Member Profiles

Catherine Slemp, MD, MPH
Principal and Managing Member
Deepa Consulting
Milton, West Virginia

Dr. Cathy Slemp is a public health consultant working with organizations at community, state, and national levels. Dr. Slemp served as West Virginia’s State Health Officer and Health Commissioner from 2018 to 2020. She also served as State Health Officer and Emergency Preparedness Director with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health from 2002–2011. In 2008-09 she chaired ASTHO’s Directors of Public Health Preparedness. Throughout her career, Dr. Slemp has worked closely with public health agencies, health care facilities, and other partners to build both epidemiology and emergency preparedness infrastructure within communities.

Dr. Slemp’s recent activities include teaching at the graduate level as well as serving as an action-learning coach for the Public Health Institute’s National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health, working with multi-sector teams to advance health equity in communities. She also works on various efforts to both model, measure, and advance our nation’s health security and resilience. In addition to serving on CPR’s Board of Scientific Counselors, Dr. Slemp has served on the National Preparedness and Response Science Board, US Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.

David Fleming, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Washington School of Public Health
Bainbridge, Washington

Dr. David Fleming is a Distinguished Fellow at the Trust for America’s Health, a faculty member at the University of Washington School of Public Health and is active in several organizations working on issues of health equity.

Most recently, Dr. Fleming was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for PATH, a global health organization working across the world. Before joining PATH in 2014, Dr. Fleming served as the director and health officer for Public Health – Seattle and King County. Previously, he was the director of Global Health Strategies at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Fleming also served as deputy director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and as the state epidemiologist for the Oregon Health Division and is currently the Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of CDC.

Paul Halverson, DrPH
Founding Dean, Professor of Policy and Management
Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana

Dr. Paul Halverson is the Founding Dean and Professor at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health since 2013. Prior to his appointment as Dean, Dr. Halverson served for 8 years as the Director and State Health Officer (SHO) of the Arkansas Department of Health, where he was involved in leading the response to H1N1, several severe weather events and other statewide planning and response events. Before serving as SHO, Halverson served as the Director of the Division of Public Health Systems at CDC in the Public Health Practice Program Office. Prior to his appointment at CDC, he was a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gilling’s School of Public Health and senior advisor to the North Carolina Department of Health.

Halverson has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO) and the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE). As it relates to preparedness and response, Dr. Halverson was actively engaged at CDC in the 911 response, the development and management of the Health Alert Network and the original preparedness state grants as well as early work in pandemic planning.

Jennifer A. Horney, MPH, PhD
Epidemiologist, College of Health Sciences
STAR Health Sciences Complex
Newark, Delaware

Dr. Jennifer Horney is Professor and Founding Director of the Program in Epidemiology and Core Faculty at the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on measuring the health impacts of disasters, as well as the linkages between disaster planning and household actions related to preparedness, response, and recovery. Dr. Horney has led interdisciplinary research projects funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Academies of Sciences, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal, state, and local agencies.

Dr. Horney was a member of a team of public health practitioners who responded to Hurricanes Isabel, Charley, Katrina, Wilma, Irene, and Harvey where she conducted rapid assessments of disaster impact on the public health of individuals and communities. She has also provided technical assistance to public health agencies globally around disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, and pandemic influenza planning and response.

David Leroy Lakey, MD
Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer
The University of Texas System
Austin, Texas

David Lakey, M.D. is the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at The University of Texas (U. T.) System, and Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center. He serves as the executive sponsor for the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies, the executive sponsor for the Texas Health Improvement Network, and as the presiding officer of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium. He also serves on the state’s COVID Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.

At the national level, Dr. Lakey was selected to serve as commissioner on the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System in 2022. Additionally, Dr. Lakey serves on the national boards of the March of Dimes and Trust for America’s Health, and on the Board of Scientific Advisors for the Center for Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) from 2011 to 2012 and as the ASTHO Alumni President from 2019 to 2021. Dr. Lakey is a proud member of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and America Medical Association (AMA). He has received numerous awards, including the 2015 TMA President’s Award and the 2021 AMA’s Foundation Award for Health Education.

Marissa J. Levine, MD MPH
Professor, Public Health Practice, University of South Florida
Director, Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice
Tampa, Florida

Dr. Marissa Levine is Professor of Public Health Practice at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Public Health (COPH) and collaborating faculty to the Department of Family Medicine at the USF Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida. Her primary focus is on sustainable and equitable population health improvement. Dr. Levine also directs the USF Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice at COPH where she teaches leadership.

Dr. Levine has completed 16 years of state government service, which culminated in being appointed as the Virginia State Health Commissioner from 2014-2018. As Commissioner, she led the effort to respond to Ebola and Zika. Dr. Levine previously held leadership positions at local and state levels within Virginia Department of Health from 2002-2014, where she was involved in the state’s response to the H1N1 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Levine has been a public health advisor at local, state, and national levels as well as a frequent media guest expert.

Brent Pawlecki, MD, MMM
Chief Health Officer
Wells Fargo & Company
New York, New York

Dr. Brent Pawlecki joined Wells Fargo in October 2021 as the Chief Health Officer. In this role, he advises on the design of the benefit plans, oversees the on-site / near-site clinic strategy, and promotes employee population health and well-being strategies. Dr. Brent also participates on the pandemic task force and other public health efforts and provides general medical expertise to company leadership to promote a healthy, engaged, and high-performing workforce.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Dr. Brent worked for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for 10 years where he designed and implemented a global health strategy, oversaw global clinics to ensure effectiveness, analyzed medical data to develop wellness program to address employee needs. Prior to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Dr. Brent served as the Corporate Medical Director at Pitney Bowes leading numerous professional, business and health initiatives to improve healthcare access and quality of care. Dr. Brent also served as an Attending Physician in the Emergency Department at Bridgeport Hospital and in medical practice on Long Island, New York.

Kathleen Tierney, PhD
Professor Emerita, Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder
Fellow, Institute of Behavioral Science
Faculty, Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado

Dr. Kathleen Tierney is professor emerita of sociology and a fellow of the Institute of Behavioral Science and Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. From 2003 to 2016, she was the director of the Natural Hazards Center. Dr. Tierney’s research interests include the impacts of disasters on businesses, disaster vulnerability and resilience conceptualization and measurement, and the political economy of disasters. Her qualitative research expertise includes quick-response field research following disasters; in-depth interviewing; qualitative evaluation research; and focus group methods. An author or co-author of dozens of journal articles and book chapters, Dr. Tierney’s most recent book, Disasters: Sociological Aspects, was published by Polity Press in 2019.

Dr. Tierney received the Fred Buttel Award for Distinguished Contributions from the Environment and Society section of the American Sociological Association and the Charles Fritz Award from the International Sociological Association’s International Research Committee on Disasters. Tierney has served as a board member and vice president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and has been named an honorary Earthquake Engineering Research Institute lifetime member—one of only two sociologists to receive that honor.

Kasisomayajula Viswanath, PhD, MA, MCJ
Lee Kum Kee Professor of Health Communication
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)
Director, Center for Translational Health Communication Science, DFCI/HSPH
Director, Harvard Chan India Research Center
Co-Director, Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness
Boston, Massachusetts

Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath is Lee Kum Kee Professor of Health Communication in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and in the McGraw-Patterson Center for Population Sciences at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). He is also the Faculty Director of the Health Communication Core of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. Other additional administrative and scientific leadership positions held by Dr. Viswanath include Director of the Center for Translational Communication Science, DFCI/Harvard Chan; Director, Harvard Chan, India Research Center and Co-Director, Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard Chan. He is the founding Director of DF/HCC’s Enhancing Communications for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Laboratory.

Dr. Viswanath’s work focuses on translational communication science to influence public health policy and practice. His primary research is in documenting the relationship between communication inequalities, poverty and health disparities, and knowledge translation to address health disparities. He has served and continuing to serve on several national committees including for the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Paula Bryant, PhD
Director, Office of Biodefense, Research Resources, and Translational Research (OBRRTR)
Associate Director, Biodefense & Emerging Infectious Diseases Product Development
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
Rockville, Maryland

Dr. Paula Bryant is the Director of the Office of Biodefense, Research Resources, and Translational Research, and the Associate Director for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Product Development at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases (NIAID). In these roles, she oversees the late preclinical and early clinical development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for NIAID priority pathogens. Dr. Bryant joined NIAID in 2013 as a Senior Scientific Officer dedicated to vaccine concept acceleration, where she was responsible for identifying and shepherding innovative vaccine concepts and technologies into viable product development pathways. Before joining NIAID, Dr. Bryant served as the Chief of the Translational Medical Division of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Chemical and Biological Technologies Directorate, the Joint Science Technology Organization (JSTO). Prior to government service, Dr. Bryant was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at The Ohio State University where she established a research program examining the interaction of intracellular pathogens with the class II MHC antigen processing and presentation pathway.

Kristin L. DeBord, PhD
Director (Acting)
Office of Strategy, Policy, Planning, and Requirements
Adminstration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, District of Columbia

Dr. Kristin DeBord is the Director for the Office of Strategy, Policy, Planning, and Requirements (SPPR) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). She provides leadership and oversight to the office, ensuring ASPR’s operational preparedness and response capabilities align with ASPR priorities and broader policy and planning considerations for ASPR and HHS. Prior to this role, Dr. DeBord served as the Director for the Division of Strategy in ASPR/SPPR. She was responsible for providing an anticipatory, long-term perspective on national health security to help identify and advance preparedness and response initiatives for the ASPR and HHS Secretary.

Dr. DeBord has also served as a Senior Science Advisor to two Deputy Assistant Secretaries, including the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy ASPR, where she led a range of preparedness and response activities related to pandemic influenza and other highly infectious disease outbreaks, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the HHS Office of Security and Strategic Information, covering issues related to emerging biotechnologies, biosafety/biosecurity, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats.  Dr. DeBord earned her doctorate degree in Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Christina Egan, PhD, CBSP
Deputy Director, Division of Infectious Diseases
Chief, Biodefense and Mycology Laboratories
Wadsworth Center
New York State Department of Health
Albany, New York

Dr. Christina Egan is the Deputy Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases as well as the Chief of Biodefense and Mycology Laboratories at the Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health. The Division of Infectious Diseases is comprised of over 200 scientists that perform infectious disease related testing as well as basic public health related research on infectious diseases including Arboviruses, tick borne pathogens, and Mycobacteria. She is currently serving on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and has served on the National Biodefense Science Board and is the recipient of the 2019 North American Global 3Rs Award and the 2017 APHL Leadership in Biosafety and Biosecurity Award. Dr. Egan has been involved with other national laboratory preparedness and response related committees including the Association of Public Health’s Preparedness and Response Committee and Biosafety and Biosecurity Committees as well as several CDC Laboratory Response Network committees and workgroups.

Dr. Egan’s research interests include improved diagnostics in the field of Biodefense, using platforms such as real-time PCR, next generation sequencing, and microsphere immunoassay and nucleic acid arrays.

Laura Magaña, PhD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Washington, District of Columbia

Dr. Laura Magaña is the President and CEO of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). Under Dr. Magaña’s leadership, ASPPH has continued to advance its mission to strengthen the capacity of members by advancing leadership, excellence, and collaboration for academic public health. During her tenure, ASPPH has strengthened academic public health research through the Data Center, launched the academic public health leadership institute, and enhanced the voice of academic public health through advocacy efforts. She expanded the association’s global reach by welcoming international members and led ASPPH to join with other regional associations that represent schools and programs of public health around the world to found the Global Network for Academic Public Health, which enhances academic public health worldwide through mutual learning and collaborations between academic public health institutions globally. Dr. Magaña has also launched five strategic initiatives to address critical issues in public health as part of ASPPH’s Vision 2030: Dismantling Racism in Academic Public Health, Climate Change and Health, Framing the Future 2030, Gun Violence Prevention and the ASPPH Workforce Development Center.

Prior to joining ASPPH, Dr. Magaña dedicated more than 35 years to successfully leading the transformation and advancements of public and private universities in Mexico; educational organizations in the United States; United Nations programs; and nongovernmental organizations in Central America and Europe. She was most recently the dean of the School of Public Health in Mexico at the ASPPH-member National Institute of Public Health (INSP). She has also been a faculty member and lecturer at universities around the world. She frequently speaks with universities, partners, national, and international conferences on issues such as social determinants of health and health equity, the future of education for public health and the public health workforce, and critical issues in global public health.

Alexia Harrist MD, PhD
State Epidemiologist and State Health Officer
Wyoming Department of Health
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Dr. Alexia (Ali) Harrist is the Wyoming State Epidemiologist and Acting Wyoming State Health Officer at the Wyoming Department of Health. Previously, Dr. Harrist was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, assigned to the Wyoming Department of Health. She subsequently was employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, serving as a Medical Officer in the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.

Dr. Harrist is a 2013 graduate of the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics and is a board‐certified pediatrician. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her degrees include a BS from Yale University, MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Benjamin P. Chan, MD, MPH
State Epidemiologist
New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services
Division of Public Health Services
Concord, New Hampshire

Dr. Chan is an infectious diseases physician and serves as the State Epidemiologist at the NH Department of Health and Humans services where he provides epidemiology and medical support to the NH Division of Public Health Services. He received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. He is Board Certified in the fields of Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, and Public Health & General Preventive Medicine. As NH’s State Epidemiologist, he has been involved in responding to many different infectious disease and non-infectious disease issues. He provides infectious diseases and epidemiology subject matter expertise and serves as medical director for the NH Division of Public Health Services.

Michele Askenazi, MPH
Director of Environmental Health, Communicable Disease and Emergency Preparedness and Response
Arapahoe County Public Health
Greenwood Village, Colorado

Michele Askenazi is the Director of Environmental Health, Communicable Disease and Emergency Preparedness and Response for Arapahoe County Public Health (ACPH) in the State of Colorado.

Ms. Askenazi is an experienced public health leader, epidemiologist and incident commander, and has served in a lead role for many response-related efforts including outbreaks, water and food related contamination incidents, mass casualty incidents, and natural disasters such as floods and fires. Most recently, she served as the Incident Commander for the COVID-19 pandemic response. Ms. Askenazi oversees the Environmental Health, Communicable Disease, Emergency Preparedness and Response, and COVID-19 Programs at ACPH, and she is a member of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Preparedness Policy Advisory Group (PPAG).

Before coming to ACPH, Ms. Askenazi served an Epidemiologist for the Michigan Department of Community Health, as an Epidemiologist for the Orange County Health Care Agency in Orange County, California, where she also served as a Research Analyst for their Bioterrorism Program, and most recently served as the Director of Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communicable Disease Surveillance for the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) for over 16 years.

A.J. Schall, Jr.
Director, Delaware Emergency Management Agency
Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor
Department of Safety & Homeland Security
Smyrna, Delaware

A.J. Schall Jr. is the Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and was named the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor. Director Schall has been actively engaged in the front lines of emergency response, serving as the Chief of the Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company (Newark, DE), and currently is Deputy Chief. Under Mr. Schall’s Directorship, DEMA has facilitated multiple State of Emergencies, FEMA Graded Exercises and launched an UAV program.

Director Schall’s background includes business, public safety, and emergency management.In the winter of 2020, Schall began as an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware. Over the years Director Schall has continued his professional development, completing the US Army War College Commandant’s National Security Program in 2016, and most recently the Naval Post Graduate School Executive Leaders Program.