Projects
Advancing Resilience & Climate-Ready Healthcare
Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate
The Advancing Resilience and Climate-ready Healthcare (ARCH) committee is a community of health professionals working to lead measurable sustainability and climate resilience efforts within Minnesota’s health systems.
Planetary Health Task Force
Minnesota Public Health Association
The Planetary Health Task Force of the Minnesota Public Health Association is committed to creating a sustainable and equitable future for all Minnesotans. We aim to integrate human health and environmental stewardship by addressing social determinants of health, promoting evidence-based practices alongside lived experiences, advocating for policy change and innovation, and collaborating with communities to drive meaningful progress.
Midwest Peer Learning Circle
Climate Advocacy Lab
The Climate + Health Peer Learning Circle is an intensive training program for experienced leaders at the intersection of climate and health. Through a mix of live virtual sessions and interactive workshops, participants:
-
Strengthen advocacy and communication skills with evidence-based strategies like sharing climate stories and reframing narratives.
-
Learn practical methods to motivate sustained climate engagement in their communities.
-
Collaborate with experts to develop tailored climate communication channels.
-
Join a dynamic network of peers to share ideas, overcome challenges, and grow as climate advocates.
Resilient Communities Work Group
Minnesota Climate Council
The State of Minnesota has developed a Climate Action Framework. This plan sets a vision for how our state will address and prepare for climate change. It identifies immediate, near-term actions we must take to achieve our long-term goal of a carbon-neutral, resilient, and equitable future for Minnesota.
The Resilient Communities goal of Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework shares a vision for Minnesota where our communities have the resources to implement projects that will build a more resilient future for themselves.
Climate Health Organizing Fellowship
Cambridge Health Alliance
Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy
Harvard University
Health professionals have been shown to be among the most effective, trustworthy messengers for climate action. But to be effective agents of change they must be empowered with skills to organize others, have an ability to work with communities, and possess a strong sense of self efficacy and purpose. This course is rooted in the belief that effective training in community organizing can support health professionals in creating the climate solutions our world needs.
Climate Resilience Digital Resource Creation
Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership
This quality improvement project aimed to create an online, patient education tool to foster climate adaptation literacy and enhance climate change resilience. The tool includes a Minnesota-based, academic-associated climate adaptation organization’s dynamic climate science research and information. This project was guided by specific nursing frameworks and principles and utilized a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle format to implement and adjust the project.
A survey of tool users showed increased knowledge of the health effects of climate change, increased awareness of the effects of climate change on their own health, and a positive rating of the usability of the toolkit. This project demonstrates that an organization’s website can be a meaningful source of information. It can assist its users in understanding the connection of climate change to their own health and well-being so they can make meaningful changes that can improve their level of climate resilience.
Transforming Curriculum Using The Planetary Health Education Framework
University of Minnesota School of Nursing
Interwove planetary health learning objective, content and resources into every level of nursing education as a resource for making planetary health nursing tangible and actionable for the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. The crosswalk tool has since been adopted by international schools and organizations as a template.
Collaborations
Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology
(APIC)
APIC Minnesota
-Chapter Legislative Representative
American Public Health Association (APHA)
Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate (HPHC)
-ARCH Committee Co-Chair
-Invited Speaker
Metro State University
-Guest Lecturer
Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA)
-Planetary Health Task Force Co-Chair
Science Museum of Minnesota
-Earth Day Celebration Collaborator
-Invited Speaker
University of Minnesota School of Nursing
-Guest Lecturer
Speaking Engagements
Planetary Health 101: The Climate Connection Every Infection Preventionist Should Understand. Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, National Conference, Phoenix, AZ, June 2025
Planetary Health & Public Health: Climate Change’s Impacts on Minnesota Communities, MN Public Health Association, State Conference, Duluth, MN, May 2025
Tick or Treat: Vector Borne Diseases and Climate Change, Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, Climate Convo, Online, October 2024
Climate Smart Healthcare Initiative, Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, Meeting, St. Paul, MN, June 2024
Trusted Messengers: A Nursing Approach to Climate Communication, Adaptation, Resilience and Equity with the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, Midwest Climate Adaptation Conference, Duluth, MN, October 2023
Connecting With Your Elected Officials, Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate,
Advocacy Training for Climate Clinicians, St. Paul, MN, October 2023, February 2025
Implementation of High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) Screening, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Minnesota Chapter Annual Meeting, St. Paul, MN, September 2023
Forging The Path to Climate Advocacy, Code Blue for Patient Earth Conference, St. Paul, MN, April, 2022
Transforming Curriculum Using The Planetary Health Education Framework: A Case Study From Nursing, PHA International Meeting, Boston, MA, November 2022
Nursing For Planetary Health: A Global Movement, Planetary Health Alliance International Meeting, Boston, MA, November 2022
