In prosperous, care-free times, public health workers seem almost invisible. Because their job is to prevent health crises from happening, they remain in the background. Few people learn about their true impact. But when the COVID-19 global pandemic officially hit Michigan in March 2020, the public health department, nurses, doctors, and hospital workers suddenly played an outsized role in coaching us on how to survive this deadly pathogen, which as of April 12 has infected 1,107 in Leelanau County and claimed 16 lives. Here are the stories of a few local public health workers who have led our community response to the COVID-19 pandemic.