Dr. Tom Frieden

Dr. Tom Frieden is a national and global leader who has improved health in the United States and around the world and is one of the world’s top experts in tuberculosis, tobacco control, and health policy and administration.

He served as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Commissioner of the New York City Health Department.  His work made New York City’s tuberculosis control program and overall health department models for the world, established effective programs in India, and improved morale, effectiveness, and impact at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Tom Frieden’s influential publications have identified the what, how and why of action to improve health.

Dr. Tom Frieden is now President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative to prevent epidemics and cardiovascular disease. Resolve to Save Lives was launched in September of 2017 with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and partners countries around the world. Since launching, Resolve has accelerated progress toward a world free of artificial trans fat, expanded treatment of high blood pressure in more than 15 countries, advanced progress reducing sodium consumption, and improved infectious disease readiness in more than 20 countries, primarily in Africa. In 2020, Resolve pivoted to provide intensive support to communities and countries combating the COVID-19 pandemic, working in more than 50 countries, including the United States.

Dr. Tom Frieden is a physician with advanced training in internal medicine, infectious disease, public health, and epidemiology. Over the past 25 years:

• As Director, led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work that ended the Ebola epidemic, launched initiative that will prevent 500,000 heart attacks and strokes, sounded the alarm and accelerated progress addressing the epidemic of opioid use, and increased effective action on the front lines to find and fight winnable battles and protect and improve health in the United States and around the world (2009-2017).

• As the first Director of International Health Programs of Bloomberg Philanthropies, designed and launched the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, a program that has prevented more than 35 million deaths around the world (2006-2009, pro bono).

• As Health Commissioner, led health transformation in New York City, increasing life expectancy by 3 years, preventing more than 100,000 deaths rom smoking, and spurring national and global action on, among other areas, better epidemiologic understanding and control of public health problems including HIV, tobacco control, nutrition, as well as the integration of health care and public health.  Reorganized to increase revenues and optimize health impact (2002-2009).

• Guided the Indian tuberculosis control program to improve diagnosis and treatment rapidly, creating the largest and fastest expanding effective tuberculosis control program in the world and saving at least 3 million lives (1996-2002).

• Led control of the largest outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis ever to occur in the United States by creating a tuberculosis control program that is a model for the United States and the world, with intensive community outreach, clinical excellence, effective integration of health care and public health, ongoing analysis and publication of key epidemiological and program aspects, and rigorous accountability (1990-1996).