YSPH EMD Special Seminar: “Out of Many, One: Biosecurity System Solutions for the United States of America”

The COVID-19 pandemic was an epic failure for United States systems, which largely rely on human vigilance and antiquated systems architected in the 19th century. We have no threat visibility, no shared reality, and no possibility of a unified response. And yet the world has changed; the frequency and severity of biological threats has sped up. We now live in the imminent possibility of even more formidable biorisks. It is the intersection of threats across disease, climate, infrastructure, and geo-political landscapes which is greater than the sum of its parts, and compels us now to build 21st century solutions. Dr. Dean will discuss a foundational biosecurity systems architecture across public and private sectors which could provide for the common defense, unify thousands of disparate responses into one, and demonstrate that economic security truly is intertwined with health security.

Bio - Dr. Charity Dean is the CEO, Founder, and Chairman of The Public Health Company (PHC), a venture-backed Silicon Valley technology startup.

In August 2020 Dr. Dean founded PHC, envisioning a commercial-grade global biosecurity platform to empower enterprises to manage biorisk at scale. Dr. Dean’s obsession with building a new solution was born out of 24 years in public health and the recognition that Silicon Valley innovations in AI & ML could birth this entirely new capability.

Two years later PHC PharosTM is a game-changer for numerous businesses providing real-time, dynamic risk management across their global footprint and assets. Prior, Dr. Dean served as the Assistant Director for the California Department of Public Health where she was part of the executive team under Governor Newsom running the COVID-19 pandemic response. She co-founded and co-chaired California’s COVID-19 Testing Task Force and under her leadership, California went from ranking last in the nation for testing to first in three months. In 2019, Dr. Dean served as Acting State Public Health Officer overseeing 4,300 staff with an annual operating budget of $3.5 billion. Prior to that, she served as the Public Health Officer for Santa Barbara County and oversaw a myriad of disease outbreaks and biological threats; she also served as attending physician for TB, HIV, and homeless medicine at the Santa Barbara Health Care Centers. Dr. Dean was awarded Physician of the Year in 2018 by the Central Coast Medical Association and honored as one of the Women of the Year by the California State Legislature. She holds a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Science inMicrobiology from Oregon State University.