On Friday, October 16th, at 7pm, we welcome Dr. Raj Panjabi, author of SAFER: A Playbook—Turning Fear into Action and Crisis into Community, for a free book talk and important discussion on public health and civic life. Dr. Panjabi is globally recognized as a distinguished authority in health care, biotechnology, entrepreneurship, and public health policy.

FREE RSVP at the link here -or- Preorder a SIGNED book for VIP Reserved Seating.

When crisis strikes — a diagnosis, a natural disaster, a sudden upheaval at work or at home — our instinct is to pull inward. But as Dr. Raj Panjabi argues in his new book, isolation is the wrong instinct. Connection is the real protection.

Dr. Panjabi has spent his career on the front lines of crisis: fleeing civil war in Liberia as a child, building community health systems as founding CEO of Last Mile Health, and steering the nation's pandemic response as White House Senior Director for Global Health Security. In Safer, he distills that experience into a practical roadmap — eight "plays" for navigating fear, cutting through misinformation, and rebuilding trust in divided times.

Joining Dr. Panjabi in conversation is a leading voice in global and community public health from Penn State College of Medicine whose own work embodies the book's central idea — that community, not isolation, is what keeps us safe. Dr. N. Benjamin Fredrick, Penn State University Professor of family and community medicine, public health sciences, and humanities, and Director of the Global Health Scholars program, launched Thriving Villages International to address issues of poverty and development in Pestel, Haiti.

Together, our speakers will explore what it really takes to turn fear into action and crisis into community, both in our health systems and in our daily lives.

About the Book

The essential guide for navigating crisis and uncertainty from the acclaimed physician who led the White House response to the world’s most dangerous health emergencies.

In reading SAFER, you will learn how to:

• Navigate Fear and Denial: Use Situation Room insights to take decisive action without falling into paralysis.

• Cut Through the Noise: Use science to assess your risk and protect those you love amidst the flood of misinformation.

• Build Trust in Divided Times: Move from isolation to connection and find common ground.

• Gain Control Despite Chaos: Adapt to change and transform vulnerability into your greatest strength.

In an era of uncertainty, you don’t have to live in fear. You just need a better playbook. Safer gives us the tools for emerging from any crisis more connected than ever before.

Praise for SAFER

"Raj Panjabi is a brilliant thinker and writer...This is a necessary book." - John Green, New York Times bestselling author of Everything is Tuberculosis 

"Raj Panjabi is one of the smartest people around on health issues...and one of the best-placed people to guide us through this terrain and keep us safe." - Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize winning writer

"Dr. Panjabi makes the compelling case that preparedness is not enough—trust and community resilience are the core of our defense. A crucial call to action." - Anthony Fauci, MD,  Former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"SAFER makes the compelling case that only by coming together, both within and across borders, can we create a safer, healthier world." - Ambassador Susan E. Rice, Former U.S. National Security Advisor 

"Dr. Raj Panjabi shows that true resilience is about community, empathy, and connection. SAFER is an inspiring road map for a healthier, more connected future." - Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

About the Author

Dr. Raj Panjabi, MD, served as Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the White House National Security Council (2022-2023) where he co-led the largest vaccination campaign in history against COVID-19 and U.S. responses to other public health crises, including mpox, influenza and Ebola. A Harvard Medical School physician, he is the co-founder and former CEO of Last Mile Health, which has trained thousands of community health workers to bring care to communities beyond the reach of any health system. One of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and TIME’s 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare, twice named to the FORTUNE World’s 50 Greatest Leaders list, and to FORBES 250 Most Successful Immigrants, Raj has received the TED Prize, Clinton Global Citizen Award, and World Economic Forum’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year award. He was born in Liberia to Indian parents and came to the United States as a child refugee. He lives with his family in the Washington, D.C. area. Safer is his first book.

About the Interviewer

Dr. Ben Fredrick, MD, is Professor of Family and Community Medicine, and of Public Health Sciences, at Penn State University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Humanities. He graduated from Messiah University in 1995 and Penn State College of Medicine in 2000. He then completed a family residency at York Hospital in York, PA. After residency, Dr. Fredrick returned to Hershey and joined the Family and Community Medicine Department as a faculty member. Dr. Fredrick serves as Global Health Center Director and has developed a nationally unique Global Health Scholars Pathway program for Penn State College of Medicine’s students. The program includes activities in Peru, Ghana, India, and Australia, among others. Since 2007, Dr. Fredrick and his family have been involved in supporting a rural area in Haiti called Pestel. To expand their impact, Dr. Fredrick and his wife established a non-profit organization called Thriving Villages International in order to better assist the health and development needs of Pestel.

Part of our America’s 250th Literary Celebrations Series, and our Fall 2026 Authors’ Week.