Faculty and Staff
Vincent T. Covello, PhD
Dr. Vincent T. Covello is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the field of risk communications: a science based approach for communicating effectively in high concern, controversial, or emotionally charged situations. He is currently serving as Director of the Center for Risk Communication in New York City.
Over the past twenty five years, Dr. Covello has served in numerous positions in academia and government, including Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Clinical Medicine at Columbia University. Prior to his joining the Faculty at Columbia, Dr. Covello was a senior scientist on detail to the White House Council on Environmental Quality in Washington, DC; a Study Director at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC; Director of Risk Assessment Programs at the National Science Foundation; and a professor at Brown University.
Dr. Covello received his doctorate from Columbia University in 1976 and his MA and BA with Honors from Cambridge University in Great Britain. He has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals and is the Past President of the Society for Risk Analysis, a professional scientific association with over 3000 members.
Dr. Covello has authored over 75 published articles in scientific journals and has authored or edited over 25 books. He has chaired over 30 national and international conferences on risk assessment, management, and communication. He has also directed workshops and training sessions on risk communication for over 200 Fortune 500 companies and over 200 government agencies. Among his most recent consulting assignments, Dr. Covello has worked on a diverse set of issues, including mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, airline crashes, oil spills, genetically modified food, West Nile Virus, and bio-terrorism.