John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH, is a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health where he serves as the program director of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program in health leadership. He brings 30 years of governmental public health practice to the Department. Dr. Wiesman is an accomplished transformational leader who focuses on system approaches to improving the public’s health.

Prior to joining the faculty, he served as the Washington State Secretary of Health for seven years where he led that state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also served as a local health director and as president of ASTHO and NACCHO.

A Few Takeaways from the Interview

In this interview, Dr. Wiesman focuses on:

• His own formative influences that laid the foundation for his public health career,
• The challenge of making wise decisions in the face of uncertainty and conflicting information, especially during the early days of the pandemic,
• The longer-term challenges associated “COVID fatigue” over the ensuing months of 2020-21,
• The importance of maintaining personal health routines, which were challenged by the extremely long work days for a prolonged period.