Charles Stokes, president and chief executive officer of the CDC Foundation, today announced that he plans to retire from the foundation at the end of 2015.

For the eighth consecutive year, the CDC Foundation has achieved a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Four stars is the highest rating awarded by Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities.

Dikembe Mutombo has been elected to the board of directors of the CDC Foundation. Mutombo is the chairman and president of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, which he established in 1997 to improve the health, education and quality of life for the people in his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Phil Kent, former chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) has been elected to the board of directors of the CDC Foundation.

Douglas Nelson, retired president and CEO of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, has been named chair of the CDC Foundation board.

Betty King has been elected to the board of directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation. King is the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva from 2010 to 2013.

Ruth Katz, J.D., M.P.H., has been elected to the board of directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation. Katz is the director of The Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine and Society Program, an educational and policy studies organization.

CDC Foundation to administer awards recognizing individuals for achievements and education advancements to improve public health.

As the sole entity authorized by Congress to raise funds on behalf of CDC, the CDC Foundation builds strategic public-private partnerships between CDC and corporations, foundations, organizations and individuals to advance CDC’s work to protect people from health and safety threats.

For the seventh year in a row, the CDC Foundation earned a 4-star rating for sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency from Charity Navigator.

Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., has been elected to the board of directors of the CDC Foundation. Baxter is Kaiser Permanente’s senior vice president for community benefit, research and health policy.

Charles Stokes, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation, today announced the promotions of Laura Angel to associate vice president for advancement and Linda McGehee, Ph.D., R.N., to associate vice president for programs.

Charles Stokes, CDC Foundation president and CEO, in a ceremony last evening received the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2013 Health-Care Hero Lifetime Achievement Award for his work helping the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advance its life-saving 24/7 work through public-private partnerships.