Dr. Joy A. Bliss is the BSN Chair and Assistant Professor of Nursing at Hawai‘i Pacific University, where she also serves as the Simulationist for Obstetrics and Pediatrics. Her work focuses on advancing health equity, environmental awareness, and culturally grounded nursing education across Hawai‘i and the Pacific region. She has led nursing missions in Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i, taken students to Weno, Micronesia for community-engaged health outreach, and partnered with global institutions such as Tokyo Women’s Medical University in Japan. Dr. Bliss integrates high-fidelity simulation, cultural competence, and innovative teaching strategies to prepare students for clinical practice in diverse and resource-limited environments. She is a recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Mentoring & Service Learning and the Daisy Award for Nursing Education. Her recent work incorporates artificial intelligence to enhance simulation design, support student learning, and strengthen faculty mentorship. She is committed to improving environmental health literacy and supporting underserved communities through nursing leadership.

As a program leader at Florida International University (FIU), Dr. Francisco Brenes has graduated hundreds of psychiatric nurse practitioners and mentored 25 DNP students nationwide.  His research focuses on psychiatric and behavioral health disparities, suicide, and the role of spirituality and herbal medicines in diverse, vulnerable communities, especially among undocumented immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced individuals.  Dr. Brenes is dedicated to advancing culturally tailored, evidence-based psychosocial care and actively advocates for increased access to psychiatric and behavioral health services for diverse ethnic groups, vulnerable children and families, as well as underserved populations.  His work promotes an understanding of the behavioral health challenges encountered by underserved communities.  Dr. Francisco Brenes has also held numerous leadership roles in the community, making substantial contributions to mental health initiatives.  Through his commitment to excellence, innovation, and community engagement, Francisco’s achievements make him a deserving recipient of this prestigious fellowship.

Diana M. Cavazos is a Registered Nurse with a 29-year nursing career. She has worked with multicultural populations, focusing efforts on susceptible communities, including Hispanic communities struggling with migrant issues, intimate partner violence against women, opioid use disorder, and homelessness. As an Associate Professor at UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing, she has focused her leadership on creating awareness and solutions to address health equity for vulnerable populations.

She has been in Academia since 2009 and has continuously developed and executed educational models that encourage students to implement clinical skills that are culturally competent and serve communities with specific needs.  She believes in learning evidence-based concepts and putting them into practice in realistic scenarios, in order to understand  diversity and be inclusive when providing healthcare.

She travels the world to expand her cultural awareness and cultural competence, and is constantly looking for opportunities to help her community.

MayaSunshine is a registered nurse specializing in aesthetic dermatology and currently pursuing a Master’s in Case Management while completing her internship at Kaiser Permanente. Deeply influenced by her family and dedicated to cultural health practices, she is passionate about integrating wellbeing and tradition into patient-centered care.

She is fortunate to have presented her fellowship work at the Spring Symposium and the DNPs of Color Conference, focusing on BIPOC healthcare student mental health and culturally informed wellness practices in university settings. Her project ultimately evolved into a year-long university program supporting student wellbeing.

Committed to advancing equity and leadership in nursing, she is proud to serve as one of only 15 American Nurses Association NextGen Ambassadors, where advocates for inclusive, culturally responsive care and the growth of future nurse leaders.

Dr Pamela Ginex is an Assistant Professor at the Stony Brook University School of Nursing and has a joint appointment at the Stony Brook Cancer Center. Pam has a distinguished career in oncology nursing and is an early-stage investigator building a program of research focused on the environment and health. She is working to identify and understand health outcomes following toxic environmental exposure and health effects of climate disasters. A goal of her toxic exposure work is to develop and implement behavioral interventions to mitigate the risk of chronic illness post-exposure. She’s a fellow at the New York Academy of Medicine and the Education Study Group Co-Chair for MASCC, the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer. She received her bachelor of science in nursing and master’s in public health from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate in nursing from Teacher’s College at Columbia University.

Dr. Kassandra S. Greci is a distinguished healthcare professional with over a decade of experience in educational leadership and management within the nursing field. She currently serves as the Senior Manager of Women’s Health Programs at the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). In this role, she develops and implements strategies to connect members and institutions with AWHONN’s educational services, focusing on reproductive, gynecologic, prenatal, and postpartum care.

Dr. Greci’s career is marked by her commitment to advancing women’s health through education and clinical practice. She has extensive clinical experience, having worked as an advanced practice registered nurse providing high-quality care to gynecologic patients and as a registered nurse in the intensive care and neonatal units.

Dr. Greci is also an accomplished educator, having served as a nursing faculty member and an online instructor. Her academic credentials include a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Women’s Health from Florida International University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Florida International University.

Her contributions to the field are further evidenced by her numerous publications and presentations on women’s health topics. Dr. Greci’s dedication to professional development and her ability to translate clinical expertise into educational initiatives make her a valuable asset to the nursing community.

Cassandra Hawkins is a Registered Nurse with a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, dedicated to advancing health equity, environmental health, and high-quality care for diverse populations. Her work centers on strengthening population health through evidence-based practice, data-informed decision making, and meaningful engagement with the communities she serves. At the VA North Texas Health Care System, she collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to support veterans’ health, addresses social and environmental factors that influence well-being, and expands access to preventive and coordinated care. She completed an evidence-based project focused on improving health outcomes through sustainable and equitable interventions that can be applied across large, complex systems.

Throughout her career, she contributed to community outreach, led health education efforts, and supported initiatives that reduce disparities among vulnerable groups. She is especially proud of the impact she makes at the VA, where she helps elevate nursing leadership and contributes to efforts that strengthen care delivery, improve patient experiences, and promote long-term wellness for veterans.

Rachel Lyons is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in an urban children’s emergency department and a faculty member teaching undergraduate nursing students. Her clinical work exposes her to the profound impact that environmental and social conditions, such as housing instability, air quality, and climate-related stressors have on children’s health. These experiences have strengthened her commitment to moving beyond acute care to address the upstream determinants of illness through prevention, advocacy, and community partnership. Recently, she initiated a collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Health and its Health Equity Zones initiative, proposing a nurse-led, pediatric-centered program to strengthen family resilience and advance environmental health. Their enthusiastic response affirmed the value of nurse leadership in community-based health improvement. As an educator, she integrates environmental stewardship and social justice into nursing curricula and aims to engage students in these community projects, fostering the next generation of nurses dedicated to health equity and environmental justice.

Mary-Jacqueline Kavivi Muli (BSN, RN) is the founder of The Climate Justice Nurse and a practicing critical care nurse at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, she has resided in Detroit, Michigan, for more than two decades. An alumna of the University of Detroit Mercy and a ReBUILDetroit Scholar—an NIH-funded initiative designed to expand research participation among underrepresented populations—her professional and scholarly work centers on advancing health equity in Detroit within the context of the climate crisis. She will commence her doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Nursing in the fall of 2026, where she intends to further investigate the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, and community health.

Beyond her clinical and academic pursuits, Muli remains actively engaged in community-based initiatives, including volunteer service, the mentorship of emerging leaders, and cross-cultural exploration through travel and immersion.

Carmen Noonan, BSN, RN is a holistic nurse, environmental health advocate, and founder of Healing of Healers, a community-based initiative supporting the well-being of caregivers and healthcare workers. With over 14 years of nursing experience, Carmen brings a trauma-informed and culturally rooted lens to health equity, environmental justice, and community resilience. Her work weaves together ancestral knowledge, sacred medicine, and ecological awareness to promote healing on individual and collective levels. As an Environmental Health Nurse Fellow, she is committed to advancing sustainable and equitable healthcare systems.

Liz Parsons has been a nurse for nine years. Currently, she works as a community health nurse at a clinic in Albuquerque, NM. Her work involves doing medical outreach and street medicine with community partners, as well as staffing the nurse triage clinic, assisting with vaccinations at our school based health centers, and coordinating care for our patients. Before this, she worked in the hospital setting as a medical-surgical nurse, including as a travel nurse in various locations and settings. She also worked for the Vermont DOH as a public health nurse doing infectious disease investigations and at Alaska Native Medical Center in multiple roles. She strives to be engaged with her community and to learn wherever she lives. She is looking forward to becoming more engaged with climate health advocacy through this fellowship.

Gay Pasley is a registered nurse, writer, and cultural memory-keeper whose work lives at the intersection of environmental justice, community health, and narrative power. With over twenty years of clinical experience across birth work, death work, and federally compensated illness programs, she currently provides 24-hour care to Navajo-speaking former uranium miners on the easternmost edge of the Navajo Nation under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. Her practice centers cultural safety, linguistic respect, and trauma-informed presence—integrating traditional foodways, land-based rhythms, and family-centered care into Western medical frameworks.

Raised in North Tulsa and born in Antigua, Pasley carries a lived understanding of how land, displacement, and environmental exposure shape the health of Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities. Her ongoing work with energy workers—many of whom face the intergenerational consequences of uranium extraction—deepens her commitment to environmental health as both a clinical and moral imperative. She advocates for healthcare delivery models that honor cultural sovereignty while addressing the structural conditions that produce environmental illness.

Pasley is the recipient of multiple national and regional honors, including the Southwest Everett Literary Award, the Paragon Award, and the Leadership Tulsa Award. Her creative work has been published in Obsidian, Transition, Amistad, and Snapdragon, and she uses storytelling as a form of cultural documentation and public health advocacy. She also serves on the National Black Nurses Association Black Maternal Health Equity Task Force, contributing to national policy work, systems-level interventions, and equity strategies to improve outcomes for marginalized birthing communities.

As she builds EverReady 24-Hour Private Duty Nursing Service—a specialized model for caring for energy workers—Pasley is shaping a scalable approach to home-based environmental illness care that centers continuity, dignity, and cultural competence. She is pursuing the 2026 Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship to deepen her scientific expertise, strengthen her policy fluency, and expand her capacity to advocate for communities impacted by environmental injustice across the Southwest and beyond.

Her work is anchored in a core truth: environmental harm is never just exposure—it is story, geography, memory, and survival, and healing must account for all of it.

Bryanna Patterson is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of diverse clinical and leadership experience. After several years in primary care, she recently transitioned into academia and now serves as an adjunct professor and nurse practitioner liaison. She will soon begin a new nurse practitioner role in occupational medicine.

Bryanna’s career began as a CNA and PCT before earning her ADN from Monroe Community College, BSN from SUNY Brockport, and Master of Science from the University of Rochester School of Nursing. Her clinical background includes work in Med/Surg/Tele, IMC, ICU, and serving as a Living Donor Advocate supporting individuals through the organ donation process.

An active health policy advocate, she serves as the Health Policy Committee Co-Chair for the Rochester Black Nurses Association, participates in NBNA’s policy initiatives, and has served as the Legislative Director for the Genesee Valley Nurses Association.

He has been selected to the Environmental Health Research Institute for Nurse and Clinician Scientists (EHRI-NCS) cohort of 2023-24. The EHRI-NCS is designed to build the nursing discipline-wide capacity and rigor for translational and clinical research methods in environmental health for nurse scientists.

Dr. Lindsay Pelz is the Department Chair and Associate Professor of Nursing at Southwest Minnesota State University, where she leads the RN to BSN and MSN Nurse Educator programs and is spearheading the development of a new Pre-Licensure BSN program in collaboration with regional healthcare partners. Her work focuses on strengthening rural nursing pathways, expanding equitable access to high-quality nursing education, and building sustainable academic–community partnerships.

Dr. Pelz is deeply committed to leadership development and community engagement, and her academic career reflects a strong record of cultivating collaborative networks, mentoring emerging nurse leaders, and designing experiential learning models that support both personal and professional growth. She is particularly proud of initiatives that center community voice and foster mutually beneficial partnerships—work that aligns closely with the fellowship’s aims to develop leaders, expand diverse professional networks, and deepen connection with local community-based organizations.

Clarisza Runtung is an Emergency Department nurse, global health researcher, and emerging scholar whose work sits at the intersection of climate change, environmental migration, and health-systems resilience. She is currently an MPH student in Global Health & Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Her research examines how climate-related mobility, tidal flooding, and land subsidence reshape health risks, care-seeking pathways, and primary care readiness, particularly in Jakarta and other climate-vulnerable cities in Southeast Asia. She uses GIS, epidemiology, qualitative methods, and community-based co-design to study how slow-onset climate impacts transform displacement, belonging, and continuity of care, driven by a deep curiosity about how a warming and shifting planet affects human lives, decisions, and wellbeing. Her work explores how health systems can anticipate and adapt to environmental migration, especially for communities historically pushed to the margins of service delivery.

Clarisza’s interdisciplinary background spanning: theatre directing, emergency nursing, and global health research, shapes her commitment to story-driven, community-rooted science. She has collaborated with partners across Indonesia and Madagascar to strengthen humanitarian readiness, develop digital tools for environmental monitoring, and support community-led primary health care reform. She ultimately aims to translate research into equitable climate and health policy that prepares cities and health systems for a warming and increasingly mobile world.

Dr. Stephens is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from the UAB School of Public Health, where her research examined how air pollution affects lung health in environmental justice communities and explored environmental health literacy and educational disparities among high school students.

Her clinical interests center on severe asthma and environmental lung diseases associated with exposure to heavy metals, chemicals, coal dust, and air pollution, emphasizing the health impacts of these environmental factors. As a tobacco treatment specialist, she uses shared-decision making with patients to develop and incorporate individualized plans for smoking cessation. Dr. Stephens’ ongoing research focuses on how housing and neighborhood improvements affect lung health and chronic disease risk, as well as on health disparities from particulate matter exposure. She also works with youth tobacco prevention initiatives addressing vaping, marketing tactics, and cessation.

Dr. Christie Simon-Waterman is a dually certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, specializing in Employee Health & Wellness within the Department of Occupational Health. With decades of clinical experience, she is an expert in integrated primary and behavioral health care, focusing on prevention, holistic wellness, and health equity.

Dr. Simon-Waterman earned her Family Nurse Practitioner degree from Coppin State University and her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Maryland. Her diverse clinical background includes critical care, emergency medicine, and community health, with a focus on co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

A passionate advocate for health equity, she has led initiatives to reduce disparities and served as President of the Maryland Nurses Association. Recognized nationally for her contributions, Dr. Simon-Waterman is also a mentor to aspiring nurse leaders and enjoys traveling and engaging in community health events.

Rhonda Smith is a compassionate and dedicated nurse with more than 36 years of experience. She is currently employed full-time with the Little Rock School District and works as needed in the Oncology Infusion Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

Rhonda earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and holds certifications in CPR, First Aid, and Chemotherapy Administration. She is passionate about empowering individuals to take charge of their health through early prevention, education, and community engagement.

A native of North Little Rock, Rhonda now resides in Little Rock. She is an active member of six nursing organizations and currently serves asVice President of the Little Rock Black Nurses Association. In addition, she is a dedicated member of the Little Rock Southwest High School PTSA, where she is serving her second term as treasurer.

Melveen Camba, MSN received her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science with a minor in Japanese from University of San Francisco.   After graduating, she moved back home, worked at Star Physical Therapy and decided to attend University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing.  She began her nursing career and worked at the Endoscopy Institute of Hawaii, not only caring for patients with GI issues and educating the importance of screenings, but also empowering others to take control of their own health through nurse/health coaching.  She later found her passion in Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing with CareOnSite, a national healthcare industry who help businesses across America to achieve a healthier workforce.  She has also worked as a Contact Tracer with Infection Prevention and Control at Queens Medical Center in response to the Covid pandemic.  While working and raising two boys (Addison, 6 & Lucas, 23 months), she went back to school and recently earned her Master’s at UH Manoa in Advanced Population Health Nursing.  Practicing as an advanced nurse in Hawaii, she is sensitive to cultural differences, which she leverages in her knowledge development to improve worker health and wellbeing, both at the workplace and at home.

After 8 years in employee health, she has gained a global perspective in her career and operates as the lead Occupational Nurse for her team, coordinating Worker Health and Wellbeing initiatives and ensuring compliance with local, state, federal, and business expectations.  She is committed to prioritize health and safety to prevention of illnesses and injuries that can affect every aspect of life for workers and their families through education and training development.  Melveen is a lifelong learner and remains an active member of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Hawaii Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, and is now a nurse fellow with Alliances of Nurses for Healthy Environments.  She is always looking for ways to connect with fellow nurses who have a passion for environmental health, building a healthy environment, and sustainable future.  Outside of work, she enjoys time with her family, traveling, and builds resiliency to build up her health through working out (running outdoors), practicing mindfulness, and going to local farmers markets.

Robin Evans-Agnew is a Professor with the University of Washington Tacoma School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership. He is a climate and environmental justice researcher who focuses on planetary health and nursing in the Puyallup River Watershed of Tacoma, home to the 4th largest port-industrial area on the west coast. He is an expert in citizen sci-ence, participatory action research, and photovoice as means towards community organizing and emancipatory nursing praxis. He is a past board member of the American Public Health Association’s Center for Climate, Health, and Equity. He completed his BSN at Johns Hopkins University in 1985 and his PhD in Nursing at the University of Washing-ton in 2011.

LaDonna Gaines is the Administrative Director of the Alabama Poison Information Center located at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. She has been a nurse for 19 years. She has worked as a Hematology/Oncology Staff Nurse, Medical Case Manager, and a Specialist in Poison Information throughout her career. Professionally, she is a member of the America’s Poison Centers Accreditation Committee, Poison Center Leadership Committee, Alabama State Nurses Association, and the American Association of Clinical Toxicologists. She currently volunteers with the Junior League of Birmingham and sits on the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health Alumni Advisory Board, University of Montevallo Nursing Leadership Advisory Council, Nurse Heroes for Zero, Samford Black Alumni Association (SBAA) Board of Directors as the Vice President, and is the IMPACT Lead for Alabama as part of the The Public Health Club. She is the current South Regional Forum Organizer for ANHE, has served as a past mentor, and is a fellow from Cohort 2.

Beckie Kronebusch is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse certified as an Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist. She has been a nurse for over twenty years and a CNS for eight. Currently, she works as a clinical nurse specialist manager in the Mayo Clinic Health System Southwest and Northwest Wisconsin regions but worked for 17 years at the Rochester, MN Destination Medical Center Mayo Clinic site. She is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Ethical Leadership at Viterbo University. She is very proud to be a CNS and loves this role for its versatility, ability to lead practice and change, and continued opportunities for growth. She participates and leads several committees, projects, and evidence-based practice work in my daily work, but also is a mentor for the MN organization of Nurse Leaders and chairs the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee of the National Association of CNSs. She is very proud of the work she’s been able to advance in the DEI space and continue to grow as an ally.

Dr. Jessica LeClair, an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing, has extensive experience promoting public and planetary health through community partnerships. Her roles with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments include co-chairing the Global Nurses Climate Change Committee, co-developing the Global Nurses Climate Justice Agenda, and she currently co-chairs the ANHE Research Forum. She also chaired the Sustainable Madison Committee for the City of Madison and the Climate and Health Section with the Wisconsin Public Health Association. She leads efforts to integrate planetary health into nursing curricula, and her background as a public health nurse informs her research on developing capacity-building interventions to support nurses in advancing planetary health. She has participated in the Environmental Research Institute for Nurse and Clinician Scientists and received honors, including the Emerging Researcher Award from the APHA Public Health Nursing Section and the New Investigator Award from AcademyHealth.

Dr. Nelson Tuazon has a successful track record in nursing practice, academia, and executive leadership. His involvement in professional associations and boards has influenced nursing practice, nursing education, and public policy. He was the inaugural Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of the Philippine Nurses Association of America (now the Journal of Nursing Practice Applications and Reviews of Research). He serves as a peer reviewer of the Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. As founder of the San Antonio Nursing Consortium and Board Member of the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce, he actively participates in public awareness campaigns, including the Stop-the-Bleed Program and humanitarian projects related to climate change in the Philippines. He serves as adjunct faculty at Excelsior University and UT Health San Antonio. His interests in the Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship focus on integrating environmental health and environmental justice into nursing practice, curriculum, public education, and health policy. Dr Tuazon is also Vice President & Associate Chief Nursing Officer at University Health in San Antonio, Texas.