Nancy Messonnier, MD, Executive Director for Pandemic Prevention and Health Systems at the Skoll Foundation, began her public health career in 1995 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and held a number of leadership posts across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She joined the Skoll Foundation in 2021 to lead its pandemics and health system strengthening work globally.
In this video, Messonnier reflects on her first experience with a large infectious disease outbreak in 1996 and talks about how the current global pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to invest in the coordinated public health infrastructure that will prevent the next pandemic. “I think people talk about not letting a crisis go to waste with the idea that when the public's focus is on that crisis, that's the opportunity to really get a commitment to long-term change,” says Messonnier.
