Terry Third Thursday

Charles Stokes joined the CDC Foundation as executive director when it began operating in 1995. Under his leadership, the foundation has grown from a two-person team to a staff of more than 100 professionals managing approximately 250 public health programs. Prior to joining the CDC Foundation, he worked for 22 years with the Missouri Department of Health. Stokes also serves as vice chairman of the Atlanta-based Raoul Foundation Board. In 1989 he received the Noble J. Swearingen Award from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials for excellence in administrative management. He also received the 1995 Public Health Leadership Award from St. Louis University, and in 2013 he received the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Health-Care Heroes Lifetime Achievement award. He is a graduate of St. Louis University and obtained his master’s degree in education from Lincoln University.