Laura Landers Eastham

Background

About Laura Landers Eastham

Mrs. Laura Landers Eastham serves as the Associate Director for Policy, Planning, and Communication (ADPPC), in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention in the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. In this role, she leads three teams in the Division and provides strategic guidance to Division leadership on policy, strategic communications, and guidelines-related issues. Prior to her role as ADPPC, Laura led DHAP policy work, including Congressional affairs, budget formulation, and policy partnership efforts. She came to the Division from CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, where she served as the Congressional Affairs Team Lead and a senior public health policy analyst. Laura has been at CDC for 10 years and has supported a portfolio of policy and communications work over a wide range of infectious disease topics, including HIV prevention, health care associated infections, food safety, vector-borne and high consequence pathogens, quarantine and immigrant and refugee health. Her key role at CDC has been: supporting Congressional briefings and hearings; supporting the budget formulation process and developing related written materials; developing communications materials for Congressional members and their staff, partners, and the public about CDC programs; leading Congressional and public health policy analyses; working closely with DC-based policy partners to advance public health objectives; and providing scientific information to policymakers and communicators to inform policy decisions and increase understanding of CDC’s infectious disease work. She began her public service career as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) in 2004 at HHS in Washington, D.C. While at HHS, Laura worked for two Assistant Secretaries on budget and policy–related issues, with a focus on bioterrorism and pandemic influenza threats. Before public service, she worked in pharmaceutical research for 10 years in both academic and private sector laboratories. Laura received her a BS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Tulane University and an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Emory University.