Acting Director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

Role at CDC

Dr. Gunn is the acting director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO), which provides national leadership on nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention through policy and guideline development, surveillance, epidemiological and behavioral research, and technical assistance to states and communities.

Previous experience

Dr. Gunn brings a robust and meaningful track record of education, training, and experience to her role as the acting division director. She is a registered dietitian nutritionist and provided inpatient and outpatient services before joining CDC in 2003. Her work here began in the Public Health Prevention Service, where she completed a 2-year field placement with the City of Minneapolis. From there she moved to the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, where she served as a policy analyst. Later, as the Policy and Partnership Team Lead, she and her team coordinated CDC's sodium reduction activities.

Dr. Gunn moved to DNPAO in 2015 to serve as the associate director for the office of policy, partnerships, and communications. There, she strengthened key partnerships with FDA, USDA, CMS, the American Heart Association, NACDD, retail, and industry to improve nutrition and access to physical activity across the nation. She also oversaw a steady improvement in the quality and spread of public health messaging about DNPAO's science, surveillance, and programs. She played a critical part in fostering and launching key initiatives like Active People Healthy Nation^SM and reducing added sugars.

Education

Dr. Gunn received both a bachelor's degree in science and a master's degree in public health, with a nutrition focus, from the University of Minnesota. She also earned a doctorate in public health from the University of Georgia.