About our Founder
Dr. Marie L. Socha
- Dr. Socha has over 25 years of demonstrated knowledge and experience in public health preparedness/emergency response, epidemiology, and environmental health. This includes six years as a Federal Employee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and an additional 18 years as a Public Health Consultant. As the Principal Investigator (PI) for the ATSDR Camp Lejeune Birth Defects and Childhood Leukemia Survey, she provided information to the Marine Corps and Camp Lejeune community on the health effects of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene. She frequently interacted with press and media as well as local and State health departments to clarify the Camp Lejeune project.
- Dr. Socha is trained in the fields of public health preparedness, epidemiology, environmental health, tabletop exercise development for chemical/biological/radiological agents, human teratology (birth defects), environmental science including sampling techniques for groundwater, surface water, soil, soil gas and spore sampling for bioterrorism agents.
- Dr. Socha has extensive experience in project management, risk management, risk communication, and meeting facilitation. She received her Press Training and Tribal Liaison training from Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) University (internal training institute for CDC Employees).
- Dr. Socha was a member of the ATSDR AMI Anthrax Team that assisted on the FBI/CDC team with sampling the AMI building located in Boca Raton, FL. She has received several professional awards from CDC for her outstanding teamwork, rapid response, and scientific excellence in public health.
- Since 2008, Dr. Socha has been a technical consultant for the Department of Homeland Security’s Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks (ICLN) which currently is housed in the Office of Health Security (OHS). She facilitates the monthly ICLN Network Coordinating Group meetings, addresses network interoperability, tracks Action Items, prepares reports and coordinates this activity with seven Federal National Public Health Laboratory Networks (plus FBI and DOE) for CBRN agents. As a Public Health Preparedness Consultant, she also created the CDC’s Workforce Preparedness Pandemic Plan for CDC’s Office of Health and Safety.
- Dr. Socha received her bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Michigan State University, her MS in Exercise Physiology from University of Florida, her MSPH in Epidemiology from University of Alabama, Birmingham, and her Doctorate in Public Health / Environmental Health (also) from the University Alabama, Birmingham.
- In 2014 she was certified as a Hospital Emergency Coordinator (CHEC) at Georgia Reagents University.
- In 2019 she completed the FDA Preventive Controls for Human Foods certification program which is offered by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance.
