Cohort 1

Christine Fasching Maphis, MSN, RN-BC, FNP-BC is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse, Family Nurse Practitioner and teaches psychiatric and mental health nursing and impact of chronic illness at the James Madison University School of Nursing. Christine is passionate about our planet and natural resources, as well as the huge impact that nurses can have in influencing population health through initiatives that mitigate and bring awareness to climate change.Through the ANHE fellowship program, Christine hopes to learn more about empowering nurses to engage personally and professionally in their communities to initiate and support sustainable solutions.

During the Fellowship , Christine assisted efforts to form the 50by25 campaign in Harrisburg, Virginia. The campaign advocated for the city council to commit to 50% renewable energy in the electric grid by 2025. The campaign also called for a 25% increase in energy efficiency in municipal and school buildings by 2020, along with the promotion of equitable pricing and creation of programs that incentivize weatherization and energy efficiency in residential and commercial properties, lowering energy costs and making housing more affordable. Chris worked with the campaign to submit a $500,000 grant to enhance equitable interventions around the health impacts of climate change. In response to campaign advocacy efforts; the Harrisonburg city council unanimously passed a resolution committing to 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2035, and across all energy sectors by 2050. This makes her community one of 10 cities in Virginia and one of 166 U.S. cities to adopt 100% clean energy commitments. Her efforts to engage other health professionals around this important work has included providing education and advocacy for sustainable and equitable energy transitions to local health and social service providers and her undergraduate nursing students, helping to organize a continuing education conference with the University of Virginia, and submitting a resolution on climate change for the American Nurses Association (ANA).

Felix J. Roman Hernandez, DNP-PHNLs, MSN, RN is a faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus School of Nursing, where he teaches Health Physical Assessment, Adult Health and Community Health Nursing. During his past professional experience he has worked for hospital institutions and government programs such as the WIC federal program as a community nurse offering nutrition education, home safety environment, health education, case manager and clinical service to mothers, infants, and children. Felix is a DNP – Public Health Nurse Leader student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In his program, he has worked on community projects focused on the prevention of vector-borne diseases in partnership with government agencies and faith-based groups and utilization of photo-voice to educate community members on waste management in the rural area of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.

During the Fellowship, Felix partnered with a coalition of 8 communities surrounding the Caño Martin Peña channel, an area that has experienced significant challenges as a result of climate change, including residual damage from Hurricane Maria. Felix  provided education on air quality, asthma, and the connection to climate change for school aged children. His continued work beyond the Fellowship involves working with a local school to implement the EPA Air Quality Flag program with the aim of reducing asthma exacerbations and school absenteeism. Felix is working with various stakeholders, such as the University of Puerto Rico and government agencies to further build resilience.

Jo Ann G. Kim (also known as “Jo”) grew up in rural Northeast Nebraska and currently resides in South Dakota.  She has worked as an acute care and outpatient RN in various subspecialties, as well as in home-care nursing, occupational health nursing, community health nursing, and as a nurse educator.  Jo is currently pursuing MSN degree in the family nurse practitioner track at Mount Marty College. She has become involved with ANHE in the interest of helping to improve the health of her community, which is impacted by environmental challenges including heavy pesticide usage on farms as well as weather extremes in a changing climate.

During the Fellowship, Jo partnered with Greening Vermillion to develop a pamphlet, online links, door hangers, and presentations to instruct residents on recent changes to recycling regulations.

Soohyun Kim is a public health nurse with State of Alaska, and is currently a regional nurse manager for Southeast Alaska. She holds MSN and MPH degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and she has served in a number of past roles related to public and community health, refugee health, and data analysis.  Ms. Kim is deeply interested in advocating for environmental health issues at a local level and in translating environmental health research into actionable, culturally relevant information.

During the Fellowship, Soohyun assisted with various community outreach projects of the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health (CEEJH) Lab at the University of Maryland-College Park. She helped develop educational materials and plan for community workshops on different environmental justice issues, including park access equity and air quality.

Jason Kirchick, MPH, RN is a researcher and graduate student at Sacred Heart University. His current areas of interest include utilizing the public health framework to address health issues in communities, exploring influenza vaccination attitudes in the United States, and the impacts of climate change on health. Jason came to the nursing profession following a near-death experience with H1N1 Influenza and spent several weeks in the Intensive-Care Unit fighting sepsis, acute respiratory distress, and multi-organ failure. Through his experience as a patient, he became a Patient-Family Advisor for the University of Vermont Medical Center and Patient Ambassador and Peer-Reviewer for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Jason is a critical care nurse and County Coordinator for the Medical Reserve Corp. Jason is part of the 2019 Student Think Tank for the American Journal of Public Health, is an active member of the American Public Health Association Public Health Nursing Section and serves on the Board of Advisors for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Vermont.

During the Fellowship, Jason collaborated with the Stowe Land Trust and the local hospital on a project to promote access to the outdoors to increase good health and well-being  through implementing ‘green prescription’ (GRx). The project aimed at providing education to healthcare providers’ (HCPs) in the county on the work of Stowe Land Trust and performing research to gather perceptions of implementing green prescriptions in practice to improve health outcomes of the population. Unfortunately, the project was placed on hold due to the pandemic. 

During the Fellowship, Ruth explored CBO’s throughout Queens, New York, building connections throughout the borough. Ruth supported the Green Team at a high school focused on preparing students for careers in the health professions in Cambria Heights, Queens. The Green Team’s goal was to promote food justice and autonomy in promoting food choices and practices that improve health while mitigating climate change. She helped them apply for a citizen’s grant that would support the school in providing fresh, school-grown produce to the community, composting food scraps, and installing native permaculture gardens to enhance green space on school grounds. This grant is now being utilized in COVID-19 relief efforts for those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and economic crisis.  She has become a “Compost Master” and has advocated to promote composting amongst the students, work colleagues and voiced her testimony to the NYC Council Committee on Sanitation & Solid Waste Management to #SaveOurCompost.

Kelly McCarthy holds a Master’s of Science in Nursing Education and is pursuing a post-graduate certificate in Healthcare Simulation. She has been a nurse since 2005, and she has experience in acute care and nursing education from a staff development perspective. She currently works as the supervisor of a new hospital-based Simulation Center and manages the online learning system.  She lives on a farmstead, where she grows food and cares for a variety of animals; she is also a beekeeper and has a passion for self-sustainable living.

During the Fellowship, Kelly partnered with the Kootenai Environmental Alliance to provide education to the community on the impact of heavy metals on human health and developed a fact sheet for community distribution.

Nancy Moran RN, MS, has worked in public health nursing in Tulsa, Oklahoma for over 22 years. She is an integrative nurse coach, yoga instructor, and collage artist, with a masters degree in integrative health and wellness and a focus on mind-body medicine. Nancy has served as a community volunteer is various capacities including founding the first transition living center for homeless people with chronic mental illness, leading the Tulsa Peace Fellowship, and most recently as the co-coordinator of Tulsa Ready for 100, which seeks to secure a just and equitable resolution from the Tulsa City Council to transition to 100% renewable energy. Nancy is now focusing her energy on community organizing and engagement.

During the Fellowship, Nancy monitored air pollution/air quality, surveyed her community on health impacts related to air pollution, and shared the community’s air quality concerns with city and state officials. She also worked with Tulsa city officials and community organizations to update Tulsa’s energy efficiency scorecard to help reduce its contribution to climate change.

Hannah Noel-Bouchard, BSN, RN is a public health nurse in Charleston, South Carolina (SC), a DNP student at the University of Minnesota, and the Nurse Operations Coordinator for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE). She is currently working with a local nonprofit organization, Neighbors Together, to reimagine their health and wellness program to better serve the low-income and homeless populations of North Charleston, SC. She is also working with the Charleston County Public Library system (CCPL) as both a Library Nurse and a consultant in their efforts to connect vulnerable populations in the Charleston area to healthcare in the library setting. Prior to this work, Hannah has worked in cardiac/telemetry, research, and school nursing and was an Emergency Medical Technician. Hannah participated in ANHE’s inaugural Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship program and she continues to build relationships and work with local communities to better understand, prepare for, and mitigate the negative health effects of climate change and polluted air, soil, and water. Her interests include improving health literacy in underserved populations, healthcare design by positive deviance strategies, the changing climate and human health, and community-based healthcare.

During the Fellowship, Hannah developed and led an ecoClub after school program for elementary students in North Charleston, South Carolina with the assistance of her community-based organization partner, the Charleston Promise Neighborhood, focused on the effects of air quality on asthma and environmental justice. The ecoClub engaged students on activities to increase understanding of environmental health, cultivate community engagement, and allow students to showcase their work in an Earth Day celebration. Unfortunately, the ecoClub was put on hold due to the pandemic, however Hannah has continued discussions with the Charleston Promise Neighborhood into how the program could be continued after the pandemic,  how we may be able to implement environmental justice solutions into summer programs, and what an ‘Environmental Club’ program might look like in coming years.

Hannah also helped to bridge connections between her partner community-based organization and various community organizations, promoting collaboration on important efforts such as air monitoring and revitalization of green spaces in the North Charleston area. In one collaborative project, Hannah worked with a local organization to utilize grant funding to purchase air quality monitoring for areas affected by poor air quality.

Dr. Kiley Petersmith is the Director of Diversity & Community Engagement from Nebraska Methodist College. Kiley is adept at relationship building and directing the strategic vision of the Center coordinating meaningful and mutually beneficial community engagement experiences to address diverse college and community needs, creating positive social change towards equitable health and cultivating active citizen leaders in future healthcare professionals. She leads efforts to develop new health-centered programs, partnerships, and educational opportunities to enhance the offerings within the Center addressing health equity and community engagement. In this role, Kiley oversees mobile health programs bringing free healthcare to people in the community where they live, work, play, pray, and learn. One program involves providing secondary and primary prevention strategies addressing the lead pollution problem in the nation’s largest residential lead superfund site. Additionally, her leadership directs the strategic vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the institution.

Kiley is a 3-time alumni of Nebraska Methodist College receiving her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, Masters in the Science of Nursing Education, and Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Public Health Policy. Kiley began her nursing career in pediatrics serving as a nurse in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine for 7 years before transitioning to academia at her alma mater Nebraska Methodist College. Now, she advances the mission of the college and the Center for Diversity & Community Engagement through relationships with signature partners, community organizations, area businesses, and government agencies.

Kiley also serves on many boards/coalitions in the community, including Nebraska State Lead Advisory Group, Board Member of Healthy Housing Omaha, as well as served on various public school health advisory boards in the Omaha Metro and Nebraska Methodist College’s Sustainability and Social Justice and Inclusion committee. She was the co-lead for Nebraska’s Nursing Action Coalition and completed a fellowship program with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, engaging in policy and leadership initiatives that work to improve social and environmental conditions impacting health. She engages in educational seminars throughout the state exploring implicit bias existence within the healthcare setting, social determinants of health and the complex inter-connectedness of our community’s social needs related to health, inclusive community engagement practices to address health inequities of the local community, and environmental injustice and health disparities related to the built environment.

During the Fellowship, Kiley designed and implemented a risk assessment tool for common health concerns related to poor housing/living conditions, including lead poisoning, which will be implemented in local schools in Omaha, Nebraska. This risk assessment tool will flag those that are “at risk” and refer them to the Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance which provides resources to assess, diagnose, and mitigate harmful environmental issues in the home.

Dr. Antionella Upshaw has been a nurse for over 22 years with a clinical background in medical surgical, oncology, hospice and palliative care, case management and public health. She has taught undergraduate and graduate nursing students about public health, community populations at risk, and health disparities. She has volunteered with local organizations, churches, schools, and governmental agencies to identify and implement new initiatives for the medically underserved and communities of color. In her collaborative interdisciplinary efforts with local and national organizations, she encourages policies that advance environmental justice and protect communities of color, students, nurses, children, and older adults. Her business background in economics and finance has allowed her the opportunity to gain experience in resource allocation and non-profit fundraising.

Dr. Upshaw’s current research focuses on aging and the impact of climate change, particularly, disaster preparedness for at-risk older adults. As an inaugural fellow with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) she has served as co-chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) committee. Additionally, Dr. Upshaw has shared her knowledge of climate change and health effects by enhancing resilience through educational sessions, expanding curriculum content and course development, workshop toolkits, and networking/mentorship.  As a statewide RN program consultant for Louisiana, Dr. Upshaw continues to use her knowledge to provide professional nursing consultation and expertise in policy formation, guidelines, and protocols regarding emergency preparedness plans. Dr. Upshaw is a past recipient of the National League for Nursing (NLN) Jonas Scholar and the Louisiana Board of Regents Nursing Fellowship. She has also held active membership and led state and national organizations.

During the Fellowship, Dr. Upshaw partnered with Together Baton Rouge to hold educational sessions for older adults and their families around disaster preparedness and response. She developed guidance documents detailing disaster preparedness plans plus a toolkit to administer community educational sessions for older adults and their caregivers around disaster preparedness.

Lisa Whitfield-Harris, PhD, MBA, RN has over 20 years of experience in the nursing profession in both clinical and administrative roles. Currently, she is the Director of the Community Systems Administration program and an Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University College of Nursing. Her nursing background has spanned several disciplines including education, public health, neurosurgical intensive care unit, and operations management. She has held various positions including academic nursing advisor, diversity coordinator, public health nurse, operations manager, and staff nurse.  Dr. Whitfield-Harris completed her BSN at West Chester University, MSN and MBA at La Salle University, and PhD at Duquesne University. She also has certifications in Mindfulness, Nursing Education, and Mental Health First Aid. During her career, she has been a scholar for Sigma Theta Tau honor society, the Association of Black Nursing Faculty, National League for Nursing, and National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Association. Her interests include issues on diversity and inclusion, health equity, social justice, and healthcare quality and access for underserved populations. She completed publications on African-American nurse faculty experiences in predominantly White schools of nursing, nursing ethics, and patient-provider concordance. Dr. Whitfield-Harris enjoys mentoring students as well as working with diverse populations.

During the Fellowship, Dr. Whitfield-Harris partnered with the Camden Collaborative Initiative. The goal of the project was to assess the air quality of Camden, NJ, in which it was identified that bus/truck idling, the waste emissions of the area factories, as well as housing quality were major environmental concerns in the community. Through her partnership, they partnered with area businesses, residents, and industry on these concerns and provided community education on air quality monitoring, monitoring truck idling in the area, and using the hotline for concerns/emergencies.

Azita Amiri, PhD, RN is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, College of Nursing. Dr. Amiri is a nurse researcher with an interest in indoor air, environmental health, and environmental justice. She measures indoor air quality by simulating residential and occupational settings in her lab and studies the common indoor air exposures, their concentrations and sources, and their impact on pregnancy outcomes, child health, and well-being of elderly.

Adelita Cantu is an Associate Professor at UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing. She has worked in public health for over 35 years and  focuses on strategies to reduce health disparities among vulnerable populations. She has also been involved with ANHE for over 10 years and has used what she has learned from and with the organization to empower vulnerable communities around the connection between health and the environment and how they can mitigate their exposure to multiple environmental health threats.

Lisa Chan MSN, RNC-OB is a Nurse, Perinatal Educator, Wellness Specialist, certified Aromatherapist, certified Dancing for BirthTM Instructor, and the owner of HeroSelfCareTM LLC. She is passionate about women’s health, nurse wellness, and environmental health. Since 2014, she has supported thousands of new moms, students, and caregivers on their journey to health and wellness. In 2010, Lisa became increasingly concerned about the number of harmful chemicals contained in everyday consumer and personal care products and the adverse effects they might be having on her patients and people in her community. She began her mission to tell everyone she knew what her research uncovered. She developed a special knack for teaching people how to make small changes and shifts towards a healthier, less toxic lifestyle. During 2019-2020, she served as an ANHE Mentor and in 2020 was chosen as a Nurse Climate Champion. As a leader, educator, and owner of HeroSelfCareTM she continues to focus on helping healthcare staff, students, and new moms learn how to reduce their toxic burden and incorporate the use of aromatherapy, breathing techniques, acupressure, green space and joyful movement into their personal lives and into professional practice. Her programs have reached staff at Montefiore Hospital in Bronx, NYC and Rhode Island Hospitals. Lisa has published articles and presented at several professional conferences including Trinity Health & Education International Research Conference in Dublin, Ireland, MAAOHN and the SYNOVA Conference 2022. Additionally, she has taught educational programs at Kent Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital – Environmental Health Literacy Program 2023 and Resident Training 2022, and at community groups such as MOMUNITY.

Nancy Chaney has a diverse nursing background that includes hospital, clinical, and private duty services. She holds an MS in environmental science and served two terms as mayor of Moscow, Idaho.  During her tenure as mayor, she also served in associated state, national, and international leadership roles.  Nancy currently volunteers for various organizations, including the One Health Advisory Board, which links human, animal, and environmental health. She lives in North Idaho, where she and her husband own a veterinary specialty business.

Catherine Graeve is an associate professor of nursing at St Catherine University in St Paul, Minnesota, where she teaches population-based nursing, global health, and mental health.  She leads clinicals at local public health departments, a community jail and environmental health-based projects such as lead abatement.  She also works as a hospice nurse.  She has a doctorate in environmental and occupational health nursing.  She studied chemotherapy safety for her dissertation and has served as a community liaison for a research project on environmental exposures during pregnancy and subsequent health outcomes on children.  Prior to this, she worked as an oncology and bone marrow transplant nurse. 

Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, RN is an associate professor and director of the Center for 

Global & Public Health at Villanova University. Her area of expertise is public health nursing focusing on global and environmental health.  She was a co-author of the ANA, 2012 Resolution, “Nurses’ Role in Recognizing, Educating and Advocating for Healthy Energy Choices” and an editor of ANHE’s American Journal of Nursing awarded Book of the Year, Environmental Health in Nursing. Ruth has conducted research in Pennsylvania’s fracking communities  and published about including environmental health and climate change in the nursing curriculum. Currently, she is collaborating with an environmental science colleague to examine residential air quality of university students. In January 2019, Ruth returned from Finland as a Fulbright Scholar where she examined nurses’ observed health impacts of climate change. She also worked with Finnish nurses to link climate change to health and address mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Lynelle Phillips, RN, MPH has a nearly 30 year career studying and working in public health with an emphasis in infectious diseases and environmental health.  She has worked for CDC in various roles including environmental health scientist, nurse consultant and public health advisor.  She is currently an Assistant Professor at University of Missouri and teaches Environmental Health, several Epidemiology courses and Health Ethics.  She also coordinates the MPH Internship Program and has lead several study abroad trips to Ghana.

Barbara Sattler, RN, DrPH is a Professor in Public Health at the University of San Francisco and a nursing leader in the area of environmental health, including issues related to climate change.   She has been an advisor to the EPA’s Office of Child Health Protection and the National Library of Medicine for informational needs of health professionals on environmental health.  Dr. Sattler was a founding member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. Under her leadership, ANHE has played an important role in the fight against fracking by alerting policymakers and the public to the detrimental health impacts of the chemicals used in fracking on the communities nearby.

Beth Schenk PhD, MHI, RN-BC, FAAN is Providence-WSU Nurse Scientist/Sustainability Coordinator, based at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Montana. Beth leads nursing research efforts across the 50-hospital Providence St. Joseph Health system, and is an assistant research professor at the Washington State University College of Nursing. Her primary professional and research focus is on the environmental impacts of healthcare, particularly nursing practice. She serves on the board of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, where she co-chairs the Practice Workgroup, and she produces and hosts the Nurses for Healthy Environments podcast.

Adrienne Wald, EdD, MBA, RN, MCHES, CNE is an associate professor of nursing at the College of New Rochelle in New York teaching health promotion, research, and leadership. Her clinical background is in oncology nursing and she has served as a health services administrator at the American Red Cross (Greater New York).  A longtime tobacco control advocate, she works to advance health policy for disease prevention and wellness, and promote social justice. Dr. Wald’s research interests include weight management and physical activity epidemiology. She is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) currently serving as an evidence analyst for a position statement on exertional heat-related illness, is a member of the Exercise is Medicine™ Education Committee, and the Exercise is Medicine on Campus® initiative. She is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Her research has been published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, American Journal of Health Promotion, and Journal of Nursing Scholarship and Nursing Economic$. She holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) from Teachers College Columbia University, MBA in healthcare management, and BSN from Boston University.