Leana Wen, just back from a trip to Israel, is jet-lagged. But Baltimore’s health commissioner doesn’t have time to be tired. In the next three days, she’s appearing on a CNN segment on opioid abuse, speaking alongside U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and writing two college commencement speeches.

It’s a frenzied level of activity that doesn’t surprise those who work with Wen. The leader of the nation’s oldest continually operating health department has taken a fresh and aggressive perspective on what her agency can and should tackle. Appointed in January 2015, Wen was still getting adjusted when the riots over the death of Freddie Gray erupted. The unrest gave her the opportunity to talk about health in broader terms and to a larger audience.

Read more at: http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-baltimore-heal...