William H. Foege joined Marguerite Casey Foundation Board of Directors in June of 2001, and serves on the Communications and Advocacy Committee.
An epidemiologist, Dr. Foege played a pivotal role in a successful campaign to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s. Dr. Foege served as the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control from 1977-83. He attended Pacific Lutheran University, received his medical degree from the University of Washington, and his Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University.
Dr. Foege is currently a member of the graduate faculty of the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University. He has championed child survival and development, injury prevention, population, preventive medicine, and public health leadership in the developing world.
Dr. Foege is the recipient of many awards, holds honorary degrees from numerous institutions, and was named a Fellow of the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1997. In March of 2006, the William H. Foege Genome Sciences and Bioengineering Building was dedicated at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2001, Dr. Foege was honored with the prestigious Albert and Mary Lasker Award for public service. President Obama awarded Dr. Foege with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. He is the author of more than 125 professional publications.