Skip A. Payne

Captain Skip Payne is an active duty Commissioned Corps officer assigned to CMS as the Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response Operations (EPRO). Skip also serves as the CMS Continuity Manager. In this capacity he leads a senior professional-level agency staff who is responsible for assuring the effectiveness of CMS’s continuity and emergency management program requirements that may have Agency and HHS-wide implications. Also, as the CMS Continuity Manager, Skip leads the senior professional-level agency staff who is responsible for ensuring that their staff are prepared, equipped, trained, and ready to respond to the consequences of domestic and international public health and medical threats, emergencies, pandemics and disasters, as well as mitigate the effects and recover from the impacts.

Prior to this, Skip was previously assigned to HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Office of the Surgeon General where he helped lead the Medical Reserve Corps and helped to stand up ASPR’s Division of Intelligence. Additionally, he brings a vast amount of deployment and response experiences with him to CMS.

Before starting his active duty service, Skip served as a local public health epidemiologist and bioterrorism readiness coordinator for the Seneca County General Health District in Seneca County, OH. He also served as a member of the Health District Environmental Health Response Team (HazMat Technician-WMD). He has earned a Master of Science degree in public health, a Bachelor of Arts degree in management and organizational development, and holds multiple professional certifications. Skip's select US Public Health Service awards and decorations include the Surgeon General Exemplary Service Medal, multiple Outstanding Service Medals, and the USPHS Field Medical Readiness Badge.