Adrienne Parrish Fuentes

Interview with Adrienne Parrish Fuentes

Transcription

a transcription of this interview.

Biographical Note

Adrienne Parrish Fuentes is an experienced global health diplomat and foreign affairs and international development professional. She most recently represented the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from October 2016 through February 2021. In this role, she led the HHS team in China and advised the HHS secretary and the U.S. ambassador to China on priority health policy issues between the United States and China, including pandemic preparedness, mental health and substance abuse, global health security, biomedical research engagements, and food and medical product safety. During the Covid-19 outbreak and ensuing global health crisis, Adrienne was part of the senior leadership team at the U.S. embassy managing multiple concurrent crises. Before her time with HHS, she served at the U.S. Department of State in various capacities from 2002 to 2016, including on the deputy secretary’s staff, with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, and then launching the Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance. Her other overseas tours include serving as the country coordinator for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, and later in the same role in Windhoek, Namibia. Ms. Parrish Fuentes has previous experience in the fields of health communication, energy security, and defense and national security policy. She holds an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a B.A. in international relations and Japanese studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Citation

Adrienne Parrish Fuentes, interview by Jonathan Angulo, 19 March 2024. "A Global Oral History of PEPFAR,” Collective Memory Project, Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University.