ABOUT US
Vision
A Nation of resilient communities with a competent health workforce prepared to respond and mitigate all-hazards disasters.
Mission
The NCDMPH leads federal efforts to develop and propagate core curricula, education, training and research in all-hazards disaster health.
Background
The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) was established in 2008 under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21, paragraph 38. The Center serves the U.S. Government as an academic home for the development and dissemination of core skills, knowledge and abilities, and for research on education and training strategies in the fields of disaster medicine and public health. The work of the NCDMPH encompasses multiple specialties, including domestic medical preparedness and response, international health, global disaster, humanitarian medicine, public health assistance and military medicine.
The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health serves as a critical Federal education enabler across departments and agencies through standardization of core curricula and competencies. The NCDMPH is uniquely authorized to communicate and coordinate this learning strategy to state, local and tribal entities, academia and the private sector. Through its efforts, the NCDMPH seeks to prepare the nation for natural and man-made disasters and other catastrophic public health events.
The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health is hosted by the Department of Defense at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) -- the Nation's only federal health sciences university-- in Bethesda, Maryland, and receives oversight and guidance through the Federal Education and Training Interagency Group for Public Health and Medical Disaster Preparedness and Response (FETIG).
Staff
Kenneth Schor, DO, MPH, Acting Director
Kandra Strauss-Riggs, MPH, Joint Program Coordinator
Robin Lowe, Web Developer
Kristen Brown, Administrative Assistant
David Berry, Communications Associate
Biographies
Dr. Kenneth W. Schor DO, MPH, Acting Director
Dr. Schor is a federal civilian faculty member of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) having retired in May 2009 after 27 years active duty service in the US Navy Medical Corps. His appointments at the nation's federal health sciences university include: Acting Director of the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health; Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics; and Deputy Public Health Emergency Officer. He is the immediate past Associate Program Director, National Capital Consortium, General Preventive Medicine Residency.
Dr. Schor graduated cum laude from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA; received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; was a Distinguished Graduate of the National Defense University's Industrial College of the Armed Forces with a degree of Master of Science in National Resources Policy; and received a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences with a concentration in Health Services Administration.
His graduate medical education includes a non-categorical medicine internship at Naval Medical Center, San Diego; completion of a Family Practice Residency at Naval Hospital, Jacksonville; and completion of a General Preventive Medicine Residency at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine 2000-2010.
Dr. Schor's prior duty stations include Flight Surgeon, Patrol Squadron 24; Family Practice Staff and Medical Director at Naval Hospital, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Clinic Director, Arlington Annex Branch Clinic; Amphibious Task Force Surgeon and Officer-in-Charge of Fleet Surgical Team 6; Preventive Medicine Officer for Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; and Medical Director for Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Response, and International Health Policy for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations.
Dr. Schor's professional interests include Global Health, Disaster Response, International Humanitarian Assistance, Post-Conflict Stabilization and Recovery, Civil-Military Coordination, and Travel Medicine.
Kandra Strauss-Riggs MPH, Joint Program Coordinator
Ms. Strauss-Riggs is developing the academic joint program of the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health in collaboration with Dr. Kenneth Schor and the entire Center team.
Prior to joining the National Center, Ms. Strauss-Riggs served as Program Director for Research at the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) where she coordinated the growth of A.S.P.E.N.'s complex research program in nutrition support. Earlier in her career, Ms. Strauss-Riggs served as a Project Coordinator with the National Education Association's Health Information Network where she implemented and evaluated programs serving the health education needs of the NEA's 3.2 million members.
Ms. Strauss-Riggs has a bachelor's degree in sociology/anthropology from Guilford College and a Master's in Public Health degree from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.