Dr. Jha is a practicing physician and recognized globally as an expert on pandemic preparedness and response as well as on health policy research and practice. He has led groundbreaking research around Ebola and is now on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, leading national and international analysis of key issues and advising state and federal policy makers. Dr. Jha has published more than two hundred original research publications in prestigious journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the BMJ and is a frequent contributor to a range of public media. He has extensively researched how to improve the quality and reduce the cost of healthcare, focusing on the impact of public health policy nationally and around the globe.

Congressman Joseph Kennedy III has dedicated his career to social and economic justice, fighting for the basic needs of every American family and a political system that is inclusive, representative, and fair. The U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district from 2013-2021, he ran for office to tackle the systemic inequities – from health care and housing to climate and education – that have left countless American families locked out and left behind. Kennedy’s presentations address the latest in politics and what’s next for the political landscape. Well-versed on the most pressing issues of the day, he provides an insider’s look at current events and takes a thoughtful approach on how they may impact the country’s future. With a constant focus on the most vulnerable among us, Kennedy brings a uniquely empathetic voice to our nation’s most vexing challenges.

Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. A nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, she is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, writing on health policy and public health, and an on-air commentator for CNN as a medical analyst. The author of the critically-acclaimed book on patient advocacy, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests (St. Martin’s Press, 2013), she has a forthcoming memoir to be published July 27th, Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health (Metropolitan Books, 2021). Previously, she served as health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, where she led the nation’s oldest continuously operating health department to combat the opioid epidemic and improve maternal and child health. She has also worked as director of patient-centered care research in the department of emergency medicine at George Washington University; president of Planned Parenthood; global health fellow at the World Health Organization; consultant to the China Medical Board; and distinguished fellow at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity.

Professor David Cutler is currently the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Department of Economics and holds secondary appointments at the Kennedy School of Government and the School of Public Health. He has served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration and has advised the Presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Barack Obama as well as being Senior Health Care Advisor for the Obama Presidential Campaign. Professor Cutler is also the author of two books, several chapters in edited books, and many of published papers on the topic s of health care and other public policy topics.