2025 AOY Honoree, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health - Class of 2007
Mary Foote is an infectious disease physician working at the crossroads of public health, health care and emergency management. She is the medical director for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the New York City Health Department, one of the largest public health agencies in the world. She joined the department in 2015 to establish the special pathogen preparedness program and now leads all-hazards clinical preparedness efforts with a focus on building resilient health systems, improving access to care and mitigating health disparities during public health emergencies.
Mary served on the front lines of many New York City outbreak responses, including mpox, COVID-19, measles and Ebola, as a director of healthcare systems support. Her innovative work, such as the establishment of New York City’s Nurse Call Line and an oral antiviral same-day pharmacy delivery program for COVID-19 and mpox, has influenced national public health policy and practice and was recognized by the New York BIO COVID Hero of New York award.
A thought leader in improving the public health response to emerging infectious diseases, Mary serves on multiple regional and national advisory groups to enhance readiness through a whole community approach. She earned her medical degree and a master’s in public health from the University of Arizona and completed a residency in social internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, before going on to Emory University to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases.
