to spread your wings.” She left Brown not only with her medical degree but also her husband, Dr. Daniel Schwartz ’98, a classmate.

She also holds a Master of Public Health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Prior to serving as Deputy Surgeon General, Schwartz spent 24 years in uniformed service, rising to Rear Admiral and serving as Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard from 2015 to 2019. In that role, she oversaw a nationwide health system of more than 40 clinics and 150 sick bays, along with safety, risk, and incident response programs across the service. Earlier, as Chief of Preventive Medicine and Chief of Health Services, she helped build disease surveillance systems, pandemic preparedness programs, and medical countermeasure initiatives, and served as the Coast Guard’s principal expert on pandemic influenza. Her work included health response planning for major events such as Hurricane Katrina, the H1N1 pandemic, the Haiti earthquake, and the West Africa Ebola outbreak.

Schwartz was appointed Deputy Surgeon General on January 1, 2019, and served through the transition between administrations. She acted as a point person for the Department of Health and Human Services during the handoff from the Trump administration to the Joe Biden administration. She was not selected to continue as Acting Surgeon General and resigned in early 2021, concluding 27 years of combined uniformed service.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Schwartz oversaw the federal government’s drive-through testing program and developed a reputation for direct leadership. Dr. Brett Giroir, then assistant secretary for health, described her as “not a wallflower” who was willing to speak candidly within the chain of command, adding that she is “really wicked smart” and not influenced by misinformation.

In a social media post, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he looked forward to working with Schwartz to “restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity” at the CDC. If confirmed, Schwartz will replace Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, who took over as acting CDC director in February. She goes before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for confirmation hearings.

Schwartz’s military and public health service has been widely recognized. Her awards include the Legion of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals, and both Coast Guard and Navy Commendation Medals, among numerous other honors. She was also recognized by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs as one of the Military Health System’s Female Physicians of the Year.

After leaving federal service in 2021, Schwartz moved into the private sector, serving as President of Insurance Solutions at UnitedHealthcare. She has also served on the boards of Aveanna Healthcare and Butterfly Network.

Schwartz is married to Dr. Daniel Schwartz ’98 and has children, though she keeps details of her family life private. Her career has largely unfolded in federal service and national public health leadership roles.