Biography

Dr. Marsha Vanderford is an independent consultant and expert in health communication emergency risk communication. Her recent work has focused on COVID-19, pandemic preparedness, and human/animal health interfaces for provincial, national, and international organizations including the World Health Organization, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Public Health Ontario. Prior to her consulting work, Dr. Vanderford was Director of Communication for the World Health Organization and filled several communication leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), directing communication programmatic work for the Agency’s Injury Prevention and Global Health Centers and leading the Emergency Risk Communication Branch. At WHO and CDC she led each organization’s risk communication responses for global emergencies including Zika virus, H1N1 influenza, and Hurricane Katrina. Marsha has conducted health communication capacity-building and related activities in more than a dozen countries including China, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Guatemala, and Peru.