Georgia Institute of Technology Appoints Vice President for Institute Communications
Following a national search, the Georgia Institute of Technology has selected Abbigail Tumpey as its new vice president for Institute Communications. She joins Georgia Tech from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she spent more than 21 years in strategic communications and marketing roles supporting public health.
As vice president, Tumpey will provide leadership, oversight, and strategic direction for marketing and communications at Georgia Tech. Serving as the Institute’s chief communications officer, she assumes responsibility for the brand and reputation across a portfolio that includes media relations, events, research communications, marketing communications, internal communications, executive communications, creative services, and digital strategy. She will begin her new position July 17, report to President Ángel Cabrera, and serve as a member of his cabinet.
“We are pleased and privileged to welcome Abbigail to our leadership team,” Cabrera said. “Working within a complex environment like the CDC, she played a central role in the effort to educate and inform citizens about healthy behaviors during the most disruptive public health crisis of the past century. Her approach to public relations, grounded in transparency and collaboration, has been nationally recognized. I look forward to working with her to continue to elevate Georgia Tech’s values and vision.”
From March 2021 to March 2022, Tumpey served as interim director of communications at the CDC, where she oversaw all communications functions — public affairs, digital media, communication science research, and internal communications — during the second year of the Covid-19 response. In her current role, she serves as the associate director for Communication Science for the CDC’s Public Health Infrastructure Center, where she leads communications strategy aimed at rebuilding the nation’s public health infrastructure and workforce.
“I am honored to be joining the Yellow Jacket community and humbled to lead the exceptional communications team,” said Tumpey. “I look forward to working with the entire community — faculty, students, and alumni — to continue telling the incredible story of Georgia Tech’s work and impact both in Atlanta and globally.”
Originally joining the CDC in 1998 as a microbiologist, Tumpey subsequently served in multiple communications leadership roles at the agency. Her accomplishments include the expansion of the CDC’s clinical outreach capacity and the development of public-private partnerships and coalitions that advanced patient safety and public health initiatives. She also spearheaded several national and international public health campaigns, including founding the World Rabies Day initiative in 2007. From 2009 to 2016, she oversaw the CDC’s antibiotic resistance and patient safety communication and partnership efforts.
She has served in a lead communications role during numerous outbreak responses, including the 2012 multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis, the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2022 mpox virus. In 2021, Abbigail was named as one of 30 Health Influencers by PR Week magazine, which celebrated prominent players influencing health communication around the response to Covid-19.
Tumpey holds a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Public Health from the University of South Florida.