Dr. Pietro (Peter) D. Marghella, DHSc., MSc., MA, MPH(C), CEM, FACCP most recently served as the Special Advisor for Medical and Public Health Response and Recovery to the Governor of Puerto Rico. Previous assignments included Director of Medical Plans and Preparedness for the International Medical Corps and the Director of the New York State Office of Emergency Management. A retired Senior Officer in the U.S. Navy, he served as a Plans, Operations, and Medical Intelligence officer, ending his military career as the Director of Medical Contingency Operations for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His previous assignments include Chief of Medical Plans and Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (with additional duty as the Medical Plans and Response Advisor to POTUS aboard the National Airborne Command Center [NAOC/”Night Watch”]); Chief of Medical Plans and Intelligence for the US Pacific Command; and Chief of Medical Plans and Intelligence for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (including assignment as the Navy’s RED CELL Medical Officer).
Peter holds a Doctorate in Health Sciences from A. T. Still University of Health Sciences, and Masters Degrees in Health Services Administration from Central Michigan University and National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. Peter was an Executive Fellow in the Inaugural Class of the National Preparedness Leadership Institute at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a Professorial Lecturer in Disaster Management for Healthcare Organizations at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and an Adjunct Professor in the Doctor of Health Science program at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). He has held appointments as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; Adjunct Instructor at the School of Public Health at Kent State University; Adjunct Faculty at the Tulane University School of Public Health; Visiting Faculty at the Georgetown University Graduate School of Health Services Administration; and Visiting Faculty for the Program on Terrorism and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies.
Peter is credentialed as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) in the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and is a Fellow in the American College of Contingency Planners (FACCP), which he Co-Founded and served as its first President. Peter has published more than a hundred book chapters, monologues, articles, and presentations on medical planning, incident management, and the role of health service support in large-scale emergencies and disasters. His national-level planning credentials include the authoring of the Nation’s first Catastrophic Incident Response Plan (Response to Domestic Nuclear Terrorism) and the National Smallpox Response Plan. He is a frequent speaker at national- and international-level conferences and symposia addressing catastrophic casualty events and the threats of terrorism, describing strategic initiatives for the medical and public health aspects of incident management.
