Featured Speaker:
Dr. Ashely Alker, M.D.
Ashely Alker, M.D., M.Sc., is a practicing emergency medicine physician and adjunct professor at George Washington Medical School. Dr. Alker specializes in using media to create accurate public health messaging. She has been featured in USA Today, BBC world, San Diego Union-Tribune, TEDMED, and TEDx San Diego. She serves as the Chief Medical Media Officer of Doctorpedia, a patient education organization, and produced and co-hosted the “COVID Frontlines” public health education webcast. Ashely also contributes to public health education as a medical technical consultant and screenwriting editor for over 20 television shows, including TV and film for Netflix, HULU, HBO, CBS, Disney, and Apple TV.
Dr. Ashley Alker is known for her engaging, often darkly funny storytelling where she transforms complex medical science and real-world emergency experiences into accessible, human-centered narratives about survival, risk, and resilience.
Dr. Alker earned her Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Science in Global Health (MSc), building her career on the front lines of medicine in emergency departments across the United States. Her professional focus lies at the intersection of acute care, public health, and medical communication, where she advocates for evidence-based medicine, mental health awareness, and better access to emergency and preventive care.
Through her medical practice, Dr. Alker has treated thousands of patients in life-and-death situations, giving her a firsthand understanding of the choices and circumstances that most often determine survival. Her experiences extend beyond the ER: she has worked on medical humanitarian projects, public health initiatives, and national emergency preparedness programs aimed at improving care in crisis settings.
In addition to her medical career, Dr. Alker is an accomplished writer, essayist, and speaker, committed to reshaping the way the public understands health and medicine. Her writing—sharp, irreverent, and deeply empathetic—blends storytelling with practical education, tackling subjects like fear, death, and the psychology of risk with humor and humanity.
Her essays and commentary have appeared in or been featured by NBC News, NPR, Healthline, and KevinMD, among others. She also contributes to health communication campaigns and consults on projects that translate medical information into compelling narratives for broad audiences.
