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In This Issue
Vol. 25 Issue 16
FiReSide Conversation
“COVID-19: Lessons on the Virus from a Top NYC Epidemiologist”
A virtual discussion and Q&A with Dr. Megan Coffee
With host Evan Anderson
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Introduction
Pundits like to refer to coronavirus as a “black swan” event. Essentially a more elegant, nightly news way of saying, “We didn’t see this coming, and we have no idea what to expect.”
But when the future of your business, your health, your family’s health, and your financial health depends on knowing what to expect, black swans, bless their souls, are not a helpful metaphor.
Just like all of you, we here at SNS have recently been obsessively focused on how to navigate this time of extreme global uncertainty. As a team, we’re used to operating remotely. But our family is certainly bound up in our business. Just ask any of the other four Andersons who help bring SNS and FiRe into existence each year.
The good news for SNS members is that we take this all extremely seriously. The continued success of our – and your – business and families depends on knowing as well as possible what to expect. And while we may not be able to gather in person just yet, the SNS and FiRe communities are an enormous asset for knowledge, helping all of us anticipate the future of technology and the global economy, regardless of our quarantine locations around the world.
A few weeks ago, we hosted the first in a new monthly virtual event series we’re calling FiReSide. Last month’s focus was “China + COVID-19: Navigating the Two Biggest Business Issues of Your Time” – a set of conversations with the Honorable John Demers, the DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General for National Security, on intellectual property theft and nation-sponsored spycraft; and Dr. Megan Coffee, an epidemiologist who has made her name using AI to model and track infectious-disease outbreak and who is currently working on the front lines of this issue, treating coronavirus cases as a clinical doctor in New York City.
This week’s report brings you our full conversation with Dr. Coffee. We hope this will help you better understand the pandemic – and what to expect from secondary waves of infection – as we all participate in a global experiment in relaunching the economy.
New York City, in its density and complexity, offers a high-speed look at what the rest of the world can expect. And an extremely valuable set of lessons for navigating outbreaks – and secondary outbreaks – globally.
We’re also sharing this in the hope that it will show you the value of participating in FiReSide events. Bleeding-edge insights into what to expect and how to plan for the future in a time of worldwide unprecedented uncertainty. A chance to speak personally with global experts, posing individual questions that will help you, your family, and your business endeavors navigate this time. Virtual conversations and real-time networking with the global SNS community.
This week’s issue provides a unique glimpse into the FiReSide event series. Most of our future conversations will be shared only with those who attend – just as the conversation you’re about to read is only one segment of our last event.
We are also delighted to announce today that our next FiReSide conversation, “COVID-19: The Way Out,” will take place Thursday, May 21, from 2:30-4:30 PT / 5:30-7:30 ET, featuring a conversation with longtime SNS member and epidemiologist Dr. Larry Brilliant.
Some of you have seen Larry at past FiRe events, where he’s described his successful work with WHO to eliminate smallpox and warned us of the possibility and risks of a then-future global pandemic.
We hope that you find the insights in this conversation with Dr. Coffee fruitful – and that you’ll join us (virtually) for our next FiReSide event.
– Berit Anderson
