KINGSTON, R.I. — April 20, 2022 — From the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott was a leading voice in Rhode Island as the state attempted to respond. The former director of the state Department of Health, Alexander-Scott provided nearly daily updates to Rhode Islanders, giving them the critical information they needed, and serving as a reassuring voice during a confusing, scary time.

There were many lessons learned — and many more continue to be learned — as health care workers, public safety employees and public officials confronted the unprecedented crisis. Now, Dr. Alexander-Scott is sharing her experiences and many of the lessons leaders learned during a virtual discussion with University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Professor Kerry LaPlante.

“Who’s at the Table: A Conversation with Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott” is scheduled for April 27 at 4 p.m. Hosted by the URI Academic Health Collaborative and Interprofessional Education and Practice Initiative, the Zoom presentation will give viewers a look at the state’s response from the earliest days of the pandemic through the creation of the vaccines, and beyond.

Register for the discussion here

The discussion will focus not only on Dr. Alexander-Scott’s personal leadership, but also on all the expected and unexpected partners needed to confront perhaps the worst health crisis in the state’s history. LaPlante and Alexander-Scott will discuss the many people in the public and private sector who needed to take on new roles in a rapidly changing response team.

How did Alexander-Scott and her colleagues coordinate a new team made up of members from multiple agencies? What barriers did they have to cross? What successes and failures did the team experience that can help guide the state through the next pandemic? These questions and more will be the focus of the discussion, which will be presented via Zoom.

Dr. Alexander-Scott is a board certified infectious disease expert, who directed the Rhode Island Department of Health from April 2015 to January 2022. She earned her medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in 2001 and completed her residency at Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, N.Y. In 2005, she moved to Rhode Island to complete an infectious disease fellowship at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. In 2011, she earned a Masters of Public Health degree from the Brown University School of Public Health.