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Organizations around the world are constantly adapting their communications to navigate an ever-changing media climate. The COVID-19 Pandemic, was a major catalyst for this change at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Let's discuss how the agency fundamentally changed how it does Media Relations, and how lessons learned drive change for future emergencies and day-to-day operations.

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Benjamin Haynes
Director, Division of Media Relations

Benjamin Haynes is the Director of Media Relations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is the senior advisor to CDC leadership and Associate Directors for Communication on media relations strategy. He is responsible for integrating news media, broadcast, multimedia, partnerships, and other media relations functions within the Division of Media Relations to ensure a coordinated and cohesive Agency communication approach.

Haynes has 30 years of experience as a public affairs specialist, beginning with his training at the Defense Information School in 1994, where he was trained as a print and broadcast journalist. He began his career at CDC in 2006 with the Risk Communication Team, where he supported the Pandemic Influenza Task Force in developing the Pandemic Influenza Plan. During this time, he was also responsible for training RiskSmart, High Stakes Communication, and Crisis, Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) to communicators and CDC Leadership throughout the Agency.

Haynes has also served as the Team Lead for the former Business and Community Relations Team as well as CDC-INFO. Haynes has previously served as Deputy Branch Chief and CDC senior press officer focusing primarily on infectious diseases and led the media for numerous emergency responses, including the Zika outbreak, the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Haynes began his federal career after serving more than 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.