Dr. Mike Osterholm will be the September 27th 
Guest Speaker
Dr. Mike Osterholm will be the guest speaker at the Full Committee Meeting dinner on September 27th, at Calvary Lutheran Church located at 6817 Antrim Road in Edina. Dr. Osterholm is director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), associate director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), and professor in the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. In June 2005 Dr. Osterholm was appointed by Michael Levitt, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to the newly established National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity.
From 2001 through early 2005, Dr. Osterholm, in addition to his role at CIDRAP, served as a Special Advisor to then–HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on issues related to bioterrorism and public health preparedness. He was also appointed to the Secretary's Advisory Council on Public Health Preparedness. On April 1, 2002, Dr. Osterholm was appointed by Thompson to be his representative on the interim management team to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With the appointment of Dr. Julie Gerberding as director of the CDC on July 3, 2002, Dr. Osterholm was asked by Thompson to assist Dr. Gerberding on his behalf during the transition period. He filled that role through January 2003.
Recently Dr. Osterholm was interviewed regarding the announcement that the CDC is going to add a quarantine station at the Minneapolis airport to help prevent the spread of a potential pandemic like the bird flu. "I actually applaud the CDC on this," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. But he added: "We should have done this a long time ago. Once someone leaves a plane in this country, they get lost into the veneer of humans wherever they go."
We are very excited to have Dr. Osterholm speak to our group, his background and extensive experience should provide for one of the most interesting and informative full committee dinners yet!
As always, your questions and ideas are welcomed and encouraged. The evening social hour and dinner starts at 6 PM with a $7 donation for adults, $4 for students. SD 41 business will begin at 7 PM with Dr. Osterholm introduced at 7:30 PM. The event is open to the public. Please call the SD 41 Office at 952/848-4272 or email sd41gop@hotmail.com to place your dinner reservation by Saturday, September 24th.
