The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services,[2] and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]
Its main goal is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and internationally.[4] The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease control and prevention. It especially focuses its attention on infectious disease, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and educational activities designed to improve the health of United States citizens. The CDC also conducts research and provides information on non-infectious diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, and is a founding member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.[5]
Contents
- 1 History
- 1.1 Establishment
- 1.2 GrowthThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services,[2] and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]
Its main goal is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and internationally.[4] The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease control and prevention. It especially focuses its attention on infectious disease, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and educational activities designed to improve the health of United States citizens. The CDC also conducts research and provides information on non-infectious diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, and is a founding member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.[5]
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Organization
- 3 Budget
- 4 Workforce
- 5 Leadership
- 6 Datasets and survey systems
- 7 Areas of focus
- 7.1 Communicable diseases
- 7.2 Non-communicable diseases
- 7.3 Antibiotic resistance
- 7.4 Global health
- 7.5 Travele
Its main goal is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and internationally.[4] The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease control and prevention. It especially focuses its attention on infectious disease, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and educational activities designed to improve the health of United States citizens. The CDC also conducts research and provides information on non-infectious diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, and is a founding member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.[5]
The Communicable Disease Center was founded July 1, 1946, as the successor to the World War II Malaria Control in War Areas program[6] of the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities.[7]
Preceding its founding, organizations with global influence in malaria control were the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation.[8] The Rockefeller Foundation greatly supported malaria control,[8] sought to have the governments take over some of its efforts, and collaborated with the agency.[9]
The new agency was a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service and Atlanta was chosen as the location because malaria was endemic in the Southern United States.[10] The agency changed names (see infobox on top) before adopting the name Communicable Disease Center in 1946. Offices were located on the sixth floor of the Volunteer Building on Peachtree Street.[11][citation needed]
With a budget at the time of about $1 million, 59 percent of its personnel were engaged in mosquito abatement and habitat control with the objective of control and eradication of malaria in the United States[12] (see National Malaria Eradication Program).[citation needed]
Among its 369 employees, the main jobs at CDC were originally entomology and engineering. In CDC's initial years, more than six and a half million homes were sprayed, mostly with DDT. In 1946, there were only seven medical officers on duty and an early organization chart was drawn, somewhat fancifully, in the shape of a mosquito. Under Joseph Walter Mountin, the CDC continued to advocate for public health issues and pushed to extend its responsibilities to many other communicable diseases.[13]
In 1947, the CDC made a token payment of $10 to Emory University for 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land on Clifton Road in DeKalb County, still the home of CDC headquarters as of 2019. CDC employees collected the money to make the purchase. The benefactor behind the "gift" was Robert W. Woodruff, chairman of the board of The Coca-Cola Company. Woodruff had a long-time interest in malaria control, which had been a problem in areas where he went hunting. The same year, the PHS transferred its San Francisco based plague laboratory into the CDC as the Epidemiology Division, and a new Veterinary Diseases Division was established.[6]
Growth
An Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) was established in 1951, originally due to biological warfare concerns arising from the Korean War; it evolved into two-year postgraduate training program in epidemiology, and a prototype for Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP), now[when?] found in numerous countries, reflecting CDC's influence in promoting this model internationally.[14]
The mission of the CDC expanded beyond its original focus on malaria to include sexually transmitted diseases when the Venereal Disease Division of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) was transferred to the CDC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Tuberculosis Control was transferred (in 1960) to
Preceding its founding, organizations with global influence in malaria control were the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation.[8] The Rockefeller Foundation greatly supported malaria control,[8] sought to have the governments take over some of its efforts, and collaborated with the agency.[9]
The new agency was a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service and Atlanta was chosen as the location because malaria was endemic in the Southern United States.[10] The agency changed names (see infobox on top) before adopting the name Communicable Disease Center in 1946. Offices were located on the sixth floor of the Volunteer Building on Peachtree Street.[11][citation needed]
With a budget at the time of about $1 million, 59 percent of its personnel were engaged in mosquito abatement and habitat control with the objective of control and eradication of malaria in the United States[12] (see National Malaria Eradication Program).[citation needed]
Among its 369 employees, the main jobs at CDC were originally entomology and engineering. In CDC's initial years, more than six and a half million homes were sprayed, mostly with DDT. In 1946, there were only seven medical officers on duty and an early organization chart was drawn, somewhat fancifully, in the shape of a mosquito. Under Joseph Walter Mountin, the CDC continued to advocate for public health issues and pushed to extend its responsibilities to many other communicable diseases.[13]
In 1947, the CDC made a token payment of $10 to Emory University for 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land on Clifton Road in DeKalb County, still the home of CDC headquarters as of 2019. CDC employees collected the money to make the purchase. The benefactor behind the "gift" was Robert W. Woodruff, chairman of the board of The Coca-Cola Company. Woodruff had a long-time interest in malaria control, which had been a problem in areas where he went hunting. The same year, the PHS transferred its San Francisco based plague laboratory into the CDC as the Epidemiology Division, and a new Veterinary Diseases Division was established.[6]
An Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) was established in 1951, originally due to biological warfare concerns arising from the Korean War; it evolved into two-year postgraduate training program in epidemiology, and a prototype for Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP), now[when?] found in numerous countries, reflecting CDC's influence in promoting this model internationally.[14]
The mission of the CDC expanded beyond its original focus on malaria to include sexually transmitted diseases when the Venereal Disease Division of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) was transferred to the CDC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Tuberculosis Control was transferred (in 1960) to the CDC from PHS, and then in 1963 the Immunization program was established.[15]
It became the National Communicable Disease Center (NCDC) effective July 1, 1967, and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 24, 1970. At the end of the Public Health Service reorganizations of 1966–1973, it was promoted to being a principal operating agency of PHS. It was renamed the Centers for Disease Control effective October 14, 1980.[7] In 1987, the sexually transmitted diseases when the Venereal Disease Division of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) was transferred to the CDC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Tuberculosis Control was transferred (in 1960) to the CDC from PHS, and then in 1963 the Immunization program was established.[15]
It became the National Communicable Disease Center (NCDC) effective July 1, 1967, and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 24, 1970. At the end of the Public Health Service reorganizations of 1966–1973, it was promoted to being a principal operating agency of PHS. It was renamed the Centers for Disease Control effective October 14, 1980.[7] In 1987, the National Center for Health Statistics became part of CDC.[16] An act of the United States Congress appended the words "and Prevention" to the name effective October 27, 1992. However, Congress directed that the initialism CDC be retained because of its name recognition.[17]
Since the 1990s, the CDC focus has broadened to include chronic diseases, disabilities, injury control, workplace hazards, environmental health threats, and terrorism preparedness. CDC combats emerging diseases and other health risks, including birth defects, West Nile virus, obesity, avian, swine, and pandemic flu, E. coli, and bioterrorism, to name a few. The organization would also prove to be an important factor in preventing the abuse of penicillin. In May 1994 the CDC admitted having sent samples of communicable diseases to the Iraqi government from 1984 through 1989 which were subsequently repurposed for biological warfare, including Botulinum toxin, West Nile virus, Yersinia pestis and Dengue fever virus.[18]
On April 21, 2005, then–CDC Director Julie Gerberding formally announced the reorganization of CDC to "confront the challenges of 21st-century health threats".[19] The four Coordinating Centers—established under the G.W. Bush administration and Gerberding—"diminished the influence of national centers under [their] umbrella",[clarification needed] and were ordered cut under the Obama Administration in 2009.[20]
As of 2013, the CDC's Biosafety Level 4 laboratories are among the few that exist in the world,[21] and serve as one of only two official repositories of smallpox in the world. The second smallpox store resides at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in the Russian Federation. In 2014, the CDC revealed they discovered several misplaced smallpox samples while their lab workers were 'potentially infected' with anthrax.[22]
The City of Atlanta annexed the CDC headquarters effective January 1, 2018, a part of the city's largest annexation within a period of 65 years; the Atlanta City Council voted to do so the prior December.[3] The CDC requested the Atlanta city government annex the area. Previously, the headquarters were in an Biosafety Level 4 laboratories are among the few that exist in the world,[21] and serve as one of only two official repositories of smallpox in the world. The second smallpox store resides at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in the Russian Federation. In 2014, the CDC revealed they discovered several misplaced smallpox samples while their lab workers were 'potentially infected' with anthrax.[22]
The City of Atlanta annexed the CDC headquarters effective January 1, 2018, a part of the city's largest annexation within a period of 65 years; the Atlanta City Council voted to do so the prior December.[3] The CDC requested the Atlanta city government annex the area. Previously, the headquarters were in an unincorporated area,[23] statistically in the Druid Hills census-designated place.[24]
The CDC is organized into "Centers, Institutes, and Offices" (CIOs), with each organizational unit implementing the agency's activities in a particular area of expertise while also providing intra-agency support and resource-sharing for cross-cutting issues and specific health threats. Generally, CDC "Offices" are subdivided into Centers, which in turn are composed of Divisions and Branches.[6] However, the Center for Global Health and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are freestanding organizational units and do not belong to a parent Office.
As of August 2019, the CIOs are:
- Director
- Principal Deputy Director
- Deputy Director – Public Health Service and Implementation Science
- Office of Minority Health and Health Equity
- Center for Global Health
- Center for Preparedness and Response
- Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territory Support
- Deputy Director – Public Health Science and Surveillance
- Office of Science
- Office of Laboratory Science and Safety
- Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services
- National Center for Health Statistics
- Deputy Director – Non-Infectious Diseases
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Deputy Director – Infectious Diseases
- National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
- National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (includes the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, which issues quarantine orders)[25]
- National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- Deputy Director – Public Health Service and Implementation Science
- Office of the Director
- Chief of Staff
- Chief Operating Officer
- Human Resources Office
- Office of Financial Resources
- Office of Safety, Security, and Asset Management
- Office of the Chief Information Officer
- Chief Medical Officer
- CDC Washington Office
- Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
- Associate Director – Communication
- Associate Director – Laboratory Science and Safety
- Associate Director – Policy and Strategy
- Principal Deputy Director
The Office of Public Health Preparedness was created during the 2001 anthrax attacks shortly after the terrorist attack
As of August 2019, the CIOs are:
The Office of Public Health Preparedness was created during the 2001 anthrax attacks shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Its purpose was to coordinate among the government the response to a range of biological terrorism threats.[26]
Locations
Most CDC centers are located in Atlanta. A few of the centers are based in or operate other domestic locations:[27]
- The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases' Division of Vector-Borne Diseases is based in Fort Collins with a branch in San Juan, and its Arctic Investigations Program is based in Anchorage.
- The National Center for Health Statistics is primarily located in Hyattsville, with a branch in Research Triangle Park
- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's primary locations are Cincinnati, Morgantown, Pittsburgh, Spokane, and Washington, D.C., with branches in Denver, Anchorage, and Atlanta.
- The CDC Washington Office is based in Washington, D.C.
In addition, CDC operates quarantine facilities in 20 cities in the U.S.[28]
Budget
CDC's budget for fiscal year 2018 is $11.9 billion.[29] The CDC offers grants that help many organizations each year advance health, safety and awareness at the community level throughout the United States. The CDC awards over 85 percent of its annual budget through these grants.[30]
Workforce
As of 2008[update], CDC staff numbered approximately 15,000 personnel (including 6,000 contractors and 840 United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers) in 170 occupations. Eighty percent held bachelor's degrees or higher; almost half had advanced degrees (a master's degree or a doctorate such as a PhD, D.
CDC's budget for fiscal year 2018 is $11.9 billion.[29] The CDC offers grants that help many organizations each year advance health, safety and awareness at the community level throughout the United States. The CDC awards over 85 percent of its annual budget through these grants.[30]
WorkforceAs of 2008[update], CDC staff numbered approximately 15,000 personnel (including 6,000 contractors and 840 United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers) in 170 occupations. Eighty percent held bachelor's degrees or higher; almost half had advanced degrees (a master's degree or a doctorate such as a PhD, D.O., or M.D.).[31]
Common CDC job titles include engineer, entomologist, epidemiologist, biologist, physician, veterinarian, entomologist, epidemiologist, biologist, physician, veterinarian, behavioral scientist, nurse, medical technologist, economist, public health advisor, health communicator, toxicologist, chemist, computer scientist, and statistician.[32]
The CDC also operates a number of notable training and fellowship programs, including those indicated below.
The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is composed of "boots-on-the-ground disease detectives" who investigate public health problems domestically and globally.[33] When called upon by a governmental body, EIS officers may embark on short-term epidemiological assistance assignments, or "Epi-Aids", to provide technical expertise in containing and investigating disease outbreaks.[34][35][36] The EIS program is a model for the international Field Epidemiology Training Program.
Public Health Associates Program
The CDC also operates the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP
The CDC also operates the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP), a two-year paid fellowship for recent college graduates to work in public health agencies all over the United States. PHAP was founded in 2007 and currently[when?] has 159 associates in 34 states.[37]
Leadership
The Director of CDC is a Senior Executive Service position[38] that may be filled either by a career employee, or as a political appointment that does not require Senate confirmation, with the latter method typically being used. The director serves at the pleasure of the President and may be fired at any time.[39][40][41] The CDC director concurrently serves as the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.[42]Twenty directors have served the CDC or its predecessor agencies, including three who have served during the Trump administration (including Anne Schuchat who served two terms as acting director).[7][43]
- Louis L. Williams Jr., MD (1942–1943)
- Mark D. Hollis, ScD (1944–1946)
- Raymond A. Vonderlehr, MD (1947–1951)
- Justin M. Andrews, ScD (1952–1953)
- Theodore J. Bauer, MD (1953–1956)
- Robert J. A
Twenty directors have served the CDC or its predecessor agencies, including three who have served during the Trump administration (including Anne Schuchat who served two terms as acting director).[7][43]
The CDC's programs address more than 400 diseases, health threats, and conditions that are major causes of death, disease, and disability. The CDC's website has information on various infectious (and noninfectious) diseases, including smallpox, measles, and others.
Influenza
The CDC targets the transmission of influenza, including the H1N1 swine flu, and launched websites to educate people about hygiene.[52]
Division of Select Agents and Toxins
Within the division are two programs: the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) and the Import Permit Program. The FSAP is run jointly with an office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regulating agents that can cause disease in humans, animals, and plants. The Import Permit Program regulates the importation of "infectious biological materials."[53]
The CDC runs a program that protects the public from rare and dangerous substances such as anthrax and the Ebola virus. The program, called the Federal Select Agent Program, calls for inspections of labs in the U.S. that work with dangerous pathogens.[54]
During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the CDC helped coordinate the return of two infected American aid workers for treatment at Emory University Hospital, the home of a special unit to handle highly infectious diseases.[55]
As a response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Congress passed a Continuing Appropriations Resolution allocating $30,000,000 towards CDC's efforts to fight the virus.[56]
Non-communicable diseases
The CDC also works on non-communicable diseases, including chronic diseases caused by obesity, physical inactivity and tobacco-use.[57]
Antibiotic resistance
The CDC implemented their National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria as a measure against the spread of antibiotic resistance in the United States. This initiative has a budget of $161 million and includes the development of the Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network.[58]
Global health
Globally, the CDC work with other organizations to address global health challenges and contain disease threats at their source. They work with many international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as ministries of health and other groups on the front lines of outbreaks. The agency maintains staff in more than 60 countries, including some from the U.S. but more from the countries in which they operate.[59] The agency's global divisions include the Division of Global HIV and TB (DGHT), the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), the Division of Global Health Protection (DGHP), and the Global Immunization Division (GID).[60]
The CDC is integral in working with the WHO to implement the International Health Regulations (IHR), an agreement between 196 countries to prevent, control, and report on the international spread of disease, through initiatives including the Global Disease Detection Program (GDD).[61]
The CDC is also a lead implementer of key U.S. global health initiatives such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President's Malaria Initiative.[62]
Travelers' health
The CDC collects and publishes health information for travelers in a comprehensive book, CDC Health Information for International Travel, which is commonly known as the "yellow book."[63] The book is available online and in print as a new edition every other year and includes current travel health guidelines, vaccine recommendations, and information on specific travel destinations. The CDC also issues travel health notices on its website, consisting of three levels:
"Watch": Level 1 (practice usual precautions)
"Alert": Level 2 (practice enhanced precautions)
"Warning"
The CDC targets the transmission of influenza, including the H1N1 swine flu, and launched websites to educate people about hygiene.[52]
Division of Select Agents and Toxins
The CDC i
The CDC implemented their National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria as a measure against the spread of antibiotic resistance in the United States. This initiative has a budget of $161 million and includes the development of the Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network.[58]
Global health
Globally, the CDC wor
Globally, the CDC work with other organizations to address global health challenges and contain disease threats at their source. They work with many international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as ministries of health and other groups on the front lines of outbreaks. The agency maintains staff in more than 60 countries, including some from the U.S. but more from the countries in which they operate.[59] The agency's global divisions include the Division of Global HIV and TB (DGHT), the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), the Division of Global Health Protection (DGHP), and the Global Immunization Division (GID).[60]
The CDC is integral in working with the WHO to implement the International Health Regulations (IHR), an agreement between 196 countries to prevent, control, and report on the international spread of disease, through initiatives including the Glo
The CDC is integral in working with the WHO to implement the International Health Regulations (IHR), an agreement between 196 countries to prevent, control, and report on the international spread of disease, through initiatives including the Global Disease Detection Program (GDD).[61]
The CDC is also a lead implementer of key U.S. global health initiatives such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President's Malaria Initiative.[62]
The CDC collects and publishes health information for travelers in a comprehensive book, CDC Health Information for International Travel, which is commonly known as the "yellow book."[63] The book is available online and in print as a new edition every other year and includes current travel health guidelines, vaccine recommendations, and information on specific travel destinations. The CDC also issues travel health notices on its website, consisting of three levels:
"Watch": Level 1 (practice usual precautions)
"Alert": Level 2 (practice enhanced precautions)
"Warning": Level 3 (avoid nonessential travel)[64]
Vaccine safety
The CDC F
The CDC Foundation operates independently from CDC as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of Georgia. The creation of the Foundation was authorized by section 399F of the Public Health Service Act to support the mission of CDC in partnership with the private sector, including organizations, foundations, businesses, educational groups, and individuals.[67][68]
Popular culture and controversies
The CDC's response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s has been criticized for promoting some public health policies that harmed HIV+ people and for providing ineffective public education.
2001 anthrax attacks
COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S. on January 20, 2020.[84] But widespread COVID-19 testing in the United States was effectively stalled until February 28, when federal officials revised a faulty CDC test, and days afterward, when the Food and Drug Administration began loosening rules that had restricted other labs from developing tests.[85] In February 2020, as the CDC's early coronavirus test malfunctioned nationwide,[86] CDC Director Robert R. Redfield reassured fellow officials on the White House Coronavirus Task Force that the problem would be quickly solved, according to White House officials. It took about three weeks to sort out the failed test kits, which may have been contaminated during their processing in a CDC lab. Later investigations by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services found that the CDC had violated its own protocols in developing its tests.[86][87]In May 2020, The Atlantic reported that the CDC was conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests — tests that diagnose current coronavirus infections, and tests that measure whether someone has ever had the virus. The magazine said this distorted several important metrics, provided the country with an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic, and overstated the country's testing ability.[88]
In July 2020, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and instead send all COVID-19 patient information to
In May 2020, The Atlantic reported that the CDC was conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests — tests that diagnose current coronavirus infections, and tests that measure whether someone has ever had the virus. The magazine said this distorted several important metrics, provided the country with an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic, and overstated the country's testing ability.[88]
In July 2020, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and instead send all COVID-19 patient information to a database at the Department of Health and Human Services. Some health experts opposed the order and warned that the data might become politicized or withheld from the public.[89] On July 15, the CDC alarmed health care groups by temporarily removing COVID-19 dashboards from its website. It restored the data a day later.[90][91][92]
White House advisers have repeatedly altered the writings of CDC scientists about COVID-19, including recommendations on church choirs, social distancing in bars and restaurants, and summaries of public-health reports.[93]
In August 2020, the CDC recommended that people showing no COVID-19 symptoms do not need testing. The new guidelines alarmed many public health experts.[94] The guidelines were crafted by the White House Coronavirus Task Force without the sign-off of Anthony Fauci of the NIH.[95][96] Objections by other experts at the CDC went unheard. Officials said that a CDC document in July arguing for "the importance of reopening schools" was also crafted outside the CDC.[97] The testing guidelines were reversed on September 18, 2020, after public controversy.[98]
Emails obtained by Politico showed that then-public affairs official Paul Alexander of the HHS requested multiple alterations in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication normally protected from political interference. The published alterations included a title being changed from "Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults" to "Persons." One current and two former CDC officials who reviewed the email exchanges said they were troubled by the "intervention to alter scientific reports viewed as untouchable prior to the Trump administration" that "appeared to minimize the risks of the coronavirus to children by making the report’s focus on children less clear."[99]
In September 2020, the CDC drafted an order requiring masks on all public transportation in the United States, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force blocked the order, refusing to discuss it, according to two federal health officials.[100]
- Director
