Member Profiles

David Fleming, MD
Distinguished Fellow
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH)
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.

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.

Catherine C. Slemp, MD, MPH
Principal and Managing Member, Consultant
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.

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 Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of 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
Acting Deputy Director
Office of Strategy, Policy, Planning, and Requirements
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
Washington, District of Columbia

Dr. Kristin DeBord is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary and Director for the Office of Strategy, Policy, Planning, and Requirements (SPPR) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). In this role, she helps to oversee the policy-planning lifecycle, ensuring ASPR’s operational preparedness and response capabilities coincide with ASPR’s priorities, align with broader policy and planning considerations, and are adequately resourced based on strategic priorities.

Dr. DeBord formerly was Director for SPPR’s Strategy Division where she was responsible for providing a strategic perspective on national health security to identify and advance preparedness and response initiatives for ASPR and HHS. She also served as a Senior Science Advisor in ASPR, where she led a range of preparedness and response activities related to pandemic influenza and other highly infectious disease outbreaks.

She also has served as the Senior Science Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the HHS Office of Security and Strategic Information, covering issues related to emerging biotechnologies, biosafety/biosecurity, and CBRN threats. She has served as a Program Officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), managing contracts for the development of vaccines and therapeutics against various respiratory pathogens.

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 Valladares is the President and CEO of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). Prior to joining ASPPH, Dr. Magaña dedicated over 30 years to leading the transformation and advancements of public and private universities in Mexico, educational organizations in the United States, United Nations programs, and non-governmental organizations in Central America and Europe. She was most recently the academic dean of the National Institute of Public Health, and ASPPH-member, in Mexico. Her diverse portfolio features research, training, and technological developments in national and foreign universities, with a focus on learning environments and the use of technology in education.

Dr. Magaña is an active member of professional and scientific educational committees around the globe, including the Public Health Institutes of the World, World Federation of Public Health Associations, Association of Schools of Public Health in Europe, Latin-American Global Health Association, National System of Researchers, and the National Academy of Medical Education in México.

Parham Jaberi, MD, MPH
Chief Deputy Commissioner for Community Health Services
Virginia Department of Health
Richmond, Virginia

Dr. Parham Jaberi serves as the Chief Deputy to the State Health Commissioner at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), providing strategic direction and leadership to the agency’s programs supported by 3700 full-time employees a budget of over $730 million. From 2018 to 2021, he provided oversight to the VDH Offices of Emergency Preparedness, Radiological Health, Emergency Medical Systems, Environmental Health Services, Drinking Water, and the Chief Medical Examiner. In 2021, his duties were changed to provide direct oversight to the state’s local health departments in the state’s thirty-five physician-led health districts. Prior to 2018, Dr. Jaberi worked as the Assistant State Health Officer and Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Office of Public Health. This followed 10 years of service as a local health official in Louisiana and in Virginia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic response, Dr. Jaberi led Virginia’s Unified Command testing team from May 2020 to April 2021. He also co-led the healthcare coordination unit working closely with the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association and providers across the state on issues impacting medical care, including the use and allocation of scarce resources.

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 Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communicable Disease Surveillance
Tri-County Health Department
Greenwood Village, Colorado

Michele Askenazi is the Director of Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communicable Disease Surveillance for the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD), the largest local health department in the State of Colorado.

Ms. Askenazi has served in a lead role for many response-related efforts including outbreaks, mass casualty incidents, and natural disasters such as floods and fires. She also established a Public Health Incident Management Team for TCHD to enhance their depth and skills to provide management to all-hazards incidents, whether TCHD serves in a lead or support role. Most recently, she served as the Incident Commander at TCHD for the COVID-19 response. Ms. Askenazi oversees the Emergency Preparedness and Response, Communicable Disease, Syndromic Surveillance, COVID-19 and Workplace Safety and Security Programs at TCHD. She serves as a member of the NACCHO Preparedness Policy Advisory Group (PPAG).

Before coming to TCHD, Ms. Askenazi served as an Epidemiologist for the Michigan Department of Community Health and later for the Orange County Health Care Agency in Orange County, California, where she also served as a Research Analyst for their Bioterrorism Program.

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.