James J. James

James J. James, MD, DrPH, MHA, executive director of the Society of Disaster Medicine and Public Health, brings more than 30 years of experience in public and private health care as a clinician, researcher, professional personnel manager, and program director. He currently is editor-in-chief of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, one of the most important journals in the field of disaster medicine and public health, and a board member of the National Disaster Life Support Foundation. For the past decade, as director of the American Medical Association's Center for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response, Dr James oversaw the development and deployment of the National Disaster Life Support suite of courses (more than 110 000 medical and public health personnel trained) and other innovative mass casualty developments such as a health security smart card and the Citizen Ready preparedness and recovery training modules. Also, Dr James has served on many federal and private boards and committees in major policy and research functions in disaster medicine and public health.

Board certified in general preventive medicine, Dr James earned a doctor of medicine at the Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio; a doctor of public health from the School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles; and a master of healthcare administration from Baylor University, Houston, Texas. In addition, Dr James served 26 years with the US Army Medical Department, serving in numerous capacities. His last assignment was Commanding General of William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas. On retirement in 1997, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the military's highest peace-time honor. Thereafter, he joined FHC Options in Norfolk, Virginia, where he oversaw the building and management of the company's team that was responsible for winning several multibillion dollar managed care contracts with the US government. Dr James also served as director of the Miami-Dade County Health Department, and led the department's investigation and response to the anthrax attacks of 2001. Under his leadership, the Miami-Dade County Health Department received the Governor's Sterling Award in 2002.

Georges C. Benjamin

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, is the executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the nation's oldest and largest organization of public health professionals. He previously served as secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, from 1999 to 2002, after 4 years as its deputy secretary for public health services. For the past 20 years, Dr Benjamin actively practiced public health at the local, state, and national levels with expertise in the areas of emergency preparedness, administration, and infectious diseases.

Dr Benjamin serves as publisher of the field's premier journal, the American Journal of Public Health, as well as The Nation's Health newspaper and Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, the APHA's timeless publication on infectious diseases. An author of more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters, Dr Benjamin has recently published The Quest for Health Reform: A Satirical History, an exposé of the nearly 100-year quest to ensure quality affordable health coverage for all through the use of political cartoons.

A graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Chicago or Urbana? Dr Benjamin is board certified in internal medicine; a fellow of the American College of Physicians; a fellow emeritus of the American College of Emergency Physicians; an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health; a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Ronald R. Blanck

LTG Ronald R. Blanck, DO (US Army, retired), is a partner and chairman of the board of Martin, Blanck & Associates, consults in health care for the private sector and the government. He retired on June 30, 2006, as president of the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center, Fort Worth, where he headed an academic health center that includes the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, and School of Health Professions.

A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pennsylvania, Dr Blanck is board certified in internal medicine. He joined the UNT Health Science Center in August 2000 after retiring from the US Army. Dr Blanck began his military career in 1968 as a medical officer and battalion surgeon in Vietnam and retired 32 years later as surgeon general of the US Army and commander of the US Army Medical Command—which oversees more than 46 000 military personnel and 26 000 civilian employees worldwide. During his distinguished military career, Dr Blanck served as commander of Walter Reed Medical Center, North Atlantic Region Medical Command, and as director of professional services and chief of Medical Corps affairs for the US Army surgeon general. Other assignments included assistant dean of student affairs, the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine; chief of the Department of Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center; commander, Berlin Army Hospital; and commander, Frankfurt Regional Army Medical Center.

After joining the UNT Health Science Center, Dr Blanck continued to be recognized for leadership in health and medicine. The American Medical Association honored him with the Dr. Nathan Davis Award, its highest award for government officials. A past governor of the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine, Dr Blanck was named a master by the specialists’ society. He joined the boards of Trauma Cure, Inc, and the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, and serves as chairman of the boards of Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc, and Pyng, Inc. He also is chairman of the board of regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; past chairman of the board of managers of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States; and a past member of the board of trustees of Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and the National Board of Medical Examiners. Dr Blanck continues as an advisor on bioterrorism issues and an expert in preparing the medical community for response to mass casualty incidents or those involving weapons of mass destruction. In addition to many speaking engagements and advisory positions, he chaired task forces on bioterrorism for both the Texas Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association.

Kristine Moore Gebbie

Kristine Gebbie, MSN, DrPH, moved to Australia in 2011 following a career in nursing education, nursing and public health research, and nursing and public health practice. She has held academic appointments at the University of California, Los Angeles; Saint Louis University, Missouri; Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland; University of Washington, Seattle; and Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, where she occupied the Elizabeth Standish Gill chair and led the Center for Health Policy. She also served as the Joan Hansen Grabe dean of the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College-City University of New York, from 2008 to 2010. At Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, she continues her longstanding research interests in competency-based education and emergency preparedness. She is a member of the board of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine.

Dr Gebbie's nursing practice included service at Los Angeles County General Hospital (now USC Medical Center) and Saint Louis University Hospitals. She was head of public health for Oregon and secretary of health for Washington State before service at the White House establishing the Office of National AIDS Policy for President Clinton. She also served as a senior policy advisor to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion on subjects of public health infrastructure and the public health workforce. Dr Gebbie chaired policy committees for both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Energy.

Dr Gebbie earned a BSN from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota; a master of nursing in community mental health nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a doctor of public health in health policy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, and currently serves on its report review committee. She also is elected to the American Academy of Nursing and the New York Academy of Medicine. Her publications are in the American Journal of Nursing, Journal of Public Health Nursing, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Nursing Administration, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Public Health Reports, and others.

Jack A. Horner

Jack Horner holds an undergraduate degree in physics, and is an accomplished researcher in electron optics, electron microscopy, and ultrastructural microanalysis, with more than 65 publications in refereed journals. Mr Horner served on the faculty of the Medical College of Georgia during the 1970s, before joining a research group supporting the US Army Medical Department. He retired from federal service after more than 20 years. During the last 4 years of his federal service he was director of the Center for Total Access, a research facility supporting the integration of telemedicine and medical informatics in the Department of Defense.

More recently, Mr Horner has been actively involved in the development and offering of specialized training courses in disaster medical response training. He also lectures in these courses on the topics of nuclear and radiological events, public health preparedness, and health facility preparedness planning.

On the staff of the Center of Operational Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Mr Horner coordinates grants, contracts, and business development. He also serves as executive director of the National Disaster Life Support Foundation, Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation dedicated to the proliferation of standardized training for the medical response community.

Gabor Kelen

Gabor Kelen, MD, is professor and chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins University; and senior professional staff, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is a member of the Center for Injury Prevention. Dr Kelen gained world renown for developing novel methods to study human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other blood-borne pathogens. His research in this area helped define the extent of the HIV epidemic, led to the adoption of universal precautions, and fostered HIV testing and counseling programs in emergency department settings. More recently, he has focused his scientific enquiry on natural and manmade disasters, and has conducted seminal work in surge capacity in health care settings.

Dr Kelen was appointed director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response in 2002, an enterprise-wide entity created to oversee the institution's endeavors in preparing for and responding to a high impact disaster, particularly from potential terrorist action. In November 2005, Dr Kelen and his team were awarded a Department of Homeland Security grant to lead a consortium studying how the nation can best prepare for and respond to potential large-scale incidents and disasters. Titled the National Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response, this Homeland Security center of excellence formally studies deterrence, prevention, preparedness, and response, including risk assessment, decision-making, infrastructure integrity, surge capacity, and sensor networks.

Dr Kelen has more than 200 publications, including several major texts. His research has been recognized through numerous awards including the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's Hal Jayne Academic Excellence Award and Leadership Award, the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Outstanding Contribution to Research Award, and the Emergency Medicine Foundation's Center of Excellence Award. Dr Kelen was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science in 2005.