Dr. Jacqueline Merrill, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, FACMI is interviewed by Dr. Robyn Gershon and delves into her career from starting as a nursing graduate working in critical care to becoming the director for public health preparedness at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
She was inspired by her mother who was a public health nurse to start working on population health, but her first experience in public health emergencies was when she was attaining her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She was paired with Dr. Kristine Gebbie, who was an advisor for the Clinton administration during the first gulf war, for a project that led her to developing the public health emergency competencies which are still in use today. Watch the interview to learn more about her journey.