Dr. Lisa Koonin founder and principal of Health Preparedness Partners, LLC after her 30+ year career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During that time, she led the development of national preparedness plans and policies, conducted large-format exercises, and consulted with businesses, state and local governments, healthcare facilities, non-governmental organizations, academia, and ministries of health around the world, to improve emergency preparedness. Dr. Koonin served as a leader in multiple national and international health emergency responses while at CDC, including:
- 2016 Zika response
- 2014 – 2015 Ebola response
- 2013 H7N9 avian influenza outbreak in China
- 2009 – 2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic
- 2005 Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma
- 2005 Marburg virus outbreak in Africa
As the originator of private sector pandemic and emergency response programs at CDC, Dr. Koonin has extensive experience working with businesses and non-governmental organizations. She combines her clinical, scientific, and emergency preparedness/response experience to assist clients in building actionable preparedness and response plans to mitigate the impact of infectious disease threats.
Dr. Koonin is a frequent lecturer at national and international conferences on pandemic and infectious disease preparedness and response and has published more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications on an array of public health and preparedness topics. She currently serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Koonin has experience as a family nurse practitioner and epidemiologist. She earned master of nursing and master of public health degrees from Emory University and a doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
