Brad Cohen
Brad Cohen is Director of the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness. Throughout his career, he has established training systems for emerging public health challenges, including HIV/AIDS services, substance abuse prevention, and tobacco awareness and prevention. In 1984, Mr. Cohen became the first executive director of the AIDS Task Force of Central New York, where he developed some of the country's first educational programs on AIDS for health care providers, first responders, law enforcement and at-risk populations, as well as services for people living with AIDS and their significant others. He served as a consultant to federal training projects on HIV and substance abuse through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, US Centers for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, and US Bureau of Child and Maternal Health.

Brad joined the Boston Public Health Commission and Boston EMS in March 2002. To date, the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness has trained over 8,000 public safety, public health and health care workers in the Metropolitan Boston area in disaster planning and response.
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John Jacob
John is the Acting Director of the Public Health Preparedness office at the Boston Public Health Commission. In that capacity, he leads all planning and coordination efforts related to bioterrorism preparedness and response, including the Boston Medical Reserve Corps.  John joined the Commission in 2003, and has worked in several different areas of emergency preparedness and response. As a Project Manager in the Communicable Disease Control Division, John coordinated all bioterrorism-related planning activities within the division and participated in the development and implementation of the City's ED syndromic surveillance system. As Senior Project Manager and subsequently Associate Director of the Public Health Preparedness Office, John was the central point of contact for all planning activities related to the Cities Readiness Initiative since the inception of the program. Prior to the Commission, John held various positions in the private sector as a project manager and strategic planner.
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