Speaker Profile

Amanda McClelland is the Senior Vice President of Prevent Epidemics and Resolve to Save Lives at Vital Strategies where she leads a team working to accelerate progress to make the world safer from the next epidemic. 

Amanda is a notable expert in international public health management, especially in emergency health, epidemic control, mass casualty in low resource settings, disease prevention and response operations. Her achievements include coordinating frontline Ebola response during the 2014 Ebola epidemic, for which she received the 2015  Florence Nightingale Medal for exceptional courage, and publishing a landmark study on the impact of unsafe burial practices, which confirmed the live-saving benefits of a comprehensive approach to Ebola prevention. She brings this expertise to the Prevent Epidemics initiative, prioritizing and planning interventions and support in countries and regions at risk from future epidemics and strengthening action packages in prevention, detection and response to epidemics. In addition to providing technical assistance, directly or through partners, Amanda’s team mobilizes resources to support preparedness, and works to galvanize political will to address gaps in epidemic preparedness.  

Prior to joining Vital Strategies, Amanda served as the Global Emergency Health Advisor for the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC). Amanda earned her Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University in Queensland, Australia and her Bachelor of Nursing from Queensland University of Technology.