Colin McIff

Colin McIff currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a leader in multilateral global health diplomacy, Mr. McIff led U.S. re-entry into the World Health Organization in 2021 and was elected by Member States to serve as co-chair with Ambassador Grata Endah Werdaningtyas of Indonesia on WHO’s Working Group on Preparedness and Response to health emergencies (WGPR) reviewing the global response to COVID-19 from 2021-2022. The WGPR enabled the establishment of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) for a new pandemic agreement and called for targeted amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005). Mr. McIff served as Vice Chair from the Americas on the Bureau of the Working Group on IHR Amendments (WGIHR) and Deputy Negotiator for the United States to the INB from 2022-2024. As Deputy Assistant Secretary, he leads teams responsible for pandemics and emerging threats, trade and health, G7 and G20 negotiations, and multilateral affairs, guiding U.S. policy development and negotiating strategies. Prior to his current role, Mr. McIff served from 2016-2018 as the Director of the Europe Office of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and HHS Representative to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. From 2010 to 2016, Mr. McIff served as Health Attaché at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, leading U.S. engagement with the World Health Organization and other Geneva-based health institutions. From 2004 to 2010, Mr. McIff served as Multilateral Organizations Officer for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in the U.S. Department of State and before that held other civil service positions at State and USAID. Mr. McIff received his Bachelor of Arts in History and East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona in 1994 and his Master of Pacific International Affairs from the University of California San Diego in 1998.