Rear Admiral Kis Robertson Hale serves as the Super Office Director for the Office of Laboratory Operations and Applied Science (OLOAS) within the Human Foods Program of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA, an agency with the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for protecting public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.

As Super Office Director of OLOAS, she has executive oversight for the FDA laboratories that test the food supply for contaminants of public health concern, produce scientific findings to drive improved nutrition and food safety, and enable the timely control and prevention of foodborne hazards that make consumers sick. OLOAS supports regulatory enforcement and policy development by identifying imported and domestically-produced food products that are adulterated as per the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, conducting research to inform guidance to industry on preventive controls, and analyzing nutrient levels in foods consumed by vulnerable population to verify safety standards and ensure risks relevant to public health are identified and appropriately mitigated.

RADM Kis Robertson Hale is the Chief Veterinarian Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service. In this role, she advises the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services on issues central to the strength of the Veterinary Category and the assignment and deployment of Commissioned Corps veterinary officers. She also provides leadership and career counseling to the approximately 70 nationally dispersed Commissioned Corps veterinarians who are committed to using their highly versatile training in animal health, comparative medicine, and infectious disease to advance the Nation’s public health. She also serves on the Assistant Surgeons General Leadership Council.  

Prior to coming to FDA, she worked at the Food Safety and Inspection Service as the Chief Public Health Veterinarian and the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Public Health Science. In previous assignments throughout her more than 22 years of Commissioned Corps service, she worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and at the Maryland Department of Health as a CDC Preventive Medicine Fellow.

RADM Hale’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee University, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.