The GBAC Ambassadors are comprised of the GBAC Scientific Advisory Board, as well as GBAC Vertical Leaders and Influencers. GBAC Ambassadors collectively have decades of experience and have worked in academia, health care, government, standard-setting bodies, and the facilities and organizations GBAC supports worldwide. GBAC Ambassadors have a passion for Global Public Health Preparedness, and believe in a true One Health philosophy supporting health, wellness, and resilience.
Individuals
Roula Abdel-Massih, Ph.D.
Roula Abdel-Massih, Ph.D.
Roula M. Abdel-Massih is a former professor at the University of Balamand, Lebanon. She served as Chairperson of the Department of Biology (2008-2011). Roula obtained her B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the American University of Beirut and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Glasgow (2001). Her primary research focus is on the identification of bioactive (antibacterial and anti-proliferative) components in plant extracts. She was elected as a TWAS Young Affiliate (2011-2015). Her track of publication includes more than 35 papers in international reputed journals and has conference proceedings in around 50 International conferences. Roula was selected by The New York Academy of Sciences and the STS to participate in the 2015 Future Leaders program in Japan. She was elected as an education fellow in the US National Academies in the Life Sciences (2015-2016), obtained a Certificate of Completion for the APLD Program (May 2016) at Harvard, and granted the TCGA Award (Emory, 2019). She is an IFBA Certified Professional in Biorisk Management (Sept 2019). She was selected as an editor for the FFS Journal (June, 2021), and co-chair of the TWAS TYAN Executive Committee (Nov. 2021).
Greg Clark, Ph.D.
Greg Clark, Ph.D.
Greg Clark has more than 25 years of experience focused on helping leaders and teams develop and succeed. He has held leadership roles in human resource and organizational development, in addition to experience in business development, sales, and teaching at the university level. As an executive coach and team development consultant, he has been effective in helping organizations and leaders meet the many challenges that they face. Clark has been particularly successful in helping leaders succeed in balancing the development of their organizations while effectively managing their own careers. His own successes and challenges in leading and managing others have provided Clark a healthy respect for both the individuals who choose the path of leader and the critical nature that role plays in the success of any organization. Clark has provided coaching to more than 1000 individuals and has facilitated more than 400 team development sessions.
Tom Cirrito, Ph.D.
Tom Cirrito, Ph.D.
Tom Cirrito is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and founder of multiple companies in the life sciences. He is one of few biotechnology entrepreneurs in the industry who built a company from an early stage through an IPO, and led a drug development program from concept through FDA approval. He is a co-founder and CEO of Y2X Life Sciences, and Founder and Executive Chairman of Filament BioSolutions.
Previously, he founded and was CEO of Biotagenics, Inc. and Immunovent, Inc., and helped to found AGelity BioMechanics, the first “Hospital for Special Surgery” start-up, also serving as its initial CEO. He began his career in biotechnology as Vice President of Research and Development and Director of Business Development at Stemline Therapeutics (NASDAQ: STML). Cirrito is the inventor of numerous patent applications and peer-reviewed publications. Cirrito holds a B.A. in Biological Sciences and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Washington University in St. Louis.
Murray L. Cohen, Ph.D.
Murray L. Cohen, Ph.D.
Murray Cohen is the chairman of the Frontline Healthcare Workers Safety Foundation Ltd., an international NGO, and owner of Consultants in Disease and Injury Control Inc. He is a charter voting member of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and served on the Federal Interagency Expert Panel for Anthrax Spore Efficacy Test Methods and Surrogates, and the board of directors of the International Association of Continuing Education and Training. Cohen’s international work has included developing model legislation for healthcare worker safety and laboratory biosafety, regulations, and training for prevention of transmission of HIV/HBV/HCV, and predictive epidemiology for emerging pathogens and public health preparedness. His most recent technical publications focus on application of advanced methodologies for microbial risk assessment, sustainable credentialed laboratory, and hospital safety training. Cohen was honored by American Biological Safety Association with the Everett Hanel, Jr. Award for Biosafety Career Achievement in 2012.
John Cordier, Ph.D.
John Cordier, Ph.D.
John Cordier is the CEO and Co-Founder of Epistemix Inc. His career has been focused on creating solutions to improve the conditions for people to increase health and well-being. Emphasizing the importance of social determinants of health and innovation, he has helped form multiple companies and non-profits with shared goals to improve health outcomes. His team at Epistemix builds epidemiology simulation software that enables decision makers in public and private sectors to improve outcomes and mitigate risk by forecasting the scenarios of what’s likely to happen next. His team has worked with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal and state agencies. Their data is being used by businesses, school districts, the events industry, and health systems to manage COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Cordier is an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.
Michael Diamond
Michael Diamond
As Co-founder and Executive Director of The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS), Michael works with scientists, facilities, inventors, corporations, organizations, and governments around the world to vet, validate, market, and promote promising new technologies and processes in global health. Diamond also created and developed the TIPS Journal, TIPS Deep Dive Interviews series, TIPS Science to Market program, TIPS Master Series educational platform, and most notably the TIPS Strategic Partnership Initiative and conference series across the USA, Canada, and UK.
Michael is driven by the firm belief that we should not have to wait years for promising technology, ideas, and processes to be implemented and accepted. Michael remains devoted to advancing information and science to address the myriad issues relating to infection prevention and global health.
Rachel Dombrowsky
Rachel Dombrowsky
Rachel Dombrowsky is a leading innovator in the assisted living sector, with over 25 years of experience. Her career began in childhood education when the opportunity to work in case management in an assisted living facility arose. Dombrowsky has dedicated her career to creating a safer and more dignified experience for her patients. From employing music therapy and equestrian therapy to attaining life-like baby dolls for her memory care population, she prioritizes a patient-focused approach. Dombrowsky holds an operator’s license as the administrator of facilities. Through her extensive experience in the medical and care communities, she realized the danger of certain pathogens within the assisted living environment. This led her to create and patent Floor RX, a cloud-based device that prevents pathogens from shoes to be transferred from one location to the next, a leading cause of cross-contamination. She is currently focused on developing infection prevention products.
David DuBois (IAEE)
David DuBois (IAEE)
Coming soon…
Matthew Early
Matthew Early
Mr. Matthew Early is a Professional Civil Engineer with over 30 years of experience in facilities management, design and construction, capital planning, public safety and transportation, real estate, and environmental compliance. Early joined King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2019 as Vice President of Facilities Management. Before joining KAUST, he was the Vice President of Campus Services at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, leading a team of over 800 employees and an annual budget of $140M. Early’s other accomplishments include leading the development and execution of the first “WaterHub” in North America; reorganizing the Emory Police Department into a new Public Safety Department which resulted in increased productivity and customer response at no additional cost; developing a new “zero-waste policy”, which will help the University to divert 79% of campus waste from municipal landfills with goal of 95% by 2025; and successfully executing $630M in new construction and commissioning $538M in new construction which all achieved LEED Silver and above.
Robert Ellis, Ph.D.
Robert Ellis, Ph.D., CBSP, DACVM
Robert Ellis graduated from the University of Wyoming with a BS in Microbiology and earned MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University. He was appointed to the Colorado State University (CSU) Biosafety Committee. He is currently the Emeritus Director of Biosafety and Emeritus Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology at CSU. Ellis has received numerous awards including the Everett Hanel, Jr. Presidential Award and Arnold G. Wedum Distinguished Achievement Award. He is on the Editorial Board for Applied Biosafety, has served on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program (NBBTP) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and has chaired the NBBTP Scientific Advisory Board. In addition to serving as ABSA President, Ellis has been the Executive Director of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) and was the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Animal Health Research Reviews (AHRR).
Mark Hernandez, Ph.D.
Mark Hernandez, Ph.D.
Mark Hernandez is a registered professional civil engineer and an expert on the characterization and control of bioaerosols – both indoors and out. A generation of his research leverages modern forensic science for wide area aerosol surveillance and the design of novel disinfection systems for the built environment. During his 25 years on the University of Colorado’s engineering faculty, he has authored over 100 archival publications. Hernandez’s research group operates a state-of-the-art environmental microbiology laboratory, which houses one of the largest bioaerosol chambers in the United States. Hernandez maintains a consulting practice, serves as an expert witness in the remediation field, and holds several US patents that are currently licensed to the technology sector. He has recently served on four US National Academy of Science Committees, focusing on the risk assessment of secure containment for the next generation of bioterrorism research, the microbiology of the indoor environments, and aerosol disease transmission in urban settings.
Bruce Hirsch, M.D.
Bruce Hirsch, M.D.
Bruce Hirsch has been serving the community of the New York metropolitan area as a physician for over 30 years. Hirsch received his MD from Cornell University and trained in geriatrics and infectious disease at North Shore University Hospital, Cornell and Albert Einstein. Currently, he is attending physician and assistant professor in the Infectious Disease Division of Northwell Health. Hirsch worked through the HIV crisis from its earliest manifestations in New York and has maintained a strong interest in HIV. More recently, he has pioneered microbiome medicine for the treatment of C diff infections. He has a long-standing interest in innovative therapeutics, patient safety and has co- chaired the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee of Northwell Health System. He holds a patent for an infection control device.
John LaRochelle
John LaRochelle
John LaRochelle is the founder and CEO of Environmental Infection Prevention, Inc. (EIP) and President of Lighthouse Healthcare Partners. Prior to EIP, LaRochelle spent over 30 years with Sodexo where he began his career as a housekeeper and rose through the ranks holding US, North American and Global Executive Leadership Positions. These positions included VP of ES/Laundry USA, Head of Innovation for North America and finally the Global Leader for Environmental Infection Prevention where he was responsible for their global environmental infection prevention and cleaning program development across all business segments within 80 countries. His experience also includes facilities management and safety experience in hospitals, long term care, corporate, and education establishments. LaRochelle’s professional career path has provided him with top to bottom expertise in environmental infection prevention, as well as the ability to establish productive collaboration with all the key stakeholders necessary to impact change.
Frank Lavey (Hyatt Hotels)
Frank Lavey (Hyatt Hotels)
Frank Lavey is a longtime hospitality professional with decades of executive leadership experience. Now retired, Lavey spent more than 30 years with Hyatt Hotels Corp., most recently serving as senior vice president of global operations. Prior to ascending to senior vice president, Lavey led Hyatt’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and managed multiple Hyatt properties across California and Hawaii. He began his hospitality career with Hilton Hotels Corp. in various food and beverage management positions.
Keri Lestage, Ph.D.
Keri Lestage, Ph.D.
Keri Lestage started her career in R&D at the Clorox Company where she gained expertise in disinfectant formulation and public health program implementation. During her tenure, she discovered her true passion for bridging the gap between business and technical viability. One of the highlights of her career, while leading an R&D team for the Clorox Professional Products Division, she was introduced to ByoPlanet International, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art electrostatic spray technology. Recognizing the innovation that electrostatics could bring to the cleaning and disinfection markets, Lestage co-developed a partnership between Clorox and ByoPlanet which led to the launch of the first Clorox branded electrostatic device. She then made the move to ByoPlanet as VP of Research and Development and shortly thereafter took over the role of CSO. Lestage has a B.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario and a PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and three children.
Edward P. Locke, Ph.D.
Edward P. Locke, Ph.D.
Edward P. Locke is an accomplished professional with over 25 years of leadership, planning, and instructional experience in the fields of homeland security, emergency management, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) response, risk analysis, and domestic/international Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) policy. He is president and CEO of EPL Consulting; provider of training, exercises, plan writing, logistics and program management to both government and private customers. Locke’s other accomplishments include the following: served 20+ years active duty in the U.S. military; founding member and commander of the 92nd WMD Civil Support Team in Las Vegas, Nevada; oversaw CWMD Building Partner Capacity (BPC) activities for 51 US European Command countries; associate professor with focused teaching pursuits that include CBRN, Homeland Security/Defense, and Emergency Management; director, CBRN Science and Consequence Management World Congress. Locke is married to Susan Fuller Locke of Auburn, AL and the proud dad of Leann and Will.
John Lowe, Ph.D.
John Lowe, Ph.D.
John Lowe is an associate professor of environmental, agricultural, and occupational health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health. Lowe’s research areas include infectious disease microbiology, disaster preparedness, and environmental exposure assessment with a focus on remediation of biological weapon contamination, highly infectious patient transport, nosocomial environmental contamination, environmental sampling, and gaseous decontamination. This includes source evaluation, source tracking, and decontamination methods to reduce exposure. Lowe utilizes various techniques including molecular biology, environmental microbiology, bioinformatics, and training assessment. He previously has done work and has ongoing projects in a wide range of environmental health topics from decontamination, highly infectious patient care, community-acquired pneumonia, as well as public health and healthcare disaster preparedness. His accomplishments and activities have established his skillset, which includes advanced viral and bacterial molecular laboratory methods, field research methods, scientific writing, public speaking, strategic planning, group facilitation, and project management.
John McKeon, M.D.
John McKeon, M.D.
John McKeon is a medical entrepreneur and currently the CEO of Allergy Standards Ltd (ASL), an international standards and certification body he founded while working as an Emergency Room Doctor. McKeon works with health care entrepreneurs, professional managers, and business owners in life sciences, biotechnology, and medical device sectors to develop strategies to build profitable businesses, clarify their business models for scalable growth, and ultimately improve lives. In addition to his entrepreneurial and business activities, he maintains an interest in university research and knowledge exchange practices. His company completed the EI Innovation for Growth Program with the Irish Management Institute and MIT Sloan School of Management and in the same year, won the American Chamber of Commerce Innovation Award. McKeon was also awarded a US Congressional citation for his collaboration with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHoP), culminating in successful enhancement of an asthma intervention and education project.
Paul J Meechan, Ph.D.
Paul J Meechan, Ph.D., MPH, RBP, CBSP, SM (NRCM)
Paul J. Meechan has served as a biosafety professional for nearly 30 years in the private sector and for the US Government. He most recently served as the Senior Advisor for Laboratory Safety in the Office Laboratory Science and Safety (OLSS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meechan was also the CDC Editor for the sixth edition of the NIH/CDC publication Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories. He was the Corporate Biosafety Officer at Merck and Co., Inc., the Biosafety Officer at the Merck facility at West Point, PA, and has been an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University. Meechan has served on the ABSA Council as Secretary and President, was President of the Mid-Atlantic Biological Safety Association (MABSA) and is currently Past-President of the Southeast Biological Safety Association (SEBSA). Additionally, he has been a member of numerous Federal taskforces and committees.
Stan Meiburg, Ph.D.
Stan Meiburg, Ph.D.
Stan Meiburg became the Director of Graduate Studies in Sustainability at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, following a 39-year career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Meiburg served as EPA’s Acting Deputy Administrator and EPA’s Deputy Regional Administrator in the Southeast and South-Central regions of the United States. He received EPA’s Distinguished Career Service Award, EPA’s Gold Medal for his work on the Clean Air Act Amendments, the Commander’s Award for Public Service from the Department of the Army, and the Distinguished Federal Executive award. He is currently chair of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, a member of the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Meiburg holds a BA from Wake Forest University, and masters and doctoral degrees in political science from Johns Hopkins University.
Stephen Pique, Ph.D.
Stephen Pique, Ph.D.
Coming soon…
Chris Reichart
Chris Reichart
Chris Reichart is the CEO and founder of DelveIn, a company that creates innovative solutions for the human services industry. He has more than 20 years of experience in technology working with organizations across four continents, focusing on mobile innovation, digital transformation, and data collection. Prior to starting DelveIn, he spent more than a decade with Zerion Software growing the team from two to 40 employees with customers in more than 110 countries and partnerships with many of the Fortune 500. While at Zerion, he served as the company’s chief business officer and was also co-creator of the iForm app and iFormBuilder mobile platform. Reichart was also senior vice president of innovation and technology at Elwyn, a non-profit human services organization with more than 6,000 employees. He was responsible for the digital transformation of the 167-year-old organization supporting services and teams in nine states.
Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D.
Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D.
Kelly Reynolds is Professor and Chair of the Department of Community, Environment and Policy, Program Director of Environmental Health Sciences at the Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Director of the Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center at the University of Arizona. She specializes in tracking pathogen movement in healthcare environments and evolving predictive risk assessment models for determining pathogen spread, human exposure potentials, adverse health impacts and intervention efficacy. Reynolds has published over 375 journal articles, book chapters and professional reports. Her work was featured in over 50 popular media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, and the Huffington Post. She co-founded the HITS (Healthcare Infection Transmission Systems) Consortium, utilizing her expertise in integrating academic research teams with medical personnel, clinical diagnostic laboratories, patients, industries, and other stakeholders for a multidisciplinary approach toward research, communication, and management efforts in infection prevention.
Rodney Rohde, Ph.D.
Rodney Rohde, Ph.D.
Rodney E. Rohde is a Professor, Research Dean, and Chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program (CLS) in the College of Health Professions of Texas State University. He has been recognized with teaching excellence at both Texas State and Austin Community College. Named a Top 20 Professor of CLS, he received the Cardinal Health #urEssential Award and the Texas State Mariel M. Muir Mentoring Award. Rohde’s background is in public health and clinical microbiology, and his PhD dissertation at Texas State was aligned with his clinical background: MRSA knowledge, learning and adaptation. His research focuses on adult education and public health microbiology with respect to rabies virology, oral rabies wildlife vaccination, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and molecular diagnostics/biotechnology. Rohde has published a book on MRSA stories, over 50 research articles, book chapters and abstracts, as well as presented at more than 100 international, national, and state conferences.
Syed Sattar, Ph.D.
Syed Sattar, Ph.D.
Syed Sattar, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa, is internationally recognized as one of the leading subject matter experts in infection prevention & control and an advisor to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Sattar has been actively involved in research on all major classes of microbial pathogens for nearly five decades now. He also studies the use of safe and sustainable technologies for interrupting the spread of infectious agents in healthcare and other settings. Sattar regularly provides expert in-put to various national and international agencies and the private sector. He has an extensive publication record and has also delivered over 350 invited lectures across the globe. Among the books he has written is the 2013 reference text Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation & Sterilization (5th ed; Wiley-Interscience). Currently Sattar is the Chief Scientific Officer for CREM Co, Inc.
Richard Simon
Richard Simon
Richard A. “Rick” Simon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of United Service Companies. United Service Companies is a Chicago-based holding company and is the parent company of United Maintenance Company, United National Maintenance, United Temps Inc., U.S. Aviation Services Corp., Inc., and United Security Services Inc. He has been with United Service Companies since its founding in 1965. Under his leadership, United Service Companies has blossomed from a few small accounts in Chicago to thousands of accounts from Washington D.C. to Honolulu, Hawaii. Simon’s commitment and passion for service have made United Service Companies one of the fastest growing cleaning, staffing, and security companies in America. He is the current Chairman of the Chicago Police Foundation, the former Chairman of The Magnificent Mile Association, and has also been an active member of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau (now known as Choose Chicago) since 1980.
Stefan Wagener, Ph.D.
Stefan Wagener, Ph.D., SM (NRCM), CBSP, RBP
Stefan Wagener is an international recognized speaker, trainer, facilitator, coach, and consultant and has over 28 years of experience in international laboratory, scientific and organizational management. He retired in 2019 as the Director General of the Grain Research Laboratory at the Canadian Grain Commission in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Prior to joining the Canadian Grain Commission in January of 2014, he assisted the Department of Foreign Affairs, Canada, the World Health Organization, the Canadian Space Agency and numerous laboratories and organizations in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia as an adviser on scientific programs, laboratory quality management systems, operations, biorisk management, and bioethics. Wagener is a recipient of the Everett Hanel, Jr. Presidential Award (USA), a Past-President of the American Biosafety Association (ABSA), and a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany). He is currently focusing on providing biorisk management services to international clients.
Clay Wardlaw
Clay Wardlaw
James M “Jim” Welch
James M Welch
Jim Welch served 19 years as the executive director of the Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that works around the world on biosafety and biosecurity in fostering international health security. He currently serves as an affiliate with the Elizabeth R. Griffin Program of the Center of Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University and works independently as a consultant, speaker, and instructor. Educated at East Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee, Welch is a member and former chair of the steering group of the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium and served as the nongovernment spokesperson on the Global Health Security Agenda Steering Group. He has been a member of the Joint External Evaluation International Alliance (JEE) and the OIE Consultation Group on Sustainable Biosafety and Biosecurity. Welch was also the 2011 recipient of the John H Richardson Award of ABSA International.
Organizations
Global Healthcare Accreditation® (GHA)
Informa
International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)
Leading Hotels of the World®
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCA)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ (SLH)