Heidi J. Larson, Ph.D., is Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science and is the Founding Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is also Clinical Professor of Health Metrics Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, and Guest Professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Dr. Larson previously headed Global Immunisation Communication at UNICEF and served on the WHO SAGE Working Group on vaccine hesitancy. Professor Larson’s research focuses on the analysis of social and political factors that can affect uptake of health interventions and influence policies. Her particular interest is on risk and rumour management from clinical trials to delivery – and building public trust. She is Principal Investigator for a global study on acceptance of vaccination during pregnancy; an EU-funded project on the deployment, acceptance and compliance of Ebola vaccines in Africa; and a global study on Public Sentiments and Emotions Around Current and Potential Measures to Contain and Treat COVID-19. She is author of STUCK: How Vaccine Rumors Start – and Why They Don’t Go Away (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Contact: heidi.larson@lshtm.ac.uk
Rachel Nuzum, MPH, is vice president for the Federal and State Health Policy initiative at The Commonwealth Fund, working closely with policymakers at the state and federal level. Ms. Nuzum is responsible for developing and implementing the Fund’s national policy strategy for improving health system performance, ensuring that the work of the Fund and its grantees informs the policy process in both the legislative and executive branches of state and federal government. Ms. Nuzum’s work also includes fostering public–private collaboration on health system performance improvement with state and federal stakeholders and organizations. Ms. Nuzum has over 15 years of experience working in health policy at the federal, state, and local levels of government, as well as in the private sector. Before joining the Fund in January 2007, Ms. Nuzum was a legislative advisor for Senator Maria Cantwell (Wash.) on health, retirement and tax issues. Prior to joining Senator Cantwell’s office, she served as a David Winston Health Policy Fellow in Senator Jeff Bingaman’s (N.M.) office. In this role, Ms. Nuzum staffed the Senator on the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Before arriving in Washington, D.C., she served former Governor Roy Romer of Colorado in the office of Boards and Commissions and worked as a health planner in west central Florida. She holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Colorado and an M.P.H. in Health Policy and Management from the University of South Florida. She is on the faculty of Georgetown University’s Graduate School of Nursing and Health Professions and is on the board of the Winston Health Policy Fellowship.
Contact: rn@cmwf.org
Hemi Tewarson, MPH, J.D., serves as program director for the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices’ Health Division, where she oversees projects centering around Medicaid transformation and coverage, Medicaid data systems, state leadership and health care delivery and payment system reform. Prior to joining NGA, Ms. Tewarson served as senior attorney for the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and was in private practice as a health policy attorney at Powell Goldstein, LLP and McDermott, Will & Emery. Ms. Tewarson also served as chair and elected member of the D.C. Bar Health Law Steering Committee. Ms. Tewarson holds a J.D. and a master’s degree in public health from the George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact: htewarson@nga.org
Reed Tuckson, M.D., is the managing director of Tuckson Health Connections, a health and medical care consulting business that brings people and ideas together to promote optimal health outcomes. Previously, he enjoyed a long tenure as executive vice president and chief of medical affairs for UnitedHealth Group. Prior to that, Dr. Tuckson’s career includes leadership positions as senior vice president for Professional Standards of the American Medical Association (AMA); President of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles; senior vice president for Programs of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation; and the Commissioner of Public Health for the District of Columbia.
Contact: drreed@tucksonhealthconnections.com