Heather Roth is the Immunization Branch Chief at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In this position, she develops strategic direction for and oversees operations and management of the state's immunization program. Heather holds a Masters degree in International Human Rights and a Certificate in Global Health Affairs from University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies as well as a Bachelors degree in Political Science and French from the University of Notre Dame. A Colorado native, Heather’s previous experience includes program management for the Colorado Immunization Information System and the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition. She is immediate past president of the American Immunization Registry Association and currently serves as Chair of the Association of Immunization Managers.

Aimee Pugh Bernard, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology and dedicated educator at the University of Colorado Anschutz medical campus. Aimee teaches immunology to students all across the CU Anschutz campus and is a co-Director for the Colorado Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CCTSI) ‘Communicating Your Science to the Public’ Workshop series. Aimee is also a pro-science advocate and regularly testifies at the Colorado state legislature in support of pro-science legislation that strengthens public health. In all her roles, Aimee strives to serve as a positive influence on education, public health policy, and science communication.

Dr. Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP is a distinguished public health scientist specializing in the evaluation of health programs, policies, and interventions. As the CEO of Vital Statistics Consulting, she leads a data science consultancy committed to excellence and evidence-based approaches.

Dr. Steier is the founder of Unbiased Science, a globally recognized science communication platform that has reached millions of people worldwide. Through this influential platform, she tackles a diverse range of health topics that impact our daily lives, translating complex scientific concepts into accessible information for all audiences.

Her commitment to science literacy extends to her role as Executive Director of The Science Literacy Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health and science literacy while empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their well-being.

Dr. Steier's academic credentials include a Master of Public Health in Evaluative Sciences from SUNY-Stony Brook University and a Doctor of Public Health from the City University of New York's Graduate Center. She has further enhanced her expertise with a Certificate in Public Relations from Cornell University and specialized training in Patient Safety and COVID-19 Contact Tracing from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Rachel Herlihy, MD, MPH is the State Epidemiologist and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Dr. Herlihy directs medical and epidemiologic activities for the Department including communicable disease reporting, surveillance, and investigation efforts. She led Colorado's epidemiologic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Herlihy represents the Department in a variety of settings including legislative and executive hearings, as a lead media spokesperson, and with various technical and lay audiences. She has been with the Department since 2011 and has been Colorado's State Epidemiologist since 2017.

Rachel earned her MD and BS in Bacteriology, and Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin. She completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Virginia and a preventive medicine residency at Johns Hopkins University including an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Previously, Rachel was the Deputy State Epidemiologist for Utah, and the Deputy Director for the Department of Defense's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Program in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dixie Weber, MSN, RN is a dedicated advocate for women’s health, recognized with the 2o2o Distinguished Professional Service Award from the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nursing. Her work focuses on improving healthcare access, maternal health outcomes, and child health initiatives across the country. Ten of her twenty-five years of experience were spent in Denver, where she advanced models of care and improved outcomes at Children’s Hospital and the University of Colorado. As a public health consultant specializing in perinatal and women’s healthcare, Ms. Weber conducts in-depth reviews of pregnancy-related deaths in Washington State, using the data to identify trends and drive improvements in evidence based practices. Her recommendations from the maternal mortality review program inform state and national legislative initiatives aimed at enhancing outcomes for mothers and children nationwide. In addition to her consultative role, Ms. Weber collaborates with hospitals and health systems nationwide on performance improvement projects to evaluate the quality of perinatal services. She holds a dual master’s degrees in health systems management and adult learning theory from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

Edem Fiadonu is a dedicated nonprofit professional with a BA in Sociology from MSU Denver in 2021. As the Community Services Navigator at The Fax, she manages the food bank and diaper pantry, provides resource navigation, and assists individuals with applications for programs like SNAP, LEAP, Medicaid, WIC, and rental assistance. She also helps plan community resource fairs, including last year's event that served nearly 1,100 people with vaccines, backpacks, shoes, and vital community resources from partner organizations. With a strong background in sociology and nonprofit work, she is committed to creating accessible support systems for those in need.

Ricardo Gonzalez-Fisher, MD, MPH, FACS was born in Canton, Ohio, and moved to Mexico with his family at the age of 3 years old. As an immigrant in Mexico, he became a Surgical Oncologist with significant experience in various roles, including senior leadership, academia, team building and research on issues related to cancer incidence, treatment, and survivorship. In 2012, Dr. Gonzalez-Fisher moved to Colorado and obtained a master’s degree in public health and is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for Bioethics Research in Monterrey, Mexico. Since 2016 Dr Gonzalez-Fisher has served as a public health professional at Servicios de La Raza managing the Ventanilla de Salud program at the Mexican Consulate in Denver, actively participating in COVID-19 education, testing and vaccination for underserved Latino communities across the State of Colorado. Ricardo is a PACT community member and participates in several NIH initiatives at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Center, including the development of a Community Clinical Trials Advisory board.

Aislin Neufeldt (she) is a Sociology M.A., trans organizer, and queer studies scholar and writer. She is the Advocacy and Education Manager for Rocky Mountain Equality, where she has led efforts around vaccine promotions and uptake with a focus on reaching LGBTQ+ people, leading the CO collaborative for the CDC Foundation's Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health (STRETCH), and expanding access to LGBTQ+ affirming care in northern Colorado.

Diana Herrero, MS is a public health professional with more than 21 years of experience in legislative and regulatory policy, immunization, health equity, disease control and emergency preparedness program management, and strategic planning. From 2020 - 2023, she led Colorado’s COVID-19 response. Diana is the Deputy Division Director of Disease Control and Public Health Response at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

Sean O'Leary, MD, MPH is Professor of Pediatric Diseases at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He is the director of the Colorado Pediatric Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN), also known as COCONet (Colorado Children’s Outcomes Network). His clinical interests include vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases.

David Higgins, MD, MPH is a general pediatrician, preventive medicine specialist, and health services researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU AMC). He practices pediatrics at the Child Health Clinic at the Children's Hospital Colorado. He has experience as a community pediatrician in urban and rural communities in Colorado and Montana. Dr. Higgins is also a vaccine delivery researcher at ACCORDS (Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science) on the CU AMC. Dr. Higgins' research focuses on improving the health of children, adolescents, and their communities through pragmatic interventions to enhance vaccine delivery, communication, and confidence. He teaches pediatrics and preventive medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is also an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, advocating for the health of children, adolescents, and their communities. Dr. Higgins is an experienced speaker and educator on practical approaches to improving vaccine confidence and delivery. Away from these roles, you will find him coaching youth soccer, traveling, or enjoying all the outdoor adventures Colorado offers with his wife and two children.

Jennifer Reich, Ph.D. is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the University Honors and Leadership Program at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research examines how individuals and families weigh information and strategize their interactions with the state and service providers in the context of public policy, particularly as they relate to healthcare and welfare. She is author of two award-winning books, Fixing Families: Parents, Power, and the Child Welfare System and Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines, and is editor of the books, Reproduction and Society and State of Families, as well as the NYU Press book series, Health, Society, and Inequality. Her work has been featured in many news outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, and Newsweek, and on the Netflix show, Bill Nye Saves the World.

Judith C. Shlay, MD, MSPH is the Associate Director of the Public Health Institute at Denver Health, the Medical Director of the Immunization and Travel Clinic at Denver Health, and a Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She has been working on various programs in public health for over 35 years. Dr. Shlay has been the principal investigator for a number of projects focusing on health promotion and disease prevention, HIV-related metabolic and neurologic disorders, immunization delivery, reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, substance misuse, teen pregnancy prevention, and tobacco prevention. She is the medical director for the Denver Health Center for Addiction Medicine. In addition to her public health work, Dr. Shlay is a primary care provider through Denver Health’s Ambulatory Care Services Department.

Leaf Van Boven, PhD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. He directs the Environment, Decision, Judgment, and Identity (EDJI) lab and is Co-Director of the Center for Creative Climate Communication and Behavior Change (C3BC). He earned a B.S. from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He is a distinguished fellow of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Van Boven’s research integrates social, environmental, and political psychology. Professor Van Boven has published more than 100 papers and has been continuously funded by the National Science Foundation.