Voices from the Frontlines

Voices from the Frontlines, an Alliance signature program, brought together leading voices in health care and public health for an afternoon of conversation and inspiration. For the first time, these exceptional individuals, who have been paramount in the effort to combat COVID-19 over the past 18 months, were together on one virtual stage. This hallmark event allowed our community the opportunity to directly engage with those on the frontlines of this pandemic, and to hear their personal stories of perseverance in the face of great challenge.

Public Service

The speakers of this session worked to develop Operation Warp Speed, an unprecedented framework of public-private collaboration. Hear their personal accounts of the creation and implementation of Operation Warp Speed.

• (Retired) Col. Matthew Hepburn, M.D., Senior Advisor on Pandemic Preparedness to the Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Innovation

During this session, we spoke with a researcher whose career working to develop novel therapies for viral infections led her to spearhead a COVID-19 spike antibody program at the height of the pandemic. Hear pivotal decision points, historic challenges, and her personal journey of discovery.

• Alina Baum, Ph.D., Associate Director, Infectious Diseases, Regeneron

Community Engagement

COVID-19 both exacerbated and spotlighted longstanding inequities that lead to tragic disparities in health outcomes for communities of color. In this session, community leaders who served at the forefront of efforts to deliver reliable, trusted information came together to discuss how they led the charge for an equitable pandemic response.

• Lisa K. Fitzpatrick, M.D., MPH, MPA, CEO and Founder, Grapevine Health
• Debra Fraser-Howze, Founder and CEO, Choose Healthy Life
• Horace Sheffield, III, Pastor, Detroit’s New Destiny Christian Fellowship

Public Health

The pandemic thrust the strengths and weaknesses of the nation’s public health system into the spotlight – and never before has the importance of local, state, and federal coordination been more apparent. The speakers of this panel represented the people behind the public health system – the public health workers who put themselves on the line to confront the worst national health crisis in modern history.

• Lisa Macon Harrison, MPH, Health Director, Granville Vance Public Health
• Anne Schuchat, M.D., Former Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Anne Zink, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

Medical Community

Since the onset of this pandemic, frontline medical providers have been exposed to unparalleled challenges while upholding their solemn oath and commitment to caring for patients. During this session, we spoke with members of the care team who treated U.S. Patient Zero, and recognized with profound gratitude the stamina, resiliency, dedication, and sacrifice of all the frontline workers they represent.

• Robin Addison, BSN, RN, Clinical Lead, Biocontainment, Evaluation and Specialty Treatment (BEST) Team, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett
• George Diaz, M.D., Chief of the Division of Medicine, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett
• Sarah Wilkerson, MN, RN, Regional Director, Infection Prevention, Providence Washington & Montana

Communication

In the days of the 1918 flu pandemic, sources of news were limited. Today, the public is finding it harder than ever to know whom to trust despite having more information at our fingertips than ever before. This session focuses on the medical and public health professionals who interpreted and clarified the evidence, provided trusted counsel, and answered complex questions in service of the health and well-being of all Americans.

• Ashish Jha, M.D., MPH, Dean and Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health