Episode #469 Preparing For The Worst Day, With Gabby Hadly, MPH
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
On This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
A white powder incident tied to a local election. A measles outbreak unfolding at the same time. For Gabby Hadly, MPH, that was one week on the job, not an outlier.
In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Gabby, who leads public health emergency preparedness and response for Snohomish County, Washington, just north of Seattle. Their conversation moves from Gabby's personal path into public health to the daily realities of protecting nearly 860,000 residents from the emergencies no one wants to imagine.
From Personal Loss to Public Health
Gabby's path into this field did not start with a plan. It started with the sudden loss of her father when she was eleven years old, and a redirected pursuit of medicine that eventually led her to epidemiology. She shares how a single mentor's suggestion, and a book about virus hunters, pointed her toward a career she had never heard of before college.
Planning, Training, and Responding
Gabby breaks down what emergency preparedness actually looks like in practice. Her team plans for the full range of threats a community might face, trains staff and partners so no one is reading a response plan for the first time mid-crisis, and leads the health and medical response when an emergency hits. She explains why none of that works without relationships built long before disaster strikes.
The Quiet Threat of Funding Instability
While federal emergency preparedness funding has held steady with strong bipartisan support since the 2001 anthrax attacks, Gabby explains how the loss of other braided funding sources is now straining programs and staffing. She talks candidly about what that shift has meant for her work, and why advocacy has become as much a part of her job as planning and response.
Preparing for What's Next
From infectious disease outbreaks to earthquakes, wildfires, and large-scale events with biosecurity implications, Gabby walks through how her team uses annual, data-informed risk assessments to prioritize what to prepare for. The conversation also turns to a risk many people don't associate with the Pacific Northwest, and one that surprised Dr. Huntley when it comes to her own home state.
This episode is a reminder that readiness is built through relationships, trust, and showing up long before the emergency ever happens.
About Our Guest
Gabby Hadly, MPH
Gabby Hadly, MPH is the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Program Manager for the Snohomish County Health Department in Washington, where she serves on the department's executive leadership team and leads countywide efforts to prepare for and respond to emergencies affecting nearly 860,000 residents.
She earned her Master of Public Health from the University of British Columbia with a specialization in epidemiology and has worked across state and local public health systems, including leading COVID-19 communicable disease response across dozens of counties in Texas before moving into emergency preparedness work in Washington State. Along the way, she has helped lead statewide initiatives to strengthen intergovernmental coordination, supported efforts to secure recurring funding for public health infrastructure, and built cross-sector partnerships that improve how health systems perform during and between crises.
Listen To This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
Conversation Highlights
Relationships are the foundation of preparedness.
Gabby emphasizes that plans and procedures only work when responders already know and trust the partners they'll be relying on during a crisis.
Concurrent emergencies are becoming more common.
Snohomish County recently managed a white powder incident tied to a local election at the same time as a measles outbreak, requiring teams to respond on two fronts at once.
Funding instability is a quiet but growing threat.
While core federal emergency preparedness funding has remained steady, the loss of other braided funding sources is straining programs and staffing levels.
Advocacy is now part of the job.
Gabby has spent significant time over the past year educating decision makers about what public health emergency preparedness work makes possible, and what could be lost without it.
Risk assessment should be data informed.
Snohomish County conducts annual risk assessments to determine which threats, from infectious disease to earthquakes to major public events, deserve the most preparation.
Preparedness isn't only a West Coast concern.
The conversation highlights how threats like earthquakes and wildfires are increasingly relevant well beyond the regions traditionally associated with them.
Growth often happens before you feel ready.
Gabby encourages listeners not to wait for a sense of full readiness before saying yes to new roles, projects, or opportunities.
"You have to have taken the time to talk to hospital partners, to dialysis facilities, to sheriffs, to fire and EMS partners, and they need to know who you are." — Gabby Hadly, MPH
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Public Health Consulting
DrCHHuntley LLC is a public health consulting firm that specializes in epidemiology consulting, supporting large nonprofit organizations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida that serve Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We also provide nationwide public health consulting and epidemiology consulting support to BIPOC organizations across the United States.
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