Dr. Mandy Cohen, a former North Carolina official, will be the new director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House announced Friday.

Unlike the last two people to serve as head of the nation’s top federal public health agency, Cohen has prior experience running a government agency: She was secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from 2017 until last year. Before that, she held health-related jobs at two federal agencies.

She succeeds Dr. Rochelle Walensky, 54, who last month announced she was leaving at the end of June. Cohen’s starting date has not been announced. Her appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

GNN/AJC