The COVID-19 pandemic cast a stark light on longstanding inequities that—unless meaningfully addressed—will continue to leave many communities disproportionately vulnerable during future public health emergencies. In response, Columbia University, with support from the New York City Economic Development Corporation, launched the Preparedness & Recovery Institute, a collaboration between Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, CUNY School of Public Health, and the New York City government.
The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) is supporting multiple research and community engagement activities as part of a multi-project engagement with the Preparedness & Recovery Institute (PRI) to improve pandemic preparedness and response in New York City.
NCDP’s work spans two projects, which include:
Project 1: Conducted a COVID-19 Societal Review
In Project 1 of this initiative with PRI, NCDP supported community-based research across all five New York City boroughs. This work aimed to center local perspectives, elevate community expertise, and strengthen New York City’s long-term public health resilience.
Project 2: Conducting EPI Modeling Research
Project 2 of this initiative focuses on assessing the use of epidemiological models for decision support and on developing a toolkit for the NYC government to enhance the integration of iterative epidemiological modelling across multiple stakeholder groups.
NCDP conducted a COVID-19 Societal Review to identify lessons learned from prior public health emergencies. By reviewing hundreds of articles and reports, NCDP developed a draft set of recommendations organized by theme. These recommendations were presented to the PRI COVID-19 Review Assembly to refine these recommendations and shape evidence-based guidance for future public health crises.
Following the COVID-19 Review Assembly, community convenings were held with NYC community leaders. Insights from these convenings supported the mission to create an inclusive, equity-driven approach to public health emergencies. The findings were then presented at twelve community convenings across the boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough held community convenings, with an additional two sessions conducted in Spanish and Mandarin to address language barriers identified in community reports.
The following outputs were created from Project 1 work:
This study aims to address knowledge gaps to inform a citywide process for assessing the use of epidemiologic models by improving understanding of the key factors that support iterative model development across multiple agencies and sectors in New York City. The project will consist of a scoping review, following the PRISMA-ScR literature review protocol, to identify best practices in multi-stakeholder model communication and development within the practice and policy communities, and a qualitative study comprising key informant interviews with subject-matter experts to provide real-world operational context. These two data sources will inform the primary output of this project: an expert-validated toolkit to support the use and development of operational epidemiologic models during interagency responses to public health emergencies in NYC.
Jeff Schlegelmilch is the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School, as well as the Director of Executive Education and Non-Degree Programs for the Columbia Climate School. He is also an Associate Professor for Professional Practice in Climate. His areas of expertise include public health preparedness, community resilience, and the integration of private and public sector capabilities.
In addition to his work at Columbia, he also served as an advisor to private sector organizations on topics related to grid resilience planning and advised leaders on preparedness systems and policy at all levels of government. He is an opinion contributor with The Hill and is frequently called upon as an expert for numerous media outlets. He is the author of Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty-First-Century Megadisasters and co-author of Catastrophic Incentives: Why Our Approaches To Disasters Keep Falling Short, both published by Columbia University Press.
Josh DeVincenzo, Ed.D., is the Assistant Director for Education and Training and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia Climate School, Columbia University. He recently received his doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College with his dissertation on “Enhancing Capacity in Adult Climate Literacy: Investigating Sustainability Mindsets in the U.S. Emergency Management Profession.”
Dr. DeVincenzo focuses on developing learning experiences associated with FEMA training projects that navigate housing, economic recovery, mass care and sheltering, pandemic planning, and climate literacy. He has developed instructor-led and web-based curricula regarding financial literacy, economic impact analysis, and community partnerships.
He hopes to create accessible and quality educational programming that benefits the common good at scale. He holds a master’s degree in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and a Doctorate in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, focusing on Adult Learning and Cognitive Science. He has published his work on climate pedagogy and cognition in esteemed journals and outlets such as the Journal of International Affairs, Routledge, State of Planet, and The Hill.
Shuyang Huang is a Staff Associate working on data management and analysis at NCDP. She earned a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) in 2023, and previously obtained an Urban Planning degree there in 2019.
Jonathan has over fifteen years of experience in qualitative and quantitative research with significant emphasis on disaster field research and study design, implementation, management, and data architecture and analysis. He contributes to a broad multi-method disaster research portfolio, including natural hazards mapping, rural preparedness, mental health and psychosocial support, community coalition building, and child-focused community resilience. He also has significant experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their use in disaster preparedness and recovery, evaluating the unanticipated consequences of pandemic flu, determining racially and ethnically appropriate emergency messaging, and analyzing the long-term disaster resiliency and recovery issues of Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. He holds a master’s degree in public health from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, where he is currently pursuing a doctorate of public health in Leadership in Global Health and Humanitarian Systems.
Alex Yixuan Xu is a part-time Senior Project Coordinator at NCDP, assisting with designing learning experiences for FEMA training projects. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Design and Development of Digital Games for learning at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Alex holds a B.S. in Integrated Digital Media from New York University and is interested in designing accessible learning experiences enabled by educational technology.
Celeste Paerels is a graduate student worker at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), where she provides public health and epidemiological support and insight. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in Environmental Biology and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in the department of Environmental Health Sciences, with a focus on Infectious Disease Epidemiology. She is passionate about the intersection of climate and health, and is excited to contribute her background in epidemiology, climate, risk assessment, and public health to NCDP initiatives.
Michelle Jerry is a graduate student worker at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP). She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree in the Epidemiology Department at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. She previously worked in the Infectious Disease Department at Mass General Hospital and is passionate about advancing healthcare, strengthening public health systems, and contributing to NCDP’s mission through research, analysis, and evidence-based practice.
Lucia Bragg is a Policy Manager and Instructor for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) focusing on the FEMA housing and economic recovery training grants. She has been working in government affairs at the state and federal levels for a collective nine years. Prior to joining NCDP, Lucia directed federal disaster and FEMA policy advocacy for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) for nearly five years, lobbying Congress, and the administration on disaster policy during the development and passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, COVID-19 national emergency declaration and stimulus packages, transportation bills, and myriad supplemental disaster aid packages. Lucia also started and directed NCSL’s Public-Private Partnership on Disaster Mitigation and Recovery – a bipartisan task force of state legislators representing disaster-impacted districts and private sector partners from a range of sectors. Lucia holds an MA from Columbia University’s Climate School and BA in political science from Middlebury College.
Sean Hansen is a Staff Associate III at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, where he supports applied research efforts related to disaster preparedness, readiness, response, and recovery. In this capacity, he works closely with various stakeholders using mixed-methods research and providing technical expertise to identify areas of vulnerability and strategies for supporting resilient communities. Particular areas of interest include climate-linked disasters and various aspects of psychosocial support, food security, and social cohesion in affected communities.
Sean earned his Master of Public Administration in Development Practice from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he focused on humanitarian response, sustainable development, and disaster preparedness. Before joining NCDP, he worked in Washington, D.C., in policy and advocacy for a consortium of international development and humanitarian organizations. He is especially interested in the links between climate change, humanitarian crises, and conflict.
Renge Shirai was a Student Researcher and Project Generalist assisting with various community resilience projects at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. She is a recent graduate of Barnard College, majoring in Environment and Sustainability and minoring in Science and Public Policy, where she conducted a comparative study of flood resilience in the underground transit systems of New York City and Tokyo.
Amy Campbell is a Student Researcher at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia Climate School. She is a recent graduate with a Master’s in Climate Policy (MA Climate and Society), specializing in Climate Disaster Preparedness. Her work focuses on policy development for non-linear, cascading climate risk (i.e., tipping points) and mobilizing adaptation finance for climate-vulnerable countries. She was previously on the UK Government’s Fast Stream policy graduate scheme and was then a UNFCCC Negotiator for the UK. Her previous projects in the UK government included developing the first climate and development profession for policy professionals, available to all UK civil servants.
