John Werry completed training in child and adolescent psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal, and has been a world renowned leader in children's mental health. Drawing on a half century of work in Canada, the United States, and his native New Zealand, he shares his reflections and vision for the future in the interview given for this article. The interview was conducted by Larry K. Brendtro, who was a colleague of Werry's when both were on the faculty at the University of Illinois.