Communications Director
Diana Yassanye, Communications Director, brings a multitude of experiences over her 30-year public health career, including a focus on infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases. She is responsible for strategizing, directing, and supervising all VYF communications to advance public and partner understanding of vaccines, immunization policy, and evidence-based health information. She oversees brand management, media relations, digital strategy, and public messaging, and develops and implements effective communication strategies and campaigns in support of the organization’s strategic goals, mission, and vision.
Prior to joining VYF, Diana co-founded Parasol Health Consulting, pairing subject matter experts with clients in health research, pharmacy, healthcare, and public health for project-based initiatives including the development of national clinical study recruitment campaigns, healthcare training, and coalition building. She was also the Lead for Public-Private Partnerships at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for seven years and spent another six years there leading partnership communications, strategy, policy, and training for emergency preparedness and response. She provided messaging, external outreach, organizational leadership, and successful change management in external partnership engagement across CDC. Her team also led the ethics and transparency reviews of $20M-$40M annually in direct gifts and foundation support to the agency.
Her last role at CDC was Lead of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, coordinating COVID vaccine distribution to 41,000 pharmacies in the U.S. She was also involved in operations, crisis emergency risk communications, external affairs, planning, and policy for national and international public health emergencies including H1N1, 2009; Hurricane Sandy, 2012; Ebola, 2014-2016; Zika, 2015; Chikungunya, 2016; Tropical Storm Dorian, 2019; COVID-19, 2020-2022; Operation Allies Welcome Afghan Refugee Resettlement, 2021.
Her first decade of public health was in grassroots, national, and international sexual health, HIV, STI, and other infectious disease prevention, education, curriculum design, and outreach. She then pivoted to public health emergency preparedness and response in state and local public health in Connecticut, before moving to Atlanta.
Diana has publications in peer-reviewed journals including Vaccine, Health Security, Public Health Reports, and the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Child Development from California State University Northridge and a Master of Science in Health Education from Columbia University Teachers College.