GFS COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall

Presented by Garrison Forest School

Date: Wednesday, February 10
Time: 7:00 p.m.

The recent development and deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine offers a glimmer of hope after a long, challenging year. However, many people have questions about whether they should be getting vaccinated, what this means for our communities and what the path forward may hold. Please join us for a special virtual town hall where experts in the fields of medicine, community health and vaccine development will address your questions and share their perspectives from the front lines of the pandemic. We are very fortunate to welcome three distinguished Garrison Forest School alumnae as part of this event

If you weren't able to join us for this event, please click below to watch the recording.

Resources From Our Panelists

In addition to sharing their expertise during the event, our panelists also shared the following resources if you would like to continue reading about the COVID-19 vaccine:

General information and updates/guidance:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC
University of Maryland Medical System COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Coronavirus - Maryland Department of Health
Bon Secours COVID-19 Monitoring Page

To find a vaccination clinic near you:

(Throughout the United States) COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC
(In Maryland) Coronavirus - Maryland Department of Health - Vaccine

Resources for families to help support your children, teens, and young adults:

Children and Teens | COVID-19 | CDC
Ensure Children's Wellbeing During COVID-19: Parental Resources |CDC

Vaccine recommendations for pregnant/nursing mothers, or those concerned about fertility:

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

About Our Panelists

Stacy Garrett-Ray ’92 MD, MPH, MBA

Dr. Garrett-Ray is the Vice President / Medical Director of the University of Maryland Medical System’s Population Health Services Organization (PHSO) and President of both the University of Maryland Quality Care Network (UMQCN) and Transform Health MD. Dr. Garrett-Ray’s responsibilities include leading the planning, development and execution of population health initiatives and innovations for multiple populations (approx. 126,000 commercial, federal, self-insured patients) with over $1 billion in medical costs.

Previously, Dr. Garrett-Ray served as the medical director of the Baltimore City Cancer Program of University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, which provided cancer screening, treatment and diagnostic services to low-income residents of Baltimore City. In 2010, Dr. Garrett-Ray was directly appointed to service as the national Deputy Director of Comprehensive Women’s Health for the Veterans Health Administration and later held other leadership positions to support VA Senior Leadership, including serving as the Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Integration. Her responsibilities included overseeing the operations of the Integrated Health Portfolio nationally for VHA with a budget of approximately ¾ of $1 billion.

She received her Bachelor of Science degree with a Biology major and Women’s Studies minor from the University of Richmond, where she was a Cigna Scholar, medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, her family medicine residency at the University of Maryland Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, where she served as chief resident. She received her MPH and MBA from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As a board-certified family physician, she continues to practice primary care in Maryland. During the pandemic, Dr. Garrett-Ray has served as the COVID-19 Incident Command Community Provider Liaison for the University of Maryland Medical System and supports resources and outreach efforts for the community. She is a proud alumna of Garrison Forest School (Class of 1992) and currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Most importantly, she is the proud mom of Dominique Ray, GFS Class of 2025.

Shivonne L. Laird ’94 PhD, MPH

Dr. Shivonne L. Laird, serves as the System Director of Community Health Impact for Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH). Dr. Laird’s service to the BSMH team includes system-wide coordination of: community benefit review/analysis; local system healthy community initiatives related to Community Health Needs Assessments and implementation plans; implementation of policies and practices for Healthcare Anchor Network framework; and creation of metrics\outcomes and research-related activities for community health.

Prior to joining BSMH, Dr. Laird served as a Program Officer for the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), responsible for strategic decision-making and high-level management and monitoring of the program, its funded projects, and program activities that advanced PCORI’s Engagement mission. She has also served as a senior advisor in the Office of Legislation of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). As a liaison between HRSA and members of Congress and their staff, her work included advising office, agency, and department senior leadership on legislative analysis, policy, and programmatic activities. She has worked in academic settings, conducting qualitative and quantitative research related to disparities in health and healthcare, and presenting results to technical and non-technical audiences. Dr. Laird’s work focused on health workforce shortages, as well as interpersonal aspects of care, such as patient-centeredness.

Dr. Laird received a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences, with a minor in sociology, from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, as a Meyerhoff Scholar. She earned an MPH in international health policy and management from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Laird has also earned a PhD in health behavior and society, with a concentration in health communication, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Matthew Laurens MD, MPH

Dr. Matthew Laurens is a pediatric infectious disease specialist with a primary research interest in vaccine development. He conducts studies at the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and at international sites in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Malawi. Dr. Laurens evaluates vaccines and therapeutics that target infectious pathogens, studies the interaction of HIV and malaria and investigates the acquisition of antimalarial immunity. The broad goal of his research is to illuminate the mechanisms of immunity to inform development of vaccines and therapeutics. He is also a co-Principal Investigator for the Phase 3 Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine study at the Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Laurens received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Oglethrope University. He earned an MPH from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and an MD from the Mercer University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency, and then his chief residency, at the Tulane University School of Medicine, Pediatrics, before completing a Fellowship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Tropical Pediatrics.

About Our Moderator

Jennifer Lawrence ‘85 MD, F.A.C.E.

Jennifer Lawrence ‘85 MD, F.A.C.E.

Jennifer E. Lawrence, M.D., F.A.C.E. received her bachelors in science degree from Haverford College and her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, where she was awarded honors in her research. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and her fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Her principal research focus was thyroid disorders, including thyroid disease during pregnancy.

In 2000, she joined her husband, Dr. William Tidmore, Jr., a rheumatologist in the Valdosta Specialty Clinic, where she practices endocrinology. She started a center for patients with diabetes mellitus, the South Georgia Medical Center Diabetes Management Center, which has been an American Diabetes Association accredited center and serves thousands of patients in an over two hour radius. Dr. Lawrence has been active in the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, serving as a past president of the Georgia chapter and has served on the Chapter's board of directors. She has served on the editorial board of Endocrine Practice, is an active member of the American Thyroid Association, and as a patient advocate for the Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation, authoring the Patient Perspective for primary hyperoxaluria in efforts to create a pathway for novel drug approval through the FDA. She is the mother of Josephine (GFS 2020) and is a member of the GFS Board of Trustees.

As director of the SGMC Diabetes Management Center, Dr. Lawrence cares for some of the most vulnerable patients who may do poorly with Covid-19, and has been a patient advocate for safety measures in her community and assists patients making decisions about vaccination. She moderates our panel today from this clinical perspective.

GFS COVID-19 RESPONSE INFORMATION