1057 - Five Baltimore Health Commissioners Walk into an Auditorium
Public Health On Call
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
4.6 • 644 Ratings
🗓️ 22 May 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
About this episode:
In the city of Baltimore, the health department works to prevent overdose, reduce violence, provide vaccinations, inspect restaurants, and so much more. In this episode: Host Stephanie Desmon leads a panel discussion with five Baltimore City Commissioners of Health who collectively served over three decades. They swap stories and speak candidly about the challenges and opportunities of the role.
Guests:
Dr. Peter Beilenson, MPH, is a lecturer at the Johns Hopkins Kreiger School of Arts & Sciences. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 1992 to 2005.
Dr. Letitia Dzirasa is the Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services with the City of Baltimore. She served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2019 to 2023.
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009.
Dr. Michelle Taylor, DrPH, MPA, is the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health. She also serves in the Tennessee Air National Guard, and she previously led operations at the Shelby County Health Department.
Dr. Leana S. Wen, MSc, is a physician and professor of health policy and management at George Washington University. She served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2014 to 2018.
Host:
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:
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Health Commissioner Michelle Taylor is Betting on Baltimore—Public Health On Call (May 2026)
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Baltimore's Record Low in Homicides—Public Health On Call (November 2025)
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Baltimore's Back-to-Back Mass Overdoses—Public Health On Call (September 2025)
-
B'More for Healthy Babies: A Look Back at 15 Years of Infant Mortality Reduction in Baltimore—Public Health On Call (May 2025)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Lindsay Smith Rogers, producer and co-host of Public Health On Call. |
| 0:03.7 | Thank you for joining us for this season of the podcast. |
| 0:06.7 | We'll be taking a break the week of May 25th, returning for season 14 on Monday, June 1st. |
| 0:12.1 | As always, please keep sending your ideas and questions to public health question at jhhhue.edu, and thanks for listening. |
| 0:19.5 | Welcome to Public Health on Call, a podcast from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, |
| 0:24.8 | where we bring evidence, experience, and perspective to make sense of today's leading |
| 0:30.4 | health challenges. |
| 0:35.6 | If you have questions or ideas for us, please send an email to public health question at jhhhu.edu. |
| 0:43.1 | That's public health question at jhhu.edu for future podcast episodes. |
| 0:50.8 | Hey listeners, it's Lindsay Smith-Rogers, producer of public health on call. and today we have a special treat for you, a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to lead the Baltimore City Health Department. |
| 1:02.1 | In celebration of National Public Health Week last month, our host, Stephanie Desmond, led a panel with five current and former health commissioners serving from 1992 all the way up to |
| 1:12.3 | 2005. Peter Beelinson, Josh Sharfstein, Lena Wend, Letitia Jarza, and Michelle Taylor |
| 1:18.5 | discuss the most pressing issues they faced during their tenure, treat some wacky animal |
| 1:24.2 | control stories, and reflect on the human side of what it's like to lead |
| 1:28.5 | this premier health department. Let's listen. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm so great to see so many |
| 1:34.1 | faces here today. My name is Stephanie Desmond, and I am the director of PR and communications |
| 1:39.8 | at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. I'm also co-host of the Public Health |
| 1:45.5 | On Call podcast with one of our esteemed guests, Dr. Josh Sharfstein. I met Josh Sharfstein about 20 years ago. |
| 1:52.1 | I was a reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He was the city health commissioner. And I came to meet with |
| 1:56.2 | him and we ended up chatting while we walked over to Chipotle to get his lunch. So this is a pretty |
| 2:01.6 | special conversation we're going to have today for Public Health Week. We have leaders here who |
| 2:05.7 | shaped public health in Baltimore across some of the most challenging and consequential moments |
... |
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