As President and CEO of CARE USA, Helene is responsible for providing overall leadership, management and direction to CARE.

Helene D. Gayle is president and CEO of CARE USA. An internationally recognized expert on health, development and humanitarian issues, she decided early in her profession to use her training to address matters of social justice and equity.

Dr. Gayle spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), focused primarily on combating HIV/AIDS, in a variety of roles involving research, programs and policy. She was appointed as the first director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention and achieved the rank of Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General in the U.S. Public Health Service. On assignment from the CDC, Dr. Gayle also served as the AIDS coordinator and chief of the HIV/AIDS division for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Dr. Gayle then directed the HIV, TB and Reproductive Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she was responsible for programs related to HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, reproductive health issues and tuberculosis. In April 2006, she joined CARE, one of the world’s premier international humanitarian organizations, with programs in more than 70 countries to end poverty.

Dr. Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She earned a B.A. in psychology at Barnard College, an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University. She is board certified in pediatrics, completing a residency in pediatric medicine at the Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Named one of the Wall Street Journal’s “50 Women to Watch” in 2006, Dr. Gayle has published numerous scientific articles and has been featured in media outlets as diverse as the New York Times, Washington Post, Glamour, O magazine, Ebony, Essence, the Financial Times, National Public Radio and CNN.

Her contributions have been honored with awards from Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Cable Positive, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health and the U.S. Public Health Service, among others. She has received eight honorary degrees and holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Emory University School of Medicine.

Dr. Gayle serves on several boards, including the Centers for Strategic and International Studies, ONE, the American Museum of Natural History, the Institute of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Gayle has worked extensively in Africa, Asia and the Americas. She lives in Atlanta, GA.