Tevi Troy: Presidential Response to Disaster and Emergency Crises

As we inaugurate a new president, join us for a provocative conversation about how past presidents have faced unpredictable crises, such as terror attacks, massive storms, and an economic collapse throughout our history.

In Shall We Wake the President?: Two Centuries of Disaster Management in the Oval Office, author Tevi Troy, CEO of the American Health Policy Institute and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, looks at the ever changing role of the president during times of disasters while also detailing how smart policies can assist us in avoiding future crisis and/or assist in how to best react to disasters should they occur.

Dr. Troy's book, Shall We Wake the President?:  Two Centuries of Disaster Management in the Oval Office will be available for purchase at the event with cash or check only. 

Tevi Troy is the chief executive officer of the American Health Policy Institute. He is the author of the best-selling book, What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House, and a frequent television and radio analyst.

In 2007, Troy was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As Deputy Secretary, Dr. Troy was the chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government and led a number of important initiatives, including implementing the President's Management Agenda, combating bio-terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. 

Troy has extensive White House experience, having served in several high-level positions over a five-year period, culminating in his service as deputy assistant and then acting assistant to the president for domestic policy. He left the White House for a period to serve as deputy policy director for the 2004 Bush-Cheney reelection campaign, where he was responsible for debate preparation.

Troy has held high-level positions on Capitol Hill as well. From 1998 to 2000, Troy served as the policy director for Senator John Ashcroft. From 1996 to 1998, Troy was senior domestic policy adviser and later domestic policy director for the House Policy Committee. Before serving on Capitol Hill, Dr. Troy was a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute 

In addition to his senior level government work and health care expertise, Troy is also a presidential historian, making him one of only a handful of historians who has both studied the White House and worked there at the highest levels. Troy is also the author of Intellectuals and the American Presidency: Philosophers, Jesters, or Technicians? (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), and has written over 100 articles, for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Forbes among others. 

Troy received a BS in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and an MA and PhD in american civilization from the University of Texas at Austin.