Wilma Peterman Cross, M.S.

Senior Public Health Advisor

Ms. Peterman Cross joined the ODP in August 2011 as a Senior Public Health Advisor. She is the Chair of the Prevention Research Coordinating Committee, a trans-NIH committee that provides a broad perspective on the current state-of-the-science and disseminates information about prevention-related activities sponsored by Federal and non-Federal organizations to NIH Institutes and Centers. She is the primary contact for planning and legislative affairs for the ODP and helps to coordinate scientific, programmatic, and policy issues.

Ms. Peterman Cross serves as the ODP representative on several NIH-wide and Federal Government agency-wide committees including the NIH Obesity Research Task Force, the HHS Health Reform Prevention Work Group, and the HHS National Prevention Strategy Intradepartmental Workgroup.

Before joining ODP, Ms. Peterman Cross served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Science Policy and Planning at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, where she facilitated a number of strategic planning and program evaluation activities.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Virginia (sports medicine) and a Master of Science from Springfield College, Springfield, MA (biomechanics and exercise physiology).