Donell Harvin
Visiting Scientist
Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Departments
Department of Global Health and Population
Biography
Donell Harvin is a public health emergency and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) expert from Washington, DC, who provides analysis for MSNBC/NBC News and CNN. In his capacity as a Visiting Scientist, he helps oversee the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) preparedness and program. He has deployed with HHI on multiple occasions to Ukraine during the current war, on humanitarian missions to engage in capacity building activities related to CBRNE and public health preparedness.
Dr. Harvin serves as graduate faculty at Georgetown University, teaching disaster management, countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD), and homeland security. Often called upon to provide expert testimony and advice to the United States Congress, he also serves as a subject matter expert for several organizations, including the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, INTERPOL’s Counterterrorism/CBRNE Directorate, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and RAND Corporation’s Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC).
His public health and disaster management background spans more than 30 years and includes both operational and executive roles in public health emergency planning and response, EMS, homeland security, and domestic intelligence. He holds graduate degrees in environmental science, emergency management, and terrorism studies, as well as a Doctor of Public Health specializing in environmental epidemiology.