Speakers » Barbara Reynolds

At CDC since 1991, Dr. Reynolds’ communication expertise has been used in the planning or response to pandemic influenza, vaccine safety, emerging disease outbreaks and bioterrorism. Internationally, she has acted as a crisis communication consultant on health issues for France, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, former Soviet Union nations, NATO and the World Health Organization. She is currently serving as the director of CDC’s public affairs. Dr. Reynolds is the author of the 2002 and updated 2014 book Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication and CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication course, which is now taught in universities and other settings nationwide and internationally. She is also an adjunct professor at Tulane University.

Overview of the CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Principles

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a guiding framework for communicating to people who are experiencing the unthinkable in their community or nation.  These principles have been successfully applied by response officials in contagious disease outbreaks and other emergency situations. CDC offers training and materials on Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication principles  (CERC).

CERC recognizes that during emergencies, we work under impossible time constraints and must accept the imperfect nature of our choices. CERC draws from lessons learned during public health emergencies and research in the fields of public health and emergency risk communication.