Inquisitive and Idealistic: Gwendolyn Lee, Co-Founder of Students vs. Pandemics, on the Power of Students and Interdisciplinary Innovation

Gwendolyn Lee is passionate about and works at the intersection of healthcare, business, and government. She has worked in state government at the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, researching pharmaceutical pricing policies, and at the Massachusetts eHealth Institute, developing a government grant program to support digital health startups.

Gwendolyn further explores her interest in digital health as a member of the 2020 Flare Capital Partners Scholars Program. She also previously sourced startups that leverage artificial intelligence for Innospark Ventures.

Her commitment to service led her to co-found Students vs Pandemics in response to COVID-19. She previously served as co-chair of Harvard Kennedy School's Student Public Service Collaborative.

Gwendolyn holds an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School (2020) and a B.A. from the Princeton School of Public & International Affairs (2016). She is currently pursuing an MD from UCLA (2022).

Millie Muroi (BT): I noticed that you have a really diverse college education background. You completed a Bachelor of Arts in public policy before pursuing a Master of Public Policy alongside a Doctor of Medicine. How has this impacted your view as a physician or as a policy-maker?

Gwendolyn Lee (GL): I think it’s so intertwined. I got really lucky in discovering public policy because I went to a more STEM high school and didn’t have exposure to AP gov or AP econ. I had never considered government, or public service, or public policy before, but was so inspired by Condoleezza Rice’s experiences when she came to speak at our school. When I thought about being a pre-med and a policy student, it was more about how I could care for my patients outside the hospital’s four walls. Having that policy degree has helped me think about not just the patient before me, but what the social determinants of health are, and the systemic issues that cause a patient to come in with a particular diagnosis. The MPP program is where I discovered the intersection between business, government, and healthcare. Now, having worked at that intersection, it’s an exciting place to be as a physician where you can share what you see on the ground and think about how to help patients. Then you bring in business people who can expand upon that, policy to protect through regulations, and government grant programs that can promote education and healthcare. I think that’s such an exciting place to work at. 

“We realised that academia has been traditionally siloed... we wanted to create an interdisciplinary, cross-department response network where we could really bring people with different perspectives together to tackle COVID-19. ”

BT: What inspired and motivated you to co-found Students vs Pandemics?

GL: The week that we co-founded Students vs Pandemics was the week that the governor of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency. It was a very tumultuous time and students were voicing their worries and concerns. My sister and co-founder Alexandria was a graduate student at the school of public health at the same time that I was at the Kennedy School. We realised we both had friends who were clearly qualified to respond, but that there wasn’t a way for students to do that quite yet. Students were talking to each other but there wasn’t yet a broad platform to empower students to act. At the same time, we heard a lot of students say they were working on a particular initiative and that students at a school across the river were working on the same thing. Together we realised that academia has been traditionally siloed, and because a lot of the response initiatives were growing out of these academic communities where you make all your connections and friends, many of the responses were siloed as well. So, we wanted to create an interdisciplinary, cross-department response network where we could really bring people with different perspectives together to tackle COVID-19. One of the best things we’ve learned was how much a particular skillset from one academic background can be applicable in a completely different area as well. Being able to bring this entire team together to write a policy memo, launch a donation drive, or do whatever service activity Students vs Pandemics was launching, was this beautiful experience where we could empower students who wanted to help but also build a skillset within students from different backgrounds as they learned from each other. 

BT: What was the most significant hurdle you faced in co-founding Students vs Pandemics?

GL: One of the biggest hurdles was how rapidly we had to scale, because the first week we got about 100 students sign up which was great, and then we quickly grew after that, and now we’re nationwide. That was completely unexpected so one of the greatest hurdles was scaling our leadership and management, identifying problems, then creating solutions where we could actually make an impact, and doing so in a way where we’re empowering students, and allowing them to work on the initiatives they’re passionate about while also guiding them, because this is a crisis and we do have to direct our efforts to those most in need. It was a steep learning curve but we as co-founders have had and are grateful for such an incredible team working with us. 

“Students are constantly asking questions and not taking the situation as a certainty or for granted, and this is what makes us really well positioned to identify these challenges, and the other part is, we’re idealistic and we want to act and make an impact.”

BT: In a Harvard Gazette article, you talk about how students are particularly good at identifying needs and gaps. In your opinion, what makes students uniquely good at doing this and what kind of value do you think they could bring to higher level innovation and policy?

GL: I think because students are in a setting where we’re constantly learning, that also means we’re constantly asking questions and trying to push our understanding of a concept or in this case, a problem like COVID-19. The questions I saw my classmates come up with were like “why can’t we address the shortage of PPE and what is the problem in this process?” Students are constantly asking questions and not taking the situation as a certainty or for granted, and this is what makes us really well positioned to identify these challenges, and the other part is, we’re idealistic and we want to act and make an impact. I had the opportunity to speak with and learn from the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. During our conversation, he told me that once you’re in a position of leadership, sometimes there are things you can’t do because of your position. Students really have the opportunity to make a difference and to act. It is a privilege to be a student, and if we have the opportunity to serve and act, now is our chance. 

BT: What is your vision for Students vs Pandemics post-COVID-19?

GL: When we founded it, we decided to name ourselves Students vs Pandemics rather than Students vs COVID-19, because we always felt that the problems that we saw in terms of siloed academic communities would continue to exist, that the need for this interdisciplinary collaboration and response would continue to exist. So, we named ourselves Students vs Pandemics to address any kind of pandemic in the future. But as our organisation has evolved, despite both of us having more of a health background, we realised that there are so many social challenges and issues that require the same kind of response. And students are perfectly positioned to address these. When we think about the housing crisis and housing inequities for example, as a med student, I see housing as a social determinant of health. A design student or civil engineer may see it as an urban design challenge. Policy students may think of it as an advocacy issue. So, we are transitioning Students vs Pandemics to be “Students vs” in the future where you can have Students vs Housing Inequity, or whatever social challenge students want to take a lead on and change. We’re currently working on 501(c)(3) status and this will be especially helpful because we have a bunch of chapters across the nation and want to offer them some cohesive support as well. That is our plan for the future, definitely trying to build something sustainable and trying to promote interdisciplinary innovation.

“In times of crises, you need people from all different sectors whether it’s business, government, or medicine to be able to work together under stress. Part of Students vs Pandemics’ mission is to contribute to that. We’re trying to build that ability to collaborate, and the humility in future leaders to listen to someone else’s expertise and perspective.”

BT: COVID-19 has posed tremendous challenges for economies, policy-makers, and medical professionals around the world. What do you think is the biggest challenge or risk for government, business or medicine in the next 10 years?

GL: The ability to respond in crisis. COVID-19 has shown us that there is so much uncertainty and that’s what crises are, but how can we better prepare ourselves in the future, whether it’s a pandemic, whether it’s a natural disaster, or any other kind of crisis? To respond rapidly, where we get to take care of not only human beings today, but also think about the long-term impact, like economic recovery. As part of Students vs Pandemics, we launched a leadership curriculum where we invited professors from different fields to educate our members. We had a policy professor speak about crisis management, preparation, and interdisciplinary need. In times of crises, you need people from all different sectors whether it’s business, government, or medicine to be able to work together under stress. Part of Students vs Pandemics’ mission is to contribute to that. We’re trying to build that ability to collaborate, and the humility in future leaders to listen to someone else’s expertise and perspective. I hope we do collaborate more, especially to prepare for crises like today’s. 

BT: What is one change you’d like to see in policy-making, research, or the health sphere during your lifetime?

GL: I think we are seeing a bit of this more already with social media, but the ability to communicate with the common layperson who may not come from an area of expertise. I think we’re seeing increasingly, whether it’s through TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram, outreach to younger populations as well. I think the disconnect between experts and the average person is something I’d like to see changed. I think we are moving towards it, but that connection is a two-way street where it’s not just about officials communicating to or at the general public, but also the ability to listen to the problems that we as the general public see. Especially as a health policy student, I see the challenges that my patients face, and believe being able to bring what I see on the ground to a policy-maker is so important. 

BT: What do you think might be some potential solutions or pathways that we can go down to come up with solutions to something like that?

GL: I would like to see education change and create a system where it’s an expectation for the average person to feel empowered to ask questions and to listen: making it so that even an engineering student, like I was in high school, is still exposed to civic engagement and public service, and where civic engagement and public service is expected of us as individuals. 

“Find the area you’re passionate about, then take a step beyond that immediate circle to learn a little bit more and you may find another passion that you didn’t know existed previously.”

BT: From your unique work and educational experiences in public policy and health, what issues are you following most closely at the moment and what would you want young students to pay attention to?

GL: I am following health policy quite closely in addition to everything related to COVID-19 right now. I’ve been working on Medicare in the past year and looking how we can improve the current system. The number of Medicare beneficiaries is going to continue to grow. At least for America, I think that’s a big concern, and it’s not only health and policy, but really business and finance as well. For personal interest, I’ve been following a lot of digital health ventures and healthcare tech, and I think that’s a really exciting place to be for students who are interested in start-ups or healthcare. It’s growing so fast and there’s so many ways to create value-based care, where it’s not only paying for a particular service but trying to be innovative in how we deliver care in a more high-quality and cost-effective way – that’s where you’ll see the intersection between business and healthcare. And for students who are interested, I would say just find a topic that you’re passionate about, then learn all the adjacent areas as well. For me, this meant pushing myself out of my comfort zone: going to the business school to take classes even though I was at the public policy school. I knew that these areas were adjacent, but I just didn’t know anything about them before. Only after pushing myself out of my comfort zone a little bit did I realise that this was actually an area I could be passionate about as well. So, I would say find the area you’re passionate about, then take a step beyond that immediate circle to learn a little bit more and you may find another passion that you didn’t know existed previously.