Jessica Malaty Rivera is an infectious disease epidemiologist internationally recognized and science communicator. She has dedicated the last 15 years of her career to emerging infectious disease surveillance, public health policy, and vaccine advocacy. Her specialty is in translating complex scientific concepts into impactful, judgement-free, and accessible information for a diverse audience. From 2020-2021, she served as the Science Communication Lead for The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic. In 2021, Jessica was named one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune Magazine for her work on COVID-19 research and data communication and in 2022, Jessica was named of the Top 50 Leaders in Digital Health by Rock Health.

Currently, she is a Research Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator, a Researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, and a Senior Science Communication Advisor at the deBeaumont Foundation. In between her day jobs and being a full time mother to three little kids, she also dedicates several hours a week to promoting science literacy and debunking misinformation on social media.

Jessica earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. She earned her Master Of Science in Biohazardous Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases from Georgetown University, School of Medicine. Jessica is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.