Author biogrAPhies

Gerald W. Adelmann is President and CEO of Openlands, a nonprofit that protects the natural and open spaces of northeastern Illinois and the surrounding region to ensure cleaner air and water, protect natural habitats and wildlife, and help balance and enrich our lives.

Nisha Botchewey is the Dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and the Russell M. and Elizabeth M. Bennett Chair in Excellence in Public Affairs. She is a co-editor of Making Healthy Places, Second Edition (Island Press, 2022).

Gerri A. Cannon-Smith has more than 30 years’ experience as a pediatrician, public health practitioner, clinical administrator, PH/Disparity scholar and public health faculty. She currently works as PH/Pediatric Consultant at Innovative Health Strategies, LLC, and is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Yvette Chen is the former planning and policy analyst at Fair Share Housing Center. She worked on data analysis, writing and collaborating with other organizations to further fair housing and racial justice in the context of land use and disaster recovery.

Gary Cohen is president and co-founder of Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, and he has worked to further the environmental health movement for more than 35 years.

Yvonne Collins is a gynecologic oncologist and serves as the chief medical officer of the CountyCare Health Plan in Chicago, Illinois. She is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Sheina Crystal is the director of communications and campaigns for Herbicide-Free Campus.

Maureen Cunningham serves as the chief strategy officer and director of water at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center, as well as being an elected council member in the town of Bethlehem, NY.

Paula Daniels is co-founder of the Center for Good Food Purchasing and was Senior Advisor on Food Policy to Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.

Andrew Dannenberg is an affiliate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a co-editor of Making Healthy Places, Second Edition (Island Press, 2022).

Rochelle Davis is President and CEO of Healthy Schools Campaign, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that children have access to healthy school environments where they can learn and thrive.

Jessica Edwards is a second-generation board-certified osteopathic family medicine physician. Her prevention-based primary care practice is located in Austin, Texas. She is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Mackenzie Feldman is the founder and executive director of Herbicide-Free Campus.

Patrice Frey is senior advisor to Main Street America, where she leads an initiative to accelerate investment in small-scale real estate development projects on main streets. Frey served as president and CEO of Main Street America between 2013 and 2022. She is a member of the board of directors of Smart Growth America.

Howard Frumkin is Senior Vice President of the Trust for Public Land, and professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he was Dean from 2010-2016. He is a co-editor of Making Healthy Places, Second Edition (Island Press, 2022).

William Fulton currently serves as a Senior Advisor to PFM Management and Budget Consulting and a Fellow at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. He is the author of Place and Prosperity: How Cities Help Us to Connect and Innovate (Island Press, 2022).

Gaël Giraud is founder and director of the Georgetown Environmental Justice Program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Calvin Gladney is president and CEO of Smart Growth America and is a nationally recognized thought leader on the equitable and sustainable revitalization of communities. Previously, Gladney was the Urban Land Institute’s senior visiting fellow for equity and served as managing partner of Mosaic Urban Partners.

Phil Glynn is president of Travois—a certified B Corporation that finances housing and economic development in Indigenous communities.

Samantha Hamilton has more than 18 years of experience as a community organizer in the City of Springfield, Mass. Through her work with community organizations, city officials, and regional partners, Hamilton has helped Springfield earn triple designations as an Age-Friendly city, Dementia Friendly city, and an Age-Friendly hospital system.

Tracey L. Henry is an associate professor of medicine at Emory University. She is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Katie Huffling is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and the Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE). With ANHE, Dr. Huffling works with nurses and nursing organizations to elevate environmental health issues, such as climate change, toxic chemicals, and sustainability in healthcare, amongst the nursing profession.

Rachel Jacobson serves as deputy director of American Society of Adaptation Professionals. She previously worked on climate adaptation policy and programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the University of Michigan and in the private sector.

Larissa Johnson has an MPA in environmental science and policy from Columbia University and works as the residential energy program manager for Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection in Maryland.

John Kamp runs the landscape, urban design, and engagement practice Prairieform. He is the co-author of Dream, Play, Build: Hands-On Community Engagement for Enduring Spaces and Places (Island Press, 2022).

Author Biographies

Carolyn Kousky is associate vice president for economics and policy at Environmental Defense Fund and author of Understanding Disaster Insurance: New Tools for a More Resilient Future (Island Press, 2022).

Joe Kriesberg is the president & CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, a membership organization that represents 97 CDCs and community-based organizations across the Commonwealth working to expand housing and economic opportunity while advancing racial equity.

Nicole Mahealani Lum is a family medicine physician in Honolulu. She is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Kimberly R. Lyle is the director of strategy and development at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, an affordable housing developer and community development financial institution in the Uphams Corner neighborhood in Boston.

Carolina Martinez is the climate justice director at Environmental Health Coalition.

Vihaan Mathur is co-founder of Youth Climate Action Team Inc., a nonprofit focused on providing climate education to the next generation of students.

Laurie Mazur is the editor of the Island Press Urban Resilience Project.

Mark Mitchell is associate professor of climate change, energy, and environmental health equity at George Mason University. Dr. Mitchell is director of state affairs for the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and is founder and director of the Climate and Health Equity Fellowship.

L. Michelle Moore is CEO of Groundswell and author of Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power (Island Press, 2022).

Melissa Ocana is the climate adaptation coordinator at the University of Massachusetts Extension and founder of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP)-affiliated Network of Networks Group.

Author Biographies

Liz Ogbu is a designer, urbanist and spatial justice activist who collaborates with communities to leverage design to address systemic harm and catalyze collective healing. She is founder and principal of Studio O, a multidisciplinary consultancy that operates at the intersection of racial and spatial justice.

Nneoma Nwachuku Ojiaku is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist based in Sacramento with interests in patient education, environmental justice, and health equity. She is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Tamara Toles O’Laughlin is president and CEO of Environmental Grantmakers Association.

Ellice Patterson is the founder/executive & artistic director of Abilities Dance, using dance to promote intersectional disability rights in the greater Boston area. She has also obtained a bachelors in biology from Wellesley College and a Masters in Management Studies from Boston University.

Anne M. Perrault is a senior climate finance policy counsel at Public Citizen.

Jeff Peterson is a retired senior policy adviser at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the author of A New Coast: Strategies for Responding to Devastating Storms and Rising Seas (Island Press, 2019).

Pragya Rai is a pediatric pulmonologist with a keen interest in climate and health. Rai has lived in Spokane since 2011 and is a board member of 350 Spokane. She is a 2022 Medical Society Consortium Climate and Health Equity Fellow.

Kalpana Ramiah is vice president of innovations and director of Essential Hospitals Institute at America’s Essential Hospitals.

Olantunji Oboi Reed works globally as a racial equity tactician, increased mobility advocate and racial justice activist. He serves as the founding President & CEO of Equiticity, as Co-Chair of the Transportation Equity Network and as a Steering Committee Member of PolicyLink’s Transportation Equity Caucus.

Author Biographies

Daniel Reich was an assistant regional counsel at EPA Region 9 in San Francisco for 27 years. He also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice before retiring in April 2017 with 33 years of federal service. He is a member of the Environmental Protection Network.

Shelley Hudson Robbins is a project director at Clean Energy Group. Her work focuses on the Phase Out Peakers Project and the Resilient Power Project. She has also worked for Upstate Forever in South Carolina, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Florida Governor’s Office, and the Florida Public Service Commission.

James Rojas is an urban planner, community activist, educator, and artist who runs the planning, model-building, and community-outreach practice Place It!. He is an international expert in public engagement and is the co-author of Dream, Play, Build: Hands-On Community Engagement for Enduring Spaces and Places. (Island Press, 2022).

Daniel Rothberg is a reporter for The Nevada Independent, where he covers the environment, water and energy. He is writing a book about water scarcity in Nevada.

Mark Rupp is Georgetown Climate Center’s Adaptation Program director.

Alison Sant is co-founder of the Studio for Urban Projects, an interdisciplinary design collaborative based in San Francisco that works at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, art, and social activism. She is the author of From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities (Island Press, 2022).

Elizabeth Sawin is founder and director of the Multisolving Institute, a think+do tank that helps people implement win-win-win solutions that protect the climate while improving equity, health, biodiversity, economic vitality, and well-being.

Matt Simon is a science journalist at Wired magazine, where he covers the environment, biology, and robotics. He’s the author of A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies (Island Press, 2022).