Public Health Epidemiology Conversations

What happens when someone who uses opioids finally feels ready for help at 10 o'clock at night? In this episode, Dr. Huntley sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Hom, an internal medicine physician and the Medical Officer for Science and Policy in the Substance Use Services section of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Dr. Hom shares how years of volunteering at one of San Francisco's busiest soup kitchens showed him how closely food, housing, and health are tied together, and how that lesson still guides his work today. You'll hear how a late-night telehealth line for people experiencing homelessness grew into a drop-in clinic with more than 10,000 visits in just two years, and how a campaign called Living Proof invites San Franciscans in recovery to tell their own stories (and even co-author the research about it). Dr. Hom also opens up about the policy efforts that didn't succeed, what they taught him about coalitions and timing, and why the rules at your own clinic, school, or workplace may be the most powerful place to start making change.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes
▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What happens when three different people tell you a job is meant for you, and you laugh off every one of them? Dr. Michelle Taylor returns to the podcast on her one-year anniversary as Commissioner of Health for the Baltimore City Health Department, and she shares the surprising chain of conversations that carried her from her hometown of Memphis to Baltimore. Dr. Huntley and Dr. Taylor also celebrate the wins that rarely make headlines, including a coordinated overdose response in which every single person survived and a long-running program that is helping close the gap between how many Black and white babies in Baltimore live to see their first birthday. Dr. Taylor closes with heartfelt advice about investing in your people and protecting your own well-being so you can keep doing the work you love. Press play for a hopeful reminder that good things are happening in public health, and that the right people around you can open doors you never imagined.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes
▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

Can you draw public health? Brian Castrucci, DrPH, President and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, has asked thousands of people to try, and even the most seasoned professionals come up stumped. In this episode, Dr. Castrucci joins Dr. Huntley to share how a last-minute invitation to a seminar on gun violence launched a 30-year career that has taken him from local health departments to national philanthropy. He explains why the skills you build (he calls it your Batman utility belt) will carry you through every career turn, and why he believes the future of public health depends on clear communication, strong partnerships, and smart policy. If you have ever struggled to explain your work to family and friends, or wondered how public health can rebuild trust during a pivotal election year, this conversation will leave you with fresh ideas and plenty of hope.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes
▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What happens when a podcast that has published a new conversation every Tuesday since 2017 decides to try something it has never done before? In this solo episode, Dr. Huntley pauses to reintroduce herself to new and longtime listeners, sharing how her work as an epidemiologist and entrepreneur spans consulting with nonprofits (primarily tribal nations), hosting two podcasts, and now writing a book. She opens up about the excitement and nerves of holding advance copies of The Public Health Consultant: Expertise, Entrepreneurship, Greater Impact, which publishes December 15, 2026, with Johns Hopkins University Press. Then she announces a first in PHEC history, as a new voice steps up to introduce guests and topics beginning with the very next episode. Tune in to find out who it is, and learn how you can meet Dr. Huntley and the PHEC team in person at the APHA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, where you might even become part of a live recording.
 
 
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes
▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting

What does it actually take to explain public health when the field itself feels like it's under attack? In this special roundtable episode, Dr. Huntley brings together three public health professionals, Dr. Belina Shaw, Jenna Paladino, and Ashley Peterson, for a real time conversation about how they translate their work into language that friends, family, and coworkers can actually understand. From a psychiatrist turned "doctorpreneur" connecting financial stress to physical health, to a healthcare lobbyist explaining access through the lens of who pays for it, to a health education specialist building worksite wellness programs from the ground up, each guest shares the analogies and stories that help public health click for the people around them. Along the way, they get honest about job loss, funding cuts, and what it looks like to keep serving communities when the systems around you are shifting. This is a conversation about creativity, resilience, and why public health belongs in every room, no matter who is in it.
Resources
▶️ Join the PHEC Podcast Community
▶️ Visit the PHEC Podcast Show Notes
▶️ DrCHHuntley, Public Health & Epidemiology Consulting