Jeff Schlegelmilch is a research scholar and the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. In this role, he oversees the operations and strategic planning of the Center. His areas of expertise include public health preparedness, community resilience, and the integration of private and public sector capabilities. Before working at Columbia, he was the Manager for the International and Non-Healthcare Business Sector for the Yale New Haven Health System Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response. He was also previously an epidemiologist and emergency planner for the Boston Public Health Commission.

Jeff Schlegelmilch has advised leaders on preparedness systems and policy at all levels of government. He is an Opinion Contributor with The Hill and is frequently utilized as a subject matter expert for numerous media outlets. He is also the author of Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty-First-Century Megadisasters and co-author of Catastrophic Incentives: Why Our Approaches To Disasters Keep Falling Short, both published by Columbia University Press.

He holds a master’s degree in public health from UMASS Amherst in Health Policy and Management and a Master’s in Business Administration from Quinnipiac University.