Dr. Nicole Bates leads the global advocacy and communications strategies for polio eradication, vaccines and child health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through these strategies, the foundation has leveraged its investments resulting in $8.3 billion to deliver lifesaving vaccines and other critical interventions to children in the world's poorest countries.

Prior to joining the foundation, Bates served as the Director for Government Relations at the Global Health Council and worked in the U.S. Senate on domestic health and social issues for Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). She began her career in the Chronic Disease Center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Bates earned a Doctorate of Public Health and Master's of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her undergraduate work with high honors from the University of Virginia.

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