doi:10.7916/ys72-je52Oral history interview with Leana S. Wen, 2021Wen, Leana, 1983-oral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesPublic health--United StatesOpioid abuse--Treatment--United StatesHeroin abuse--Treatment--United StatesNaloxone--Therapeutic use--United StatesBaltimore Riots, Baltimore, Md., 2015Health and race--United StatesWen, Leana, 1983-Obama, BarackBaltimore (Md.). Health DepartmentLeana S. Wen discusses her activities during the years of the Obama presidency, with particular emphasis on her service as commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department. Wen recounts her upbringing and the origins of her interests in public health and emergency medicine, and shares stories of experiences that clarified the importance of social and economic determinants of health outcomes. She focuses on her work as health commissioner to address the heroin and opioid epidemic in Baltimore, and describes the importance of treating addiction as a public health issue, rather than a criminal justice issue; efforts to expand access to, and training in the use of, naloxone (Narcan); the work of the city's Heroin Treatment and Prevention Task Force; the importance of real-time public health data; and collaborations and meetings with notable Obama administration officials. Wen also tells the story of her participation in a panel discussion with President Obama at the 2016 National Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta. She provides details about the public health dimensions of the protests that followed the death of Freddie Gray in the spring of 2015, recounts the Baltimore City Health Department's efforts to maintain citizens' access to prescription medications during the unrest, and considers the Obama administration's communications and programmatic engagement with the city during the protests. Also discussed are racial disparities in health outcomes and Wen's involvement in the response to the Zika virus epidemic in 2015 and 2016