Spring 2025 Fellows

Spring – Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper, a Nash County native, earned his undergraduate and law degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill before practicing law in Rocky Mount, where he and his wife, Kristin, raised their three daughters. Inspired by his mother’s career as a public-school teacher, he championed education, served in the legislature from 1986, and later as Attorney General (2000–2016), reducing crime and protecting consumers.

Elected as North Carolina’s 75th Governor in 2016, Cooper expanded Medicaid, bringing healthcare to 630,000 residents, relieved $4 million in medical debt, created jobs, and strengthened public education. He remains committed to building a North Carolina that works for everyone.

This Spring 2 term, Cooper will teach a course in the Department of Health Policy and Management tentatively called “Health Policy and Leadership.”

Spring – Dawn O’Connell

Dawn O’Connell served as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (2021–2025), leading the nation’s response to public health emergencies, including COVID-19, mpox, H5N1, natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and the Maui wildfire, and over 400 cybersecurity incidents. She previously directed the U.S. Office for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI) and held senior roles at HHS during the Obama-Biden Administration. O’Connell holds a BA from Vanderbilt and a JD from Tulane, and lives in Washington, DC, with her family

O’Connell will visit the School during the spring semester to meet with faculty, engage with students during arranged events, and participate in a Harvard Chan Studio event on Feb. 12. To register for this event, please visit this link: https://hsph.me/DawnOConnell.”

She will be also holding office hours on Wednesday February 12th. Please use this link to book a time: https://calendly.com/slfp/office-hours-with-dawn-oconnell

Spring – Ashwin Vasan

Ashwin Vasan, SM, MD, PhD, Ashwin Vasan, SM, MD, PhD, served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2022–2024), where he led initiatives to improve life expectancy, reform mental health systems, reduce medical debt, and expand access to reproductive health care. A Harvard Chan School alum with two decades of experience, he has worked to advance health, social welfare, and public policy for marginalized populations globally. Vasan previously served as President and CEO of Fountain House, founded NYC’s Health Access Equity Unit, and has held roles with Partners In Health and the WHO. He is on faculty at Columbia University and practices at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Vasan will teach a Spring 1 course in the Department of Health Policy and Management tentatively called “Health Policy and Leadership.”

Spring 2 – Marcia Fudge, JD

Marcia Fudge, JD, served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Biden administration from March 2021 through March 2024. During her tenure, she led initiatives to increase housing supply, reduce homelessness, end discriminatory practices in the housing market, and ensure compliance with fair housing rules.

Before joining the Cabinet, Fudge served for 13 years as the U.S. representative for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District. She was known for working across political ideologies to address the needs of her district and for chairing the Congressional Black Caucus.

Fudge began her political career as the mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, where she addressed issues including abandoned property, predatory lending, and the foreclosure crisis, and brought new residential development to the city.

She will teach a Spring 2 course in the Department of Health Policy and Management tentatively called “Health Policy and Leadership.”

Recent fellows

Miro Weinberger

Miro Weinberger served as Mayor of Burlington, VT (2012–2024), focusing on housing, racial equity, the opioid crisis, and climate action. Under his leadership, Burlington achieved 100% renewable energy generation and reduced community emissions by 18% through a Net Zero by 2030 plan. He implemented three housing action plans, removing regulatory barriers, expanding affordable housing, and increasing production by 400%. Weinberger also prioritized harm reduction in response to the opioid crisis and led Burlington’s COVID-19 vaccination and recovery efforts. A Yale and Harvard Kennedy School graduate, he now teaches ‘Leadership on the Front Lines of America’s Public Health Crisis’ at Harvard.

He taught a Fall 2024 course in the Department of Health Policy and Management called “Leadership on the Front Lines of America’s Public Health Crisis.”

Rochelle Walensky

Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH ’01, is a Harvard Chan School alum who served as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-23), professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School (2012-2021), and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2021). Her research has focused on infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS policy, including cost-effective strategies for HIV screening, treatment, and prevention, both in the U.S. and around the globe. While at the CDC, Walensky led the nation through unprecedented times, navigating the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and facing the largest density of infectious threats likely ever seen in this country.

She led a not-for-credit discussion series for students titled, “Public Health, Policy, and Politics: A Dialogue with Dr. Rochelle Walensky” in the spring of 2024.

Awa Marie Coll-Seck

Awa Coll Seck, MD, PhD, is a former senior minister to the president of the Republic of Senegal and has twice served as Senegal’s minister of health, from 2001-2003 and from 2012-2017. She was named “Best Minister in the World” in February 2017 at the World Government Summit.

A specialist in infectious diseases, she sits on the boards of Resolve to Save Lives; AFRIVAC; GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance; Grand Challenges Canada; Exemplars in Global Health; and UNU International Institute for Global Health. She is chair of AFRIVAC, chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Senegal, and co-chair of the Lancet Commission on the Future of Health and Economic Resiliency in Africa. She also serves as president of the Scientific Committee of the Galien Forum Africa. Coll Seck previously served as executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (2004-2012) and as director of the Department of Policy, Strategy and Research of UNAIDS (1996-2001).

Coll Seck taught GHP 552, “Leadership Development in Global Health,” during Spring 2 2024.

Past Fellows

• Miro Weinberger, Mayor of Burlington, VT (2012-2024)
• Awa Marie Coll Seck, former senior minister to the president of Senegal and minister of health (2001-2003 & 2012-2017)
• Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-2023)
• Lori Lightfoot, former mayor of Chicago
• Andrew Dreyfus, former president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• Bill de Blasio, former mayor of New York City
• Kim Janey, former mayor of Boston
• Roman Macaya, former executive president of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund and former ambassador from Costa Rica to the United States
• Kelechi Ohiri, former special adviser to Nigeria’s minister of finance and two ministers of health and CEO of health care advisory firm HDSF
• Stephen Benjamin, former mayor of Columbia, SC
• Subramaniam Sathasivam, former minister of health of Malaysia

• Peter Shumlin, former governor of Vermont
• Jeffrey Sánchez, former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Jay Nixon, former governor of Missouri
• Joanne Kenen, executive healthcare editor, POLITICO
• Patricia García, former minister of health of Peru
• Jackie Jenkins-Scott, former president of Wheelock College and Dimock Community Health Center
• Ted Strickland, former governor of Ohio
• Steven Beshear, former governor of Kentucky
• Suraya Dalil, former minister of public health for Afghanistan
• Donna Shalala, former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services
• Somsak Chunharas, former deputy minister of health for Thailand
• Gina McCarthy, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Our team