Jessica Malaty Rivera is passionate about diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Currently, she is the science communications lead at The COVID Tracking Project. The volunteer-run effort tracks the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and publishes COVID-19 data.
Since the pandemic, their data has been cited by nearly 900 academic papers, including medical journals like The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, and JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.
According to her LinkedIn page, Jessica earned a master’s in biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2011. At the University of Southern California, she graduated magna cum laude in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and disease prevention studies. She also had dual minors in natural science and Spanish.
Jessica has dedicated the last 15 years of her career as an infectious disease epidemiologist to infectious disease research, public health policy, and vaccine advocacy. Her specialty is in translating complex scientific concepts into accessible information for a diverse audience. Jessica has experience in science writing and editing, digital engagement, brand marketing, grassroots campaigns, crisis communications, regulatory milestones, and project management.
She has served as science communication lead for The COVID Tracking Project since 2020, a member of the COVID-19 Dispersed Volunteer Research Network, and an expert contributor for NBC Bay Area and CNN. Jessica has also volunteered with Global Health Corps since 2014. The organization works to mobilize a community of emerging leaders to build the movement for health equity.
She is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the Association for Women in Science, the International Society for Disease Surveillance, and the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
Follow Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS on Instagram and @jessicamalaty on Twitter.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with…
Brown and Caldwell, a leading environmental engineering and construction firm,…
Humboldt State University, one of four campuses within the California…
