Up in the Air Helping CDC Do More, Faster

Charlie Stokes is frequently called upon to travel in his role as president and CEO of the CDC Foundation, and I work with him on his travel plans. Sometimes we have months to plan for his trips, such as a recent trip to Turkey to recognize that country’s work to reduce smoking among its adult citizens. Other times, trips come up on the spur of the moment, like in 2005 when Charlie traveled to the U.S. Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina or to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the earthquake there in 2010.

To highlight some of Charlie’s travels for the CDC Foundation in support of our work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Joan Raymond of the New York Times spoke with him earlier this month. The article coming out of their conversation appeared in today’s Frequent Flyer column in the Times.

Of course, at the CDC Foundation travel is only a means to an end—our mission is helping CDC do more, faster to advance the agency’s life-saving work in the United States and abroad. And in this work, we help partner CDC with the private sector on a wide range of issues, from chronic and infectious disease prevention and treatment to emergency preparedness and response.