Michéle Samarya-Timm is a public health professional with an MA in Security Studies, Homeland Security and Defense from the United States Naval Postgraduate School and a BS and an MA in Health Education from Montclair State University. Licensed as a Masters Certified Health Education Specialist and a New Jersey Health Officer, she has 20+ years experience as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist and has been working with the Somerset County Health Department’s Consumer and Environmental Health Team since 2009. In her public health capacity, she has extensive involvement in emergency preparedness and response, food safety and outbreak prevention, public health analysis and health communications. She is recipient of a Special Citation from the FDA Commissioner for her educational work to reduce foodborne illness in the United States, and has also received recognition for her efforts in maximizing collaborative efforts between federal, state and local regulators. Her most recent research explores the impacts of inter-governmental communications on foodborne outbreak threats and response.