Designing Health Systems Resilience: Surviving the Present, Ensuring the Future

Vivian S. Lee, MD, PhD, MBA is a healthcare and health tech executive and scholar who is dedicated to building a more sustainable and resilient world. She is the author of The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone (WW Norton) and currently serves as Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. A member of the National Academy of Medicine and author of over 200 research publications, she also successfully built and led Health Platforms at Verily (Alphabet/Google) for almost five years, and prior to that was the CEO and Dean at the University of Utah Health.

Svetlana Lipyanskaya, MPA, the first female to lead NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island as CEO, has aligned the hospital’s mission, vision and values around access, quality and patient-centered care.

While managing the emerging needs of the hospital brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Lipyanskaya developed and implemented a campus-wide strategic masterplan based on a community needs assessment that will allow Coney Island Hospital to become the health care destination of choice for approximately 875,000 residents from South Brooklyn and beyond. She is leading the execution of a facility name change and rebranding campaign, completion of a new 11-story hospital, and developing a health and wellness institute that reimagines and elevates the quality of primary and specialty care services offered to its patients.

She has also shepherded the creation of several life-saving services and programs, including: a new cardiac catheterization lab, certification of a percutaneous coronary intervention program, as well as designation as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. Because heart disease is the second leading cause of premature death in Brooklyn, adding these life-saving clinical services ensures that care for heart attack and stroke – for which a quicker response usually means a better outcome – is available closer to home.

Ms. Lipyanskaya’s keen fiscal stewardship has yielded a sound operating budget, resulting in revenue tens of millions of dollars over budget for the first half of FY22, ending on June 30, 2022. She has also skillfully built relationships with community stakeholders and key decision makers, and has brought in over $20 million in capital funding to expand ambulatory care services, provide digital signage and wayfinding throughout the hospital campus, and state-of-the-art radiology and robotic surgery equipment.

Over the past 3 years, Ms. Lipyanskaya has had notable recognitions, including:

Be Proud, Inc. 2021 Outstanding Women Community Appreciation Award
2021 City & State – Brooklyn Power 100
2022 Schneps Media Power Women of Brooklyn Nominee
2022 City & State – Brooklyn Power 100
2022 Schneps Media Health Care Hero Nominee
2022 Becker’s Hospital Review, Community Hospital CEOs to Know

Neil Muscatiello, PhD, is the Director of the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, Center for Environmental Health, NYS Department of Health. Bureau staff study, monitor, and evaluate the effects of exposure to toxic substances and other environmental factors at home, at work, and in the community. The Bureau is responsible for surveillance of chronic diseases and epidemiological studies to help identify environmental risk factors; geographic information system maps of disease and risk factors; surveillance and research of congenital malformations; registries of people exposed to environmental risk factors to monitor their health status over time; exposure investigations to identify and reduce environmental health risks; and public education regarding environmental and occupational exposures and health risks. He is also a member of the Climate Justice Task Force developing strategies for implementation of the climate justice goals outlined in the NYS Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), also known as “The Climate Act.”

Carolyn Olson is the assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Cari and her team lead multi-faceted work to combat the health impacts of climate change via urban planning policy, community resiliency, and healthy housing initiatives. In over 15 years with the department, Cari has developed expertise in using health data to effect public health equity in collaboration with academic, community and government partners.

Apoorva Mandavilli is a reporter for The New York Times, focusing on science and global health. She shared in the paper's 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the pandemic, and was also a member of the team that was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. She is the 2019 winner of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting, and has won numerous other awards for her writing.

Tom Matte is an environmental epidemiologist and physician with more than 30 years of public health practice and research experience in government, academia, and non-governmental organizations.  His work has spanned a range of urban environmental exposures that contribute to health inequities, including lead poisoning, unhealthy housing, air pollution, and climate change.  Tom has led and collaborated in applied research, surveillance, and development of evidence-based policies and programs.  As an Assistant Commissioner with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Matte led the development of the New York City Community Air Survey and the Department's climate and health program.  With a multi-disciplinary team and collaborating researchers, fellows, and graduate students from Columbia and other academic institutions, he helped generate evidence that informed initiatives to phase out high-sulfur heating oil and protect vulnerable New Yorkers from extreme heat.  Dr. Matte also worked at Vital Strategies, a global public health NGO, as a vice president and consultant, contributing to the development of an environmental health program that supports clean air, active mobility, and other healthy city initiatives, and which has provided clinician and journalist air pollution workshops in low- and middle-income countries.  He is a member of the 4th New York City Panel on Climate Change, has lectured on urban issues in Mailman's climate change and health course, and participated in several New York City public health emergency responses.

Dr. Julian L. Watkins joined the Health Department in 2017 as Physician in Charge of the Riverside Sexual Health Clinic and continued in this role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Watkins also participated in the Health Department’s COVID-19 response efforts, including by helping stand up the NYC Test and Trace Corps, supporting the NYC Provider Access Line, serving as medical advisor to the Incident Commander, and facilitating tailored engagement with provider and community groups to promote COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Watkins transitioned to the Health Department’s Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness in 2021 as a Health Equity Advisor and has continued to support emergency response activities. Earlier this year, he was named Assistant Commissioner for the Health Department’s Bureau of Health Equity Capacity Building, became a Climate Health Equity Fellow with the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Leaders Program. He is a health equity theorist, writer, lecturer, and community organizer.

Dr. Watkins earned his MD from Howard University College of Medicine and his BS in Biology from Oakwood University. He has dedicated his practice to cultivating a culture of health that promotes humane regard for communities and the environment that is ready to respond to the diverse needs of the 21st century and beyond.

Sonal Jessel (she/her) is the Director of Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. She leads the New York policy team and is responsible for advancing the organization’s policy agenda at the local, state, and national levels, in addition to leading the Northern Manhattan Climate Action (NMCA) Plan. Sonal works with local, city, and state leaders to advance policy changes that improve environmental health and advances a just transition. She is appointed to the New York State Climate Justice Working Group. Prior to joining WE ACT, she conducted research in energy insecurity, housing, and public health at Columbia University. Sonal has an MPH in Population and Family Health with a concentration in Climate and Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and a BA in Organismal Biology from Pitzer College, in California. Her interest is focused on the intersection of environmental and social justice, health, and policy.

Dr. Paul Biddinger is the Chief Preparedness and Continuity Officer at Mass General Brigham (MGB) and the Chief of the Division of Emergency Preparedness in the Department of Emergency Medicine at MGB.  He holds the Ann L. Prestipino MPH Endowed Chair in Emergency Preparedness and is also the Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).  Dr. Biddinger additionally serves as the Director of the Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation and Practice (EPREP) Program at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and at the Chan School.   Dr. Biddinger serves as a medical officer for the MA-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) in the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  

Dr. Biddinger is an active researcher in the field of emergency preparedness and has lectured nationally and internationally on topics of preparedness and disaster medicine.  He has authored numerous articles and book chapters on multiple topics related to disaster medicine and emergency medical operations and has responded to numerous prior disaster events, including Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombings, the Nepal earthquakes, and many others.  

He completed his undergraduate study in international relations at Princeton University, attended medical school at Vanderbilt University, and completed residency training in emergency medicine at Harvard.

Dr. Laura Bozzi is Senior Director of Environmental Health Policy at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Previously, Dr. Bozzi was the Director of Programs for the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health where she led the Center's policy and public health practice work in Connecticut, taught at the Clinic in Climate Justice, Law, and Public Health, and is led development of the YCCCH Policy Impact Unit. Previously, Dr. Bozzi led the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Climate Change Program. In that role, she worked to promote policy change, increase public awareness, and support community resilience building strategies that collectively help both mitigate climate change’s negative health impacts and promote health equity. Laura was appointed as a member to the State of Rhode Island's Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) Advisory Board and the Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission, and she also served as Co-Director of the New Leaders Council Rhode Island. Over her career, she has worked across the United States -- from Oregon and West Virginia to Washington, DC and Rhode Island – in environmental protection, food systems, and fisheries. Laura holds a Ph.D. in Forestry and Environmental Studies from Yale University.

Mary Foote is an infectious disease specialist who serves as the Medical Director for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response (OEPR) with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Foote also serves as a staff physician at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

She received her M.D. and MPH from the University of Arizona in 2007. After completing her residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2010, she proceeded to complete an infectious diseases fellowship.

Trevor Thompson is the Program Officer at NorthLight Foundation. Trevor previously worked as a management consultant at The Bridgespan Group, which originated from Bain & Co. and advises nonprofits and foundations. Prior to that, Trevor was a professional futurist at the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF), where he conducted long-term (e.g., 20 year) scenario development and forecasting for government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Trevor’s foresight work focused on climate change, health, and technology. Trevor is a graduate of Yale School of Management (MBA), Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (Master of Environmental Management), and Harvard College.

Kumbie Madondo, PhD, Director, Community Partnerships & Policy Solutions (CPPS) is interested in research related to racial and ethnic disparities in health and, in particular, trends and issues related to food policy, asthma, diabetes, civic engagement and healthcare costs. Dr. Madondo uses a range of methodologies, collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, primarily in service of projects that aim to improve the health of communities of color, low-income communities, and the marginalized. She is particularly interested in using social network analysis to assess the types and quality of relationships among organizations that promote health equity. As such, she works with community-based organizations and multisector planning bodies to identify and use appropriate metrics for program development, monitoring, and evaluation. Current projects include a four-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded project examining organizational-level factors that drive the implementation and dissemination of food policies and programs across different neighborhoods in New York City.

Dr Madondo was also part of an evaluation of the Claremont Healthy Village Initiative, a cross-sector collaboration focusing on proactively addressing health disparities and sustaining a shared culture of health promotion and well-being in the Bronx’s Claremont community, and a network analysis of 39 community-based organizations addressing community health priorities in neighborhoods facing significant health disparities in New York City. Dr. Madondo was recently the project director for New York City on a European Commission Horizon 2020-funded project examining asthma and diabetes in five European and U.S. cities (Barcelona, Birmingham, Paris, New York City and Singapore).

Prior to joining The New York Academy of Medicine, Dr. Madondo evaluated outreach and enrollment strategies used by community-based organizations to facilitate insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act and was principal investigator for a large-scale evaluation of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded project that focused on HIV/AIDS prevention among African American and Latino populations. Dr. Madondo has authored/co-authored many journal articles and publications on program evaluations, including Project ECHO® Evaluation 101: A Practical Guide for Evaluating your Program (2017) and the Kellogg’s Foundation Step-by-Step Guide to Evaluation: How to Become Savvy Evaluation Consumers (2017). She earned her PhD in sociology from Virginia Tech University, where she was a recipient of a graduate scholarship from the National Science Foundation.