The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pleased to announce that Diane M. Hall, PhD, MSEd, has been selected to serve as the permanent director of the CDC Office of Rural Health. She has served as the Office’s acting director since March of this year. As director, Dr. Hall will continue to lead and coordinate CDC’s rural health work and strategy to strengthen the delivery of rural public health services across the U.S.
Prior to coming to the Office of Rural Health, located in CDC’s Public Health Infrastructure Center, Dr. Hall served in CDC’s Office of the Associate Director for Policy and Strategy, Office of the Director, as CDC’s rural health lead, led the office’s Strategic Engagement and Capacity Building work, and oversaw training activities focused on using policy to improve the population’s health. As a recognized expert in knowledge synthesis and translation, she led the development of the office’s policy portal, the Policy Analysis and Research Information System (POLARIS).
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hall held several leaderships positions within CDC’s response. She also held various positions in CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention where she worked on research related to the prevention of teen dating violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and youth violence. Prior to coming to CDC, she held an academic appointment at the University of Pennsylvania, serving as the lead coordinator for a master’s program in psychology.
Dr. Hall earned her B.A. in Psychology from Hollins College (now Hollins University), and obtained her MSEd in psychological services and PhD in school, community, and child clinical psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hall and the CDC Office of Rural Health look forward to strengthening our relationships with all who have an interest in improving the health and well-being of rural America!