Sara Hersey is an infectious disease epidemiologist who has served in global public health leadership roles over the past two decades with the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Bank, and Resolve to Save Lives. Her professional experience spans more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean where she has led efforts in surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, infectious disease prevention and treatment, strategic planning, policy, financing and program management.  Previously, Sara was a senior advisor on health security and COVID-19 at the World Bank and the US CDC Country Director in Sierra Leone and South Sudan.

Sara joined WHO in 2023 as the Director of Collaborative Intelligence for the Division of Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems in the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. In this role, she is based in Berlin with the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence where she leads external partnerships, collaborations, and networks.