Jordan Tappero

Global Health Representative

Jordan is a medical epidemiologist by training and completed a 25-year career with the US CDC. In 2018 he joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he serves as the Deputy Director of Neglected Tropical Diseases. His current work focuses on the eradication of Guinea worm and the global elimination of lymphatic filariasis, human African trypanosomiasis, and visceral leishmaniasis in Asia. 

He has global health experience across four continents including 14 years as a CDC Country Director in Botswana, Thailand, Uganda, and Haiti.  At the close of 2017, he retired from the U.S. Public Health Service at the rank of Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General. In February 2020, he provided direct foundation support to WHO in Geneva to establish a global surveillance system for COVID-19. He returned in February 2021 to develop WHO surveillance guidance for SARS-CoV-2 variants. Jordan holds three American Board Certifications (Dermatology, Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine) and has co-authored over 270 peer-reviewed publications. He serves as the global health community representative on the Leadership Team of the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy.