Ronald C. Burger

Senior Emergency Response Coordinator
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Emergency Preparedness and Response
4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop F38
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 488-7100 (24 Hour Number)
(770) 488-7107 (Facsimile Number)
(678) 488-3022 (Cellular Number)
(888) 374-0399 (Nationwide Pager)
RBurger@cdc.gov (Email)

Ron has been employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1972. He is presently a Senior Emergency Response Coordinator with the Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch. His responsibilities include coordinating the emergency public health preparedness and response provided by the Centers for Disease Control to states and local public health departments. Over the past few years he has assisted the states and local areas with their response to Hurricanes Hugo, Andrew, Iniki, Marilyn, Opal, Bonnie, Georges, Floyd and Allison, the Midwest Floods of 1993, Northridge Earthquake, Southeast Floods of 1994, the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing incident and the floods in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He was on a field team deployed to Kenya and Uganda to investigate an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in February, 1998. He recently was the Senior Emergency Response Coordinator leading the CDC assistance to the New York City Department of Health's public health response to the World Trade Center attack.

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Millersville University, Pennsylvania, and has taken some advanced course work at Pennsylvania State University, University of Connecticut, and Western Michigan University.

Before coming to Atlanta, Ron was a CDC field employee assigned to disease control programs in Baltimore, Maryland, New York City, and the states of Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Michigan. He assisted in the investigation of the adverse health effects from the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the outbreaks of Legionnaires' Disease in Pennsylvania and New York City, and the first documented outbreak of primary drug resistance among tuberculosis cases. He also served on assignment with the World Health Organization's Smallpox Eradication Program in Bangladesh.

In his early years, Ron taught high school biology in Pennsylvania, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, West Africa, where he taught science at a training college and led a Ministry of Health team against an outbreak of cholera.

Since 1994, Ron has served as the Chairman of the Rockdale County Georgia Board of Health.

Some of Ron's other volunteer services included being a first responder with the Montclair, New Jersey Ambulance Unit as an EMT, a volunteer firefighter with the North Canton, Connecticut Fire Department, and the Rockdale County, Georgia, Fire Department. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the American Red Cross of Metro Atlanta as well as a member the Red Cross Disaster Action Team. In 1998, the Red Cross honored Ron by awarding him the prestigious Clara Barton Meritorious Award for Leadership. In June, 2001, Ron received the Red Cross Volunteer of the Year Award. He has also received CDC's Volunteer of the Year Award.

Ron is also a certified substitute teacher in the Rockdale County School System and serves as a sub a few times each year to try to keep abreast of our youth. Ron is very active with the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH). He assisted the annual conference planning committee and is a member of the Tobacco Prevention and Communications Committees. In 1999, he received the Southeast Regional Trustee Award for his leadership and community service and in 2000, he was named the Local Board of Health Volunteer of the Year. Ron is a Boardmember and serves as chairperson of the Membership Committee of NALBOH. Ron is also very active with the Georgia Public Health Association where he serves on the Executive Board.