Route Notes is a podcast for public health professionals, nonprofit leaders, educators, and changemakers navigating the real work of leadership in complex systems.
We’ve spent years working alongside leaders in public health, education, nonprofits, and advocacy. From board rooms to back roads, the challenges are always complex.
Route Notes shares stories, strategies, and lessons we’ve learned along the way—and introduces you to the people who’ve helped us navigate the terrain.
Because maps are made from the journeys behind us—not the road ahead.
All content for Route Notes is the property of Wesley Rich and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Route Notes is a podcast for public health professionals, nonprofit leaders, educators, and changemakers navigating the real work of leadership in complex systems.
We’ve spent years working alongside leaders in public health, education, nonprofits, and advocacy. From board rooms to back roads, the challenges are always complex.
Route Notes shares stories, strategies, and lessons we’ve learned along the way—and introduces you to the people who’ve helped us navigate the terrain.
Because maps are made from the journeys behind us—not the road ahead.
What if the public health “magic bullet” isn’t a single program or intervention—but a mindset?
In this episode of Route Notes, Dr. David Tillman and Dr. Wesley Rich explore the astonishing 72% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths in Harnett County, NC, and unpack why it didn’t come from doing just one thing. Instead, it came from embracing complexity, honoring local wisdom, and resisting the urge to oversimplify wicked problems.
They challenge the iconic upstream/downstream metaphor, share insights from real-world opioid response work, and introduce a new way of thinking: health as a watershed, not a pipeline. If you're tired of linear models that don’t reflect real life—and want to know what happens when a community truly co-creates its own strategy—this episode is for you.
Data still matters. But so does trust, tacit knowledge, and making room for every voice.
Route Notes
Route Notes is a podcast for public health professionals, nonprofit leaders, educators, and changemakers navigating the real work of leadership in complex systems.
We’ve spent years working alongside leaders in public health, education, nonprofits, and advocacy. From board rooms to back roads, the challenges are always complex.
Route Notes shares stories, strategies, and lessons we’ve learned along the way—and introduces you to the people who’ve helped us navigate the terrain.
Because maps are made from the journeys behind us—not the road ahead.
