CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) helps protect the health of our communities in a globally mobile world. As director of DGMQ, Martin (Marty) Cetron, MD is a leader in global health and migration with a focus on emerging infections, tropical diseases, and vaccine-preventable diseases in mobile populations. Dr. Cetron received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1981 and his M.D. from Tufts University in 1985. He trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington before joining the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service and becoming a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service (PHS) in 1992.

Dr. Cetron is a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health & Kennedy School of Government’s National Preparedness Leadership Institute. For over 20 years, he has been a leader in public health emergency preparedness and response activities at CDC, including high profile international emergency responses to emerging infectious disease outbreaks. [Anthrax bioterrorism 2001, SARS epidemic 2003, U.S. Monkeypox 2003, Hurricane Katrina/Rita 2005, H1N1 influenza pandemic 2009, Haiti Earthquake Cholera Responses 2010-11, Japan Tsunami-Radiation 2011, H7N9 2013, and MERS CoV 2012-3, Coronavirus Response (2013), Unaccompanied Children Central America (2014), Ebola Response (2014-16 and 2018-19) & Zika Virus (2015)].

Dr. Cetron holds faculty appointments in the Division of Infectious Disease at the Emory University School of Medicine and the Department of Epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Cetron has been a consultant to several WHO Expert Committees: the US delegation intergovernmental negotiations of IHR 2005, the Pandemic Influenza and IHR Review Panel 2010, and the IHR emergency committee roster of independent experts. He was elected in 2016 for a fellowship with IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America) & ASTMH (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene).

Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Feld graduated from medical school at the University of Toronto in 1997 and then completed residency programs in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Following his clinical training, Dr. Feld focused on developing skills in clinical and laboratory research in liver disease, with a particular interest in viral hepatitis. He completed a clinical research fellowship in hepatology and then spent 4 years doing clinical and laboratory research in the Liver Diseases Branch of the National Institutes of Health. He received a Masters of Public Health with a focus on Infectious Diseases as a Sommer Scholar from Johns Hopkins University and has worked extensively abroad, maintaining a strong interest in International Health. Currently, Dr. Feld is clinician-scientist based at the Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

Lana Ruvolo Grasser is a second-year pre-doctoral candidate in Translational Neuroscience at Wayne State University (WSU). She is a 2017 graduate of Michigan State University with a BSc in Neuroscience and a minor in dance. Currently, she works with Dr. Arash Javanbakht at the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic at WSU. Her research focuses on trauma-related disorders, their neurobiology, and treatment, specifically in the context of the Syrian refugee crisis. Lana is passionate about the use of alternative therapies for treatment of PTSD and anxiety in this population, most notably Dance/Movement Therapy.

Through her work, she hopes to demonstrate the efficacy of these interventions as well as the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Lana is grateful to the Syrian community in Southeastern Michigan with which she works and has learnt so much from. She strives to make community engagement and application a top priority in all of her research activities. At the STARC lab, Lana is also working on a neuroimaging study of cognitive context in fear conditioning and extinction learning, and a study of augmented reality exposure therapy for small animal phobias. Outside of the lab, Lana enjoys travelling, scuba diving, practicing yoga, and, of course, dancing.

Zozeya Hassan is mother of three daughters and survived from ISIS after two years in captivity. She was captured with her two daughters and husband in August 2014 by ISIS in Shingal/Mosul Iraq. After two days she was separated from her husband and father-in-law. She describes her harrowing story as that of other Yazidi women of torture and sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS. She was sold four times as a sex slave in Syria and Iraq and was forced to convert her religion. After two years she was bought back from ISIS by her family, and then brought to Canada by UNHCR. In August 2016 she was resettled to Canada as a goverment assisted refugee. Currently she is trying to rebuild her life and take care of her children. Her goal is to learn English and go to college. Unfortunately, she has no information about her husband’s fate.

Arash Javanbakht MD, is a psychiatrist and serves as the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC). His clinical work is mainly focused on anxiety and trauma related disorders, and PTSD. He often helps civilians and first responders with PTSD. His clinic utilizes pharmacotherapy (medication), psychotherapy, exercise, and lifestyle modification to help patients achieve their full capacity for a fulfilling life.

His research is also focused on anxiety disorders and trauma. Several research studies at the STARC examine the impact of exposure to war trauma in adults and children Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and biological and psychological factors of risk and resilience. This research examines genetic and inflammation correlates of trauma as well. Also, use of art, dance and movement, and yoga and mindfulness in helping refugee families overcome stress.

STARC also works neurobiology of psychotherapy, and on utilization of augmented reality and telemedicine to develop a method of providing in vivo treatment for anxiety disorders and PTSD. Dr. Javanbakht also has a special interest in the “personal meaning” of trauma: how does personal interpretation of a traumatic experience affect the way an individual is affected by it.

Dr. Javanbakht’s work has been featured on the CNN, Aljazeera, NPR, Washington Post, Smithsonian, PBS, American Psychiatric Association Press Briefing, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and tens of other media outlets.

Dr. Marano is an epidemiologist at CDC. Her work has focused on prevention and control of infectious diseases. In August 2015, Dr. Marano was appointed Chief of the Immigrant, Refugee, and Migrant Health Branch, which works to promote and improve the health of immigrants, refugees and migrants; and prevent the importation of infectious diseases and other conditions of public health significance into the U.S.A native New Yorker‚ Dr. Marano trained in veterinary medicine at the University of Georgia and in public health at Emory University. She has co-authored over 60 publications in the peer-reviewed literature‚ and is an Associate Editor for CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal.

Katherine McKenzie, MD, FACP is a faculty member at Yale School of Medicine and the Director of the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine (YCAM). She has practiced at medicine at Yale for over 20 years. She teaches undergraduates, students and residents, and is a member of Yale Refugee Health Program. She is a physician advocate for underserved patients, social justice and human rights.

Since 2007, Dr. McKenzie has been the director of the YCAM, where she performs medical forensic evaluations and testifies as an expert witness for asylum seekers referred by law schools, human rights organizations, and immigration attorneys. She works with Physicians for Human Rights and HealthRight International to educate clinicians about asylum medicine. She has written reviews, clinical cases and opinion pieces on asylum medicine in publications including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the British Medical Journal, the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Time magazine and CNN, among others.

At Yale, she received the Leonard B. Tow Award for Humanism in Medicine and the Faculty Award for Achievement in Clinical Care. She has been named a “Top Doctor” for many years by Connecticut Magazine. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. McKenzie earned a bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She received her medical degree from Boston University and completed her residency in internal medicine at University Hospital in Boston. She has been certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine since 1995.

Kimahli has a wide range of experience in the nonprofit sector and has spent over fifteen years advocating for social justice, youth, arts and culture. Prior to Rainbow Railroad, held Director level positions at the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Dignitas International, the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival and the YMCA. In addition to holding other director-level positions with non-profit organizations in Toronto and Ottawa.

Kimahli holds a CFRE with a Bacc.Social Science (Political Science) from the University of Ottawa. Among career highlights he helped launch the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network’s legal challenge to Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law, led community engagement initiatives including the Human Rights Networking Zone at multiple international AIDS conferences and developed a monitoring and evaluation framework on legal advocacy. Since joining Rainbow Railroad as Executive Director, he guided the organization through its first strategic plan, and led the Rainbow Railroad to its transformational growth, which led to successful interventions in Chechnya and Egypt. He and Rainbow Railroad have been recognized with several awards, including the International Lesbian & Gay Travel Association’s Pathfinder Award, the Mark S Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies 2018 Award, and the 2018 Inspire Award for Community Organization of the Year.

Kimahli was listed in Out Magazine Out 100 profile of influential LGBT people and will be accepting an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Victoria in November.

Maya Prabhu, MD, LLB, is an Assistant Professor with the Law and Psychiatry Division at the Yale School of Medicine. Her research and clinical areas of interest include forensic psychiatry, displaced populations, and issues at the nexus of health and international law. Dr. Prabhu obtained her medical degree from Dalhousie Medical School and completed Adult Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry training at Yale. Between medical school and residency, she graduated from the McGill Faculty of Law and practiced law with Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York and the United Nations Independent Inquiry into the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program. Dr. Prabhu has worked extensively with attorneys and health care providers on the management of secondary stress syndromes related to trauma-based work.

Born in Ottawa and a graduate of both the University of Toronto and Oxford, Bob Rae was first elected to the Parliament of Canada as the Member of Parliament for Broadview in a by-election in October, 1978. He was re-elected in 1979 and 1980, and resigned his seat in 1982 when elected Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the riding of York South in 1982, and re-elected in 1985,1987, 1990, and 1995. After more than a decade as a partner at Goodmans LLP Bob returned to federal politics as the MP for Toronto Centre in 2008, first in a by-election and then in general elections in that year and 2011. Bob resigned his seat in 2013 to become senior partner at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, where he works with First Nations as legal counsel, advisor, and negotiator.

Bob served as Ontario’s 21st Premier from 1990 to 1995 and Interim Federal Leader of the Liberal Party in 2011- 2013. He was named Queen’s Counsel in 1984, appointed to the Privy Council of Canada in 1998, named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000, received the Order of Ontario in 2004 and Companion of the Order of Canada in 2015. In October, 2017 Bob was appointed as Special Envoy to Myanmar by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In addition to his legal practice, Bob teaches at the University of Toronto as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy and Governance (SPPG), and as Distinguished Professor at Victoria College. He is a Fellow at the Forum of Federations, and consults internationally on governance issues. He has also written five books and two major reports, on the Air India bombing and higher education in Ontario. He writes and speaks regularly on public issues and also does ADR work with ADR Chambers.

Gabriel Schirvar is the USRAP Program Assistant for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and has contributed extensively to IOM’s LGBTI-related work. Since joining, they have authored three units of IOM’s comprehensive training package, “Working with LGBTI Persons in Forced Displacement and the Humanitarian Context.” The units prepare staff members to: (1) utilize an intersectional approach when identifying needs, (2) address LGBTI-specific health concerns, and (3) protect LGBTI survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Gabriel has also created training packages on migrant children and migrants with disabilities. Gabriel has traveled internationally to LGBTI facilitate training for IOM staff in addition to helping develop and lead two workshops for facilitators. Gabriel holds a master’s degree in Global Public Health from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Dr. Nazneen Uddin is a family physician based in Oakland, California. She has worked at the San Francisco General Hospital’s refugee clinic doing newcomer screenings. Over the years, Dr. Uddin has also worked internationally as a volunteer physician with various NGOs providing medical care to refugees living in Malaysia, Jordan, and most recently Bangladesh for the Rohingya.

Wendy has led KIND since 2009, and brings extensive immigration policy experience to the organization. Prior to KIND, she served as Chief Counsel on Immigration Policy in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. She held prior immigration policy positions with organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Women’s Refugee Commission, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the National Council of La Raza. She has also written numerous articles, reports and cutting-edge op-eds on the plight of unaccompanied children.

Wendy has received a number of awards and honors for her work on immigration rights including 2017 Williams College Bicentennial Medal Award; 2016 Keepers of the American Dream Honoree by the National Immigration Forum; Women Inspiring Change 2015 Honoree at Harvard Law School’s 2nd Annual International Women’s Day Celebration; Foreign Policy’s Leading Global Thinker of 2014; Nominated as one of two NGO representatives to participate in Seminar XXI Program on U.S. Foreign Policy by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Defense University (2002); Honored by Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center for work on behalf of women and children detainees (2002); Child Advocacy National Certification of Recognition, American Bar Association, in recognition of contributions advancing the welfare of children (2001); Human Rights Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association, in recognition of the work of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children on behalf of women and child asylum seekers (1999).

Wendy earned a joint law degree and master’s degree in international relations from American University in Washington, DC, and a bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Massachusetts.