How to Lead during Bioattacks

Working Group Members

The Working Group on 'Governance Dilemmas' in Bioterrorism Response comprised 30 members, among whom there were seasoned decision-makers at local, state, and federal levels of government; public health practitioners who have managed responses to high-profile outbreaks and terrorist attacks; infectious disease specialists; journalists and news editors who have covered government responses to disasters and crises of authority; technical experts in public affairs, risk communication, and disaster psychiatry and sociology; and community organizers and advocates for special populations. The Working Group was the culmination of a larger project focused on articulating best practices and principles for leaders when communicating with the public in the context of response to a biological attack.

Veteran Political and Public Health Leaders

Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP, Executive Director, American Public Health Association; former Commissioner of Health for Maryland during '01 anthrax attacks
William Bicknell, MD, MPH, Professor and Chairman Emeritus of International Health at Boston University, School of Public Health; former Commissioner of Health for Massachusetts
Neal L. Cohen, MD, Executive Director, AMDeC Center on Bioterrorism; former Commissioner of Health for New York City during '99 West Nile Virus outbreak, '01 World Trade Center bombing, and '01 anthrax attacks
Aaron Greenfield, JD, Executive Director, Maryland Business Council; former Special City Solicitor & Homeland Security Advisor, Baltimore City Mayor's Office
Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, Vice President, Biological Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative; former Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services; former Commissioner of Health for New York City during '93 World Trade Center bombing
Jean Malecki, MD, MPH, FACPM, Director, Palm Beach County Health Department; led investigation team of first inhalational anthrax case in 2001
Tara O'Toole, MD, MPH, CEO & Director, UPMC Center for Biosecurity; former Director, Johns Hopkins Civilian Biodefense Center; former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health

Medical, Public Health, and Disaster Experts

Kenneth D. Bloem, MPH, Health Management & Policy Consultant; former top executive at Georgetown, Stanford, Chicago, & Boston University Medical Centers; former CEO, Advisory Board Company
Brian W. Flynn, EdD, Associate Director, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress & Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University; former Rear Admiral/Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service
Thomas V. Inglesby, MD, COO & Deputy Director, UPMC Center for Biosecurity; former Deputy Director, Johns Hopkins Civilian Biodefense Center; Infectious Disease Clinician, Johns Hopkins Hospital
Linda Morris, BSN, RN, Director, Community Health & Youth, Greater Kansas City American Red Cross (GKC-ARC); former Community Health Nurse Manager, GKC-ARC
Ann E. Norwood, MD, COL MC, USA, Associate Professor & Associate Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University
Monica Schoch-Spana, PhD, Chair; Senior Fellow, UPMC Center for Biosecurity; Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; former Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins Civilian Biodefense Center
Kathleen Tierney, PhD, Director, Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center; Professor of Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder

Community Leaders and Special Population Advocates

Naomi Baden, JD, MS, Facilitator, mediator, & negotiator specializing in inter- and intra-organizational decision-making processes
Marion J. Balsam, MD, FAAP, Diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics; Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, Task Force on Terrorism; retired Rear Admiral of Medical Corps of the U.S. Navy
Emira Habiby-Browne, MA, Founder & Executive Director, Arab-American Family Support Center, New York City
Robert G. Kaplan, Founding Director, Commission of Intergroup Relations & Community Concerns at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York; Design Team Member, Public Health/Faith Based Community Institute of CDC and Emory University
Myrna Lewis, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Community & Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City; United Nations NGO Committees on Aging and Women; Member, NYC Mental Health Disaster Team
Onora Lien, Research Analyst, UPMC Center for Biosecurity; Doctoral Candidate in Sociology, Johns Hopkins University
Shirley G. Mitchell, PhD, President, Board of Directors, Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, Washington, DC

News Media, Public Affairs, and Risk Communications Experts

Thom Berry, Director of Media Relations, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control; Former President, National Public Health Information Coalition
John Burke, MA, JD, President, Strategic Communications Inc.; Crisis Communications Advisor to clients including Union Carbide, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck
Joan Deppa, PhD, Associate Professor, S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University; former UPI editor & reporter
Darren Irby, Vice President of External Affairs, American Red Cross Headquarters
Richard Knox, Health & Science Correspondent, National Public Radio; former medicine & health reporter for Boston Globe
Sandra Mullin, MSW, Director of Communications & Associate Commissioner for New York City Department of Health during '99 West Nile Virus outbreak, '01 World Trade Center attacks, '01 anthrax attacks, and '03 SARS outbreak
Barbara Reynolds, MA, Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication Specialist, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; managed public communications during '01 anthrax attacks
Peter Sandman, PhD, Risk Communications Specialist; advisor to the New York City Department of Health and the CDC on bioterrorism, preparedness, and communication; creator of the Hazard+Outrage formula for risk communication
Mary E. Walsh, National Security Producer for CBS News assigned to the Pentago