LAVERY
ADVISORY
Aligning purpose with impact through dialogue
Strategic Counsel
Ethical Risk, Stakeholder Dialogue & High-Stakes Partnerships
James Lavery advises senior executives, boards and public-sector leaders confronting consequential questions of strategy, ethics, stakeholder interests and institutional trust.
Drawing on more than 25 years at the forefront of global health, bioethics and health policy, James brings scholarly rigour and extensive practical experience to decisions where the evidence is incomplete, interests diverge, and the ethical and institutional stakes are high.
His work spans Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies, tech start-ups, leading universities and research institutions, global philanthropies, multilateral organizations, NGOs and governments. He works with senior leaders to anticipate ethical and reputational risks, clarify strategic purpose, understand stakeholder interests, and develop partnerships and decisions that are effective, legitimate and capable of sustaining trust.
Principal
Professor and Conrad N. Hilton Chair in Global Health Ethics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Adjunct Professor, Social and Behavioural Health Sciences Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
James Lavery, Ph.D.
The Hardest Decisions Aren’t Technical
Technical expertise can establish what is possible, but it cannot always determine what is wise, fair, legitimate or likely to endure.
The introduction of a new technology may promise substantial benefits while creating unfamiliar ethical questions. A global partnership may bring together institutions with very different interests, expectations and sources of power. A scientifically sound program may falter because its designers have misunderstood the communities or institutions on which its success depends. Leaders may need to allocate scarce resources among competing priorities without an obvious or universally accepted answer.
These are problems of strategy, but also of ethics, legitimacy and institutional judgment.
James helps leaders examine these questions before positions harden or avoidable problems become crises. His approach combines ethical analysis, empirical inquiry and structured dialogue to surface assumptions, understand competing interests, and identify courses of action that are both practically effective and ethically defensible.
Services and Expertise
Ethical Risk & Strategic Purpose
Advising on high-stakes decisions, emerging technologies, institutional policies and strategic initiatives where conventional risk analysis may overlook important ethical, social or institutional considerations.
Stakeholder Engagement
Designing and evaluating engagement strategies that generate meaningful insight into stakeholder interests, improve institutional decision-making and create stronger foundations for cooperation and trust.
Brokered Dialogue & Conflict Navigation
Designing and facilitating consequential discussions among senior leaders, strategic partners, public agencies, communities, internal teams and external critics when interests diverge or relationships are under strain.
Fair & Sustainable Partnerships
Helping organizations design, manage and evaluate complex collaborations among industry, academic institutions, governments, NGOs and communities, with particular attention to differences in power, interests, expectations and accountability.
Equity & Priority Setting
Advising leaders on difficult choices about programs, investments, resources and priorities, particularly in global health, biomedical research and public policy, where questions of fairness and legitimacy are integral to good decision-making.
Global Experience, Scholarly Depth
Over a 25-year career in global health, bioethics and health policy, James has worked at the intersection of scholarship and practice, developing and applying new approaches to ethics consultation, community engagement, brokered dialogue, organizational learning, program design and evaluation.
His advisory work has brought him into complex, high-consequence environments around the world and into discussions with senior decision-makers across:
Life Sciences, Biotechnology and New Technology Introduction
Including: Pfizer, Merck, Biomarin, Crosscut, Balcony
Governments & Public Agencies
Including: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, US Food and Drug Administration, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US National Institutes of Health, US Office for Human Research Protections, US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population, Haiti, Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social, Dominican Republic, Mosquito-Free Hawaii, Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit
Multilateral Organizations
Including: the World Health Organization, International Vaccine Institute, UNICEF
Global Philanthropy & NGOs
Including: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, The Carter Center, Task Force for Global Health, World Mosquito Program, Council on Health Research for Development, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, CARE, Choosing Wisely Canada, US National Association of Community Health Centers, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research
Leading Universities & Research Consortia
Including: the University of Toronto, Queen’s University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California San Diego, University of California San Francisco, Boise State University, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia
Across these settings, James brings an independent perspective to problems that resist easy answers. His work is grounded in the understanding that better decisions depend not only on good evidence, but on moral imagination and serious consideration of interests, values, institutional context and the people whose cooperation ultimately determines whether a strategy succeeds.