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Humans of Banbury: Interview with Georges Benjamin

Georges Benjamin sitting in the conference room during the March 2024
Georges Benjamin, M.D., at the March 2024 "When No Response is Not an Option for Science" meeting.

During the Banbury Center’s March 2024 meeting, “When No Response is Not an Option for Science,” I had the opportunity to meet Georges Benjamin, M.D. Dr. Benjamin has served as the executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA) since 2002. Prior to this role, he was secretary of the Maryland Depart of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Benjamin earned his B.S. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and his M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. We spoke about his storied career in the public health field, and the state of the field today.

Georges Benjamin smiling. He is wearing square-framed glasses, a black suit jacket, a light green collared shirt, and a red patterned tie.
Georges Benjamin, M.D.

Can you tell me about what you do in, more or less, two sentences?

I’m the chief executive officer of a professional society whose mission is to improve the capacity of the public health field to do its work, and its work is to improve the health and well-being of the nation.

You began your career as a military physician. How did this experience inform your leadership at the American Public Health Association (APHA)?

I think that one of the things that I learned in the army was leadership – specifically, how to bring together a relatively disparate group of people who have different issues, goals, and agendas, and get them going in an organized way. I have always sought out complex problems to solve, and have become very comfortable in uncharted territory.

Through your work, what kind of impact are you hoping to make?

At the end of the day, we hope to move the nation to a much healthier place. We’ve been around since 1872, and through our work, we try to guide the nation toward being healthier.

What is your biggest hope for the future of your field?

Public health has been underinvested in for many, many years. I hope that we will be able to convince people that public health is a best buy, and that it is worth a much bigger investment, so that it becomes a higher priority in the nation.

What do you consider to be the greatest accomplishment of your career thus far?

That’s a tough one, and I’ve thought a little bit about that – certainly my time in the state of Maryland as health secretary. I love the job that I’m doing now, but I loved my eight years in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. When I left, almost every health statistic that was supposed to be up, was up, and most of the bad things were diminished. I had a really well-oiled, functional team that was happy with their work. So, from an administrative and programmatic perspective, I think that is my greatest success.

What public health issues in America today do you believe deserve more attention?

Well, clearly, gun violence – which is a public health problem, and should be solved with a public health approach. Public health alone cannot solve gun violence by any means, but the approach that we use is very functional, and convincing people to take that approach is very important. Climate change is probably the most threatening public health problem that we have today; it affects all sectors of our society. The third issue is inequities, racism, and discrimination – some of the original sins of our nation – and their corrosive effects. They need to be addressed head-on, as they impact the health of the public.

Public opinion on public health appears more polarized than it has ever been. In the face of this challenge, what motivates you to continue your work?

What motivates me is realizing that we’ve lost trust. Trust is hard to get, and easy to lose. The best way to regain trust is do what you say you are going to do, practice your craft effectively, and to engage people. My hope is that, at the end of the day, people will see the value in that.

Is there a recent development in public health that you believe will have a large impact?

I think that the biggest development – and it’s a threat to public health – is the perspective of the law, which is beginning to undermine public health legal authorities. We are going to have to re-visualize the social contract in our country, so that people move from this concept of “I,” to this concept of “we.”