Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician, CNN medical analyst, and op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes a weekly column and anchors the Post newsletter, The Checkup with Dr. Wen. She is also a professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and author of two 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.
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, treat violence and racism as public health issues, and improve maternal and child 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 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and 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.
CNN medical analyst Dr. Wen has been one of the nation’s leading experts during the COVID- 19 pandemic, called upon for her expertise by Congress, state and local governments, businesses, schools/universities, and scientific organizations. She can speak to the learnings from COVID-19 and what it has revealed about the need to focus on social determinants of health, public health preparedness, and care for the most vulnerable. She can then look forward to the future. What are major trends in payment reform, health workforce, and medical technology, and how will they, in the recovery from the pandemic, shape the future of public policy and healthcare delivery?
“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.”
“Dr. Wen is an extraordinary speaker. She is passionate about her work and compassionate with the audience she is addressing. Her knowledge and tone earned her some of the highest audience ratings of any of our conference speakers.”
“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.”
“Dr. Wen offered solutions to the audience for how they could address health disparities, that people at any part of their journey in equity work could find somewhere to start. She delivered her presentation and answers to audience questions with authority, authenticity and grace. With her overall equity framework and her scholarly knowledge on health care disparities, she was simply incredible!”
“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.”
“Dr. Wen’s keynote presentation was “spot-on”. She customized her content to meet the needs of our audience, delivered the current facts and reality of the healthcare landscape, and left our group with light at the end of the tunnel. She delivered her presentation with passion and energy.”
“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.”
“I would use the word extraordinary to describe Dr. Wen. She is so knowledgeable, so engaging, and such a gifted speaker. And what is more, she is an absolute joy to work with.”
“A great session and very well-received. Dr. Wen was articulate, authentic, and offered great insights. Truly a delight.”
