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Dr. Leana Wen is a practicing physician, healthcare executive, and one of America’s leading public health experts. She is a columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes a twice-weekly column on medicine and public health and anchors the Post newsletter, “The Checkup with Dr. Wen”. She is also a clinical associate professor at George Washington University, where she is a distinguished fellow of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity; a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; the host of HLTH’s The Beat Executive Video Series; and a frequently featured on-air commentator, including as a medical analyst for CNN and guest contributor for NPR, PBS and BBC.

Previously, she served as Baltimore’s Health Commissioner, where she led the nation’s oldest continuously operating health department in the U.S. to fight the opioid epidemic, address disparities and mental health access, and improve maternal and child health. She is author of two critically-acclaimed books, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests and Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

Dr. Wen obtained her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine and studied health policy at the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She completed her residency training in emergency medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital & Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School.

A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Wen has received recognition as one of Governing’s Public Officials of the Year, Modern Healthcare’s Top 50 Physician-Executives, World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders, and TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

Dr. Wen lives with her husband and their two young children in Baltimore. In her free time, she loves cycling, trail running, and open water swimming.

Categories: Asian Pacific Americans, Health Care, Health Care - Economics and Policy, Health Care - Leadership and Administration, Health Care - Politics, Health Care - The Future of Medicine and Technology, Health Care - Wellness, Quality Virtual Keynote, TED Talk, Time Management, Stress and Life Balance

Videos

Topics

• Navigating the Health Policy Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities
  One of the foremost experts on public health and health policy, Washington Post columnist Dr. Leana Wen, can speak on major policy issues in today’s ever-changing landscape. From prescription drug reform to the promises of new technology such as artificial intelligence to the threats to vaccine access and renewed focus on mental health, population health, and integrated care, Dr. Wen presents a compelling picture of the current landscape. She then guides the audience to consider opportunities for how to proceed in light of these trends.

• The Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
  Hear the perspective of a practicing physician and Washington Post columnist who is an expert on the digital transformation of healthcare. She will delve into the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence in medicine, going through use cases of predictive and generative AI to explain how AI can improve diagnosis, personalize treatment and reduce inefficiencies. She will also present pitfalls, the need for regulatory guardrails, and why digital fluency is so crucial for the healthcare sector. Depending on interest, she can also into other aspects of tech and health, such as applications of telemedicine and digital health strategies that have enabled remote patient monitoring and at-home diagnostics and “hospital at home” treatment.

• Mental Health and Well-Being
  Dr. Wen brings audiences insights from her work as a practicing physician and expert in addressing mental health and addiction policy. She shares personal experiences, strategies to combat isolation and reestablish connection, and best practices for employee health from around the world. She describes the often-hidden epidemic of addiction, including to alcohol and opioids, and the growing need for education and regulation of marijuana and psychedelic usage. Finally, she talks about the future of work, and outlines for audiences a framework for incorporating mental and physical wellness and resiliency practices into the office, home and everyday life.

• A Practical Playbook to Focus on Population Health
  Dr. Wen is a leading national expert on population health. During the COVID-19 crisis, she was asked to testify four times to the U.S. House of Representatives on the unequal impact of the pandemic on communities of color. While she served as Baltimore’s health commissioner, she reconfigured the agency to specifically focus on population health and health equity. She upon these lessons, outlined in her book Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health, and gives specific examples of successful innovations that reduce disparities and improve health for all.

• Women in Leadership
  Women, and women leaders, face distinctive challenges in the workplace. Trained in trauma/ER medicine and having been one of many “firsts” as a woman of color, Dr. Wen speaks from first-hand experience and from her professional research about the challenges and opportunities for women in leadership. These include advice for women about the “double bind” and “glass cliff,” such as owning one’s authentic identity and negotiating societal expectations. Dr. Wen also gives talks in crisis leadership and overcoming adversity. These include lessons from innovative leadership locally and nationally, drawing upon her background convening unlikely stakeholders around shared goals; leading collective impact, public-private collaborations in public health; and getting to points of agreement in turbulent and polarizing environments.

• Post-Pandemic Lessons, Trends and Implications for the Future of Healthcare
  Dr. Leana Wen has been one of the nation’s most prominent experts during the COVID-19 pandemic, called upon for her expertise by Congress, state and local governments, and featured daily on CNN, NPR, and PBS. She can speak to what the pandemic revealed about social determinants of health, mental health access, and health preparedness, then cover what major trends are ahead. What does the future look like for digital health and telemedicine? What innovations has the pandemic spurred, from AI to payment reform to behavioral health treatment? And what can be done to address rampant burnout among health professionals?

Books

Testimonials

Dr. Wen was incredibly engaging and a joy to watch. She was very passionate and sparked similar desire in the listeners. We greatly appreciated how she tailored her content to the needs of our organization and the theme of the forum. It was a great pleasure to work with Dr. Wen and to have her as our keynote of our event.

Director of trade organization

Dr. Wen was an exceptional speaker and exceptional to work with. She was so personable and accommodating, and gave a fantastic talk that was well tailored to our audience. A home run all the way around.

Executive producer of speaker series

Dr. Leana Wen’s talk was met with enthusiasm. Her session was refreshing, inspiring, and offered practical advice for navigating public health issues. Attendees commented that they appreciated how she spoke both sincerely and authoritatively. Dr. Wen was the perfect opening keynote for our conference. Her perspective, real life examples, and authenticity were truly a breath of fresh air.

Executive at health professional organization

We were delighted to host Dr. Leana Wen as our keynote speaker for our annual customer event this year. Our attendees highly valued her deep expertise, unique perspective, and passionate advocacy for improving the public health system. Dr. Wen was a pleasure to work with, as well—a true professional that made working with her a breeze.

Director of technology company

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