Leadership
Director, Division of Regulatory Science and Compliance
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Shelley Jorgensen is the director of the Division of Regulatory Science and Compliance (DRSC) in the Office of Readiness and Response (ORR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, she oversees the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP), U.S. National Authority for Containment of Poliovirus (NAC), and CDC Import Permit Program (IPP) to ensure that laboratory work with infectious biological agents and toxins complies with relevant federal regulations and U.S. policies, and is conducted as safely and securely as possible.
Dr. Jorgensen has worked in healthcare and biomedical research for more than 30 years. Prior to her appointment as DRSC director, she served as the Responsible Official for the Select Agent Program at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, MD. In this role, she provided leadership, direction and advice on biosecurity and personnel reliability programs ensuring all federal, state, and local regulations were met.
Prior to this role, Dr. Jorgensen was a health science program manager at the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) with portfolios in infectious diseases and combat casualty care of relevance to the Department of Defense. She led a Congressionally funded effort to create a nationwide network of trauma systems and centers focused on prospective, multicenter injury care and outcomes research to improve trauma care for civilian and military personnel.
Dr. Jorgensen served in the U.S. Army as a microbiologist and clinical laboratory scientist both domestically and abroad. Dr. Jorgensen has specialized military training in clinical laboratory medicine to include blood banking, clinical chemistry, hematology, immunology, microbiology, and laboratory operations in austere environments. In 2014, Dr. Jorgensen supported the mobilization training of U.S. military personnel during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Most notably, in 2010 she led the clinical laboratory and blood banking operations while deployed with the 21st Combat Support Hospital during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.
Dr. Jorgensen received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in biological defense, a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Central Michigan University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Tampa.
Contact:
sjorgensen@cdc.gov
404-639-5162
Acting Director, Division of Agricultural Select Agents and Toxins
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Dr. Scott Pfister is the acting director of the Division of Agricultural Select Agents and Toxins (DASAT) at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Emergency and Regulatory Compliance Services (ERCS). In this role, he oversees the agricultural part of the Federal Select Agent Program to ensure that laboratory work with infectious biological select agents and toxins complies with federal regulations and is conducted as safely and securely as possible.
Dr. Pfister has thirty-five years of experience working on plant health regulatory programs that have spanned field operations, policy management, and methods development, touching on all aspects of Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program activities. Since 2016, he has been the Director of PPQ’s Forest Pest Methods Laboratory (FPML), where he oversees a staff of 60 scientists, technicians, cooperators and administrative professionals. Prior to joining FPML, he served as the Associate Executive Director of PPQ’s Policy Management staff.
Prior to joining APHIS, Dr. Pfister worked for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, where he held the position of Forest Resource Protection Chief. He also previously served as the State Plant Regulatory Official for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. In addition to a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont, he holds a Master of Science degree in Plant Pathology from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from Delaware Valley University.
Dr. Pfister served in the Vermont Army National Guard as a Preventative Medicine Officer and deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 as a trainer embedded with the Afghan army and police. He retired in 2019 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel after 25 years of service.
Contact
scott.e.pfister@usda.gov
508-563-0901