Kenneth Bernard

Rear Admiral Kenneth Bernard (USPHS, Ret.) served in the George W. Bush White House from 2002-2005 as Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and as Assistant Surgeon General. In that position he was the senior official in the US government in charge of biodefense policy. From 1998-2001 he was Senior Adviser for Security and Health President Clinton’s National Security Council Staff. After leaving the USG, he served as Senior Political Adviser to the Director-General of the World Health Organization. He currently works as a consultant and advisor to a number of U.S. Government agencies and private sector institutions on issues of biodefense, intelligence, pandemic preparedness and response (including SARS-CoV-2), health security, and health diplomacy. He lectures on these topics at major universities in the U.S. and overseas. From 2001-2003 he was head of the U.S. Delegation negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. His other positions have included Senior Advisor to Senator Bill Frist, Special Advisor for National Security, Intelligence and Defense to Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, International Health Attaché at the U.S. Mission to the UN in Geneva, Associate Director for Medical and Scientific Affairs in the Office of International Health, Department of Health and Human Services, and International Health Policy Adviser to the Director of the U.S. Peace Corps. He began his career as an epidemiologist and disease detective at the Centers for Disease Control. Dr Bernard is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity.