APHA's Center for Climate, Health and Equity is excited to announce the 30 members of its 2022-2023 advisory board.

New members were selected to serve a two-year term, and some existing members were invited back for one additional year to preserve institutional knowledge and create a process in which half of the board changes each year. Members include representatives from APHA sections and partner organizations, including academic partners, faith and environmental organizations, business and healthcare representatives, and environmental justice leaders.

The Center for Climate, Health and Equity Advisory Board will explore the critical issues and activities that are important to the communities and populations the center serves and will be instrumental in creating the center’s strategic plan for 2023 and beyond. It will ground the center’s programs in activities that allow for community investment and engagement while addressing the pressing climate threats impacting our nation’s health.

“Our team is so excited to work closely with this new advisory board,” said Katherine Catalano, deputy director of the Center for Climate, Health and Equity. “The impact of APHA’s work on climate change will continue to grow with the forging of new partnerships and guidance from this diverse, multidisciplinary group of thought leaders.”

APHA invited members of the association and the public to submit applications of interest over a three-month period in the summer of 2022. The Center for Climate, Health and Equity reviewed the applications to create an advisory board of individuals with diverse perspectives, expertise and lived experiences.

Headshots of Advisory Board MembersThe advisory board members are:

  • Mirna P. Amaya, University of Florida, APHA Human Rights Forum
  • Elena Canler, Faith in Place
  • Jesseca Chatman, NAACP Environmental & Climate Justice Committee
  • Olufunmilayo Chinekezi, National Academy of Medicine Climate Grant Challenge, NASEM
  • David E. Corbin, University of Nebraska Omaha
  • Mauro Diaz-Hernandez, Yale Center on Climate Change and Health
  • Natasha DeJarnett, University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute
  • Robin A. Evans-Agnew, School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, University of Washington Tacoma
  • Jairo Garcia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Urban Climate Nexus
  • Ans Irfan, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Harvard University Divinity School
  • Tenaya Jackman, Hawai’i Public Health Association, Pacific Islands Primary Care Association
  • Jaylan Jacobs, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance
  • Kaumudi Joshipura, Center for Clinical Research & Health Promotion, University of Puerto Rico, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Amna Khan, Ceres
  • Kevin Lanza, UTHealth School of Public Health
  • Georgiana A. Logan, Marshall University
  • Beto Martinez, CleanAirNow Environmental Justice, Moving Forward Network, SciCAN, CEJC Founding Member
  • Leyla McCurdy, Children’s Environmental Health Network
  • Chantelle Mendonsa, National Resources Defense Council
  • Zo Mpofu, North Carolina Public Health Association, Solar United Neighbors
  • Iyabo Obasanjo, College of William and Mary
  • Melissa Ontiveros, Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico
  • Benito Pérez, Transportation for America
  • Richard Rabin, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
  • Crystal Romeo Upperman, Deloitte
  • Rose M. Schneider, Health Systems Management
  • Momodou Tekanyi, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health, Advance Care Alliance of New York
  • Pamela Valera, Rutgers School of Public Health
  • Deborah Klein Walker, Family Voices, New Hampshire Healthcare Workers for Climate Action
  • Brenda Wilson, University of California, San Diego

Photo collage of advisory board members courtesy Katherine Catalano