Prior to this,she served in several positions with the U.S. Coast Guard,including as Chief Medical Officer during 2015–2019,and before that as Chief of Health Services and Chief of Preventive Medicine at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters,becoming its principal expert on flu pandemics.
Early life and education
Schwartz's father was a career Navy master chief petty officer stationed in San Diego,and she has three siblings who served in the military.[3] She enrolled in Brown University's eight-year Program in Liberal Medical Education,graduating with a degree in biomedical engineering with a minor in East Asian studies in 1994,and an M.D. in 1998.[3] She was commissioned by the Navy in 1994.[3]
Schwartz was in the U.S. Navy until 2005.[7] She was an occupational medicine physician with postings that included several positions at Naval Medical Clinic Annapolis,including Chief of the Occupational Medicine Clinic and the Immunization Clinic,and Head of the Preventive Medicine Department.[4][6] Schwartz also served at the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center in Portsmouth,Virginia.
Schwartz was appointed to the rank of rear admiral in the PHS Commissioned Corps and became the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer on August 17,2015.[7][4] As chief,she concurrently served as the Coast Guard's Director of Health,Safety and Work-Life and had responsibility for managing the service's 42 clinics and 150 sick bays. She oversaw the Coast Guard's environmental health and safety program,focusing on risk management and accident prevention. She also led the service's work-life programs including:child care,culinary services,substance abuse prevention,suicide prevention,sexual assault prevention,personal financial management,ombudsman,health promotion,and employee assistance.[4]
Rear Admiral Schwartz as Deputy Surgeon General in 2019
Schwartz was appointed Deputy Surgeon General on January 1,2019. She was the point person for the Department of Health and Human Services during the presidential transition from the first Trump administration to the Biden administration. She was not chosen by the incoming Biden administration to serve as Acting Surgeon General,and chose to resign in early 2021,concluding 27 years of combined uniformed service.[10][11]
Private career
From 2022 to June 2026,Schwartz was President of Insurance Solutions for Medicare and Retirement at United Healthcare.[12][13][14] She additionally joined the board of directors of Georgia-based home care provider Aveanna Healthcare in May 2021,[8] and of medical imaging company Butterfly Network in September 2021.[15] As of June 2026,Schwartz remained a board member of these two organizations,as well as Searching for Solutions Institute.[13] Following her appointment as CDC director in August 2026,she resigned from the board of Aveanna Healthcare Holdings.[16]
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
On August 5,2026,Schwartz was confirmed by the Senate as CDC Director in a 51–44 vote,becoming its first permanent leader in over a year,[19][20] and the first black woman to be CDC Director.[21]
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