Shirley Franklin, former mayor of Atlanta, and Ambassador Kristen Silverberg, managing director at the Institute of International Finance, have each been elected to a serve five-year term on the board of directors of the CDC Foundation.

"We are extremely pleased to have Mayor Franklin and Ambassador Silverberg join our board of directors," said Judith Monroe, MD, president and chief executive officer of the CDC Foundation. "Their breadth, depth and experience is incredible and will be instrumental to the CDC Foundation as we continue to support and extend CDC's mission to save and improve lives."

Shirley Franklin

In 2002, Franklin was the first African-American woman to be elected mayor of a major Southern city. She served two terms, leaving office in 2009. Currently Franklin serves as executive chairman of the nonprofit Purpose Built Communities and as president of Clarke-Franklin & Associates, Inc.

During her eight years as mayor, the city of Atlanta experienced unprecedented growth and gave Franklin the opportunity to partner and collaborate with many local and regional leaders in addressing urban policy challenges, including urban planning, economic development and infrastructure.

From 2013 to 2016, Franklin served as the inaugural Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and from 2010 to 2012 she was a visiting professor in political science at Spelman College.

Franklin co-chairs the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta's Regional Commission on Homelessness, serves as the chair of the National Center of Civil and Human Rights, and sits on the board of Delta Air Lines, The Volcker Alliance, and the Mueller Water Products.

Kristen Silverberg

Silverberg served in the George W. Bush Administration as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union from 2008 to 2009 and as assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs from 2005 to 2008.

Prior to her time at the U.S. Department of State, Silverberg held a number of senior positions at the White House, including deputy assistant to the president and advisor to the chief of staff. She served in 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq, for which she received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.

Silverberg formerly practiced law at Williams and Connolly, LLP in Washington, DC, and served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals. She serves on the board of directors of Vorbeck Materials, as an advisory board member of Beacon Global Strategies and on the Statecraft Board of the Clements Center.