The independent, nonpartisan Covid Crisis Group has spent two years investigating the causes and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Schar School of Policy and Government and Biodefense Graduate Program are proud to host two members of the group, Andrew Kilianski and Melissa Harvey, for an in-depth discussion of the group's long-awaited report on what went wrong—and right—with America's response to the pandemic: Lessons from the Covid War: An Investigative Report (Public Affairs, 2023).

The Covid Crisis Group is a remarkable group of 34 distinguished practitioners and scholars from a variety of backgrounds who came together determined to learn and share the most valuable lessons from the worst peacetime catastrophe of modern times. Lessons from the Covid War is plain-spoken and clear-sighted. It cuts through the jumble of information to make some sense of it all and answer: What just happened to us, and why? And crucially, how, next time, could we do better? Because there will be a next time.

Speakers
Andrew Kilianski, PhD, is currently the Senior Director for Emerging Infectious Diseases at IAVI, a global nonprofit focused on equitable access to vaccines against infectious diseases. He previously supported the U.S. government COVID-19 response as part of the Department of Defense COVID-19 Task Force. His graduate research was focused on the development of vaccine and antiviral candidates for SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. He is also an adjunct professor in the Biodefense Graduate Program at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.

Melissa Harvey, MSPH, BSN, RN has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare emergency preparedness. She previously served as the Director of National Healthcare Preparedness Programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as Director of Health Systems at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. During the COVID-19 response, she was detailed to the FEMA-HHS Healthcare Resilience Task Force, where she led the Hospital Team. She is an alumna of the George Mason School of Nursing.

Moderator
Gregory D, Koblentz, PhD, MPP, Associate Professor and Director of the Biodefense Graduate Program at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason.