Juliette Kayyem: Crisis Management & COVID-19
Juliette Kayyem
Security Mom, Pandemic Planner, Former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and Zoom Expert-in-training at The Harvard Kennedy School
What makes you feel like a real grown-up?
When people call me ma’am. Also realizing that my daughter is an adult.
Last time you were surprised by anything?
When my son asked me how my day was when I got home from work.
Best gift you gave or received?
I gave my husband a Peloton, but he calls it a boomerang gift because I’m on it all the time.
Best thing that happened to you in the 80s or 90s?
I discovered hair products.
Juliette Kayyem, Security Mom & Pandemic Planner
My career has hardly been linear. I like to say I have had one career and many jobs: in state and federal government, academia, corporate and media. They all have a common theme, our preparedness. But 9/11 defined my career, as it did so many others. And I became more interested in homeland security as the threats seemed bigger than just terrorism. It wasn't until I left government that I saw the ties to how we all hope to protect our homes and homeland: reduce risks, maximize our defenses, but also be consistent with who we are as parents and citizens.
Right now, it's very odd to be an expert in this field, working from home, with home as being the focal point for our response. I don't have a space between work and reality as they merge into each other. It isn't ideal on many fronts. I'm so busy that the kids are somewhat neglected. But I've decided to just let the kids—all teens—just roll. Goodness knows the impact on them and me setting weird Tiger Mom standards is not fair. But on the brighter side, to be honest I do feel like I'm being helpful in some sense, useful through all this. I have no authority to change things, but at least some influence to help in ways I can.
Well before the COVID outbreak, I had started an initiative around Security and Global Health. For homeland security, a lot of the challenges have less to do with security and more with the homeland. And that has led me to focus on borderless threats—terror, cyber, climate change and now health—the difficult ones that cut across all boundaries. How does such a complicated governance structure adapt to internal threats? We see that now with the pandemic with the role of governors. We knew that a pandemic was inevitable and I think people thought I was crazy focusing on COVID in January. But we knew this was coming and it is unforgivable how unprepared we are now.
Through the Bloomberg Initiative with cities with Harvard's Kennedy School where I teach, we launched a specific focus to train mayors across the country on how to prepare and respond to the pandemic. It has been terrific; most mayors come from such different backgrounds that even basic information about crisis management and communication has been well-received. I am trying to position them for leadership: what they need to do now, what they need to communicate now. There are no right answers; this is hard. But there is one wrong answer: acting too late. And because of a lack of national leadership and guidance, the mayors really need to fill the gap. It’s been really heartening to have had former Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama also speak to the mayors and share lessons learned.
Despite the heaviness of much of my work, organizing chaos is my yoga. I mean that. I sit and make lists, charts and plans—because to see it means you can master it. (Find Juliette’s chart making in action here with The Five Stages of Crisis Management: COVID-19.) I am the daughter of immigrant families from Lebanon. We were raised with a pretty optimistic spirit; Lebanese are pretty fun people. I grew up in LA which tends to have a sunny disposition. But mostly, as my husband thinks, it may be genetic. He said I was born without the "stew" gene, meaning I tend not to stew on decisions at home or at work. My friends say I'm a satellite mom as compared to a helicopter mom. I guess not stewing helps given my job and I believe I have a public role with an obligation to not lose it.
When people ask me what they can be doing right now, I tell them that following CDC guidelines isn't nothing. I do think people need to mentally prepare for the next stage, which won't be normal as we knew it. We are going to live with the virus for some time; we will manage it better with new tools—testing, treatments, etc.—but it won't be the same. And we need to recognize that for ourselves and our kids. It's hard, but better than fanciful thinking that could lead to more harm.
