WASHINGTON (Jan. 6, 2021) - As the country prepares for a potential new wave of COVID-19 cases and deaths over the coming months, the George Washington University has the following experts available to discuss legal, economic and political aspects of the pandemic, including vaccine distribution, vaccine injury litigation, the impact on vulnerable populations, fraud and corruption and relief legislation.
To schedule an interview with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected] or 202-994-6460.
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
Dayna Bowen Matthew is the Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law at GW Law. She is a leader in public health and civil rights law who focuses on racial disparities in health care and is the author of the book “Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial inequality in American Health Care.” A member of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group, Dean Matthew is available to discuss how COVID-19 has disproportionately affected communities of color and whether members of these groups should receive priority in the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 Vaccine Litigation
Renée Gentry is the director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic and a professorial lecturer in law at GW Law, where she teaches disability rights law. She founded a law firm which specializes in vaccine injury litigation and is one of the leading experts on vaccine injury litigation in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. She can talk about safety concerns related to the COVID-19 vaccine, issues related to the cost of the vaccine and payouts for vaccine-related injuries.
Peter H. Meyers is a professor emeritus at GW Law and the former director of the law school's Federal and Appellate Clinic and Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic. He previously served as chairman of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines Work Group.. He can speak about the issue of mandatory vaccinations, the COVID-19 vaccine injury compensation program and other legal issues involving the COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 and Vulnerable Populations
Joan S. Meier is a professor of clinical law and director of the National Family Violence Law Center at GW Law. In 2003, she founded the nonprofit Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project to provide pro bono appeals in domestic violence cases. Her major study, “Child Custody Outcomes in Cases Involving Parental Alienation and Abuse Allegations,” was completed in 2019. She can address how COVID-19 is affecting families, particularly in the area of domestic violence.
Jessica K. Steinberg is an associate professor of clinical law and director of the Prisoner and Reentry Clinic at GW Law, which successfully advocated groundbreaking expansions to the compassionate release and good-time credits systems in Washington, DC. An expert on access to justice, court reform, the delivery of legal services, parole and offender reentry, she can discuss how COVID-19 is impacting the prison population and early release of prisoners due to the pandemic.
Paulina N. Vera is a professorial lecturer in law at GW Law, where she supervises GW Law Immigration Clinic students and provides legal representation to asylum-seekers and respondents facing deportation in immigration court. She previously taught Immigration Law I and served as the only immigration staff attorney at the Maryland-based nonprofit CASA. She can discuss how immigration law has been impacted by COVID-19 and her experiences providing legal representation during the pandemic.
COVID-19 Issues of Fraud and Corruption
Jessica Tillipman is an assistant dean and a professorial lecturer in Law at GW Law, where she teaches a Government Contracts Anti-Corruption and Compliance Seminar that focuses on anti-corruption, ethics and compliance issues in government procurement. She is available to discuss fraud and corruption related to the pandemic and issues of transparency and oversight related to the allocation of COVID-19 funds.
Christopher R. Yukins is the Lynn David Research Professor in Government Procurement Law and co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at GW Law. For several years, he was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he handled trials and appeals involving big protests and contract claims against the U.S. government. He can address fraud and corruption related to the procurement of COVID-19 supplies and how the pandemic will affect government buying in the future.
COVID-19 Relief Legislation
Casey Burgat is the director of the master’s in legislative affairs at the GW Graduate School of Political Management. He is an expert on congressional procedure and can shed light on the process of crafting and passing pandemic-related legislation.
Quardricos Driskell is an adjunct professor at the GW Graduate School of Political Management. He currently serves as the legislative and political affairs manager for the American Urological Association and is an expert on the inner workings of health policymaking in Congress.
Lara Brown is the director of the GW Graduate School of Political Management. She served in President William J. Clinton’s administration and can speak to the ways President-elect Biden and the executive branch can take action against the virus and influence COVID-19 policy.
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