Gayle was able to use the foundation of her individual power to overcome all economic, social, and political issues related to fighting the AIDS epidemic. The way Dr. Gayle used these powers was through her expert power and legitimate power. Extremely similar to professionalism, expert power occurs when a public administrator uses his or her skills and knowledge to lead others (Starling, 2011, p. 85). Not only did her medical knowledge of AIDS help her, but her expert knowledge of different communities also helped her gain respect and power in the CDC. Dr. Gayle also had legitimate power. Legitimate power comes from a leader's formal position (Starling, 2011, p. 85). Dr. Gayle has been given legitimate power through her role as director of the Washington CDC office, her role as head of the National Center for HIV, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention (NCHSTP), and finally the his role as senior advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All of these titles and leadership roles have given Dr. Gayle the power to influence various areas of AIDS policy