Abby Novinska-Lois, MPH

Abby Novinska-Lois, MPH, is the Executive Director of Healthy Climate Wisconsin. Abby holds a Masters in Public Health with a Certificate in Interdisciplinary Women's Health from the University of Utah School of Medicine, and a Bachelors in Environmental Science and a Certificate in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Abby began her career as a published UW-Madison Extension Researcher focused on integrated pest management solutions and pollinators in Wisconsin agriculture.

Abby played a pivotal role in the launch of Healthy Climate Wisconsin (HCW) in 2020. Serving as its inaugural Executive Director, Abby leads the charge in mobilizing health professionals to address climate-related health challenges. Her work has been recognized on the national level, with several invitations to major medical conferences and the White House. She additionally serves on the Steering Committee for the Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin, the Steering Committee of the Fossil Free for Health Coalition, and the Planning Team of the Climate and Health Action Together.

Danny Akenson
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Danny Akenson

Danny Akenson is a community organizer for Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin. Having grown up in a small town in western Wisconsin, he has seen first-hand the impacts of rural areas losing jobs and opportunities. For four years, he has organized against rural industrial developments in the form of large factory farms and data centers. He organizes with the hope to make rural Wisconsin a land of opportunity again.

Julia Alberth, MPH
Planner/Speaker
Pronouns: She/her

Julia Alberth, MPH

Julia Alberth, MPH, is a public health professional and environmental justice advocate who joined Healthy Climate Wisconsin as the Health Equity and Resilient Communities Coordinator. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside. Julia is also a graduate of the New to Public Health Residency Program, a year-long professional development program for early career public health professionals.

Julia has spent her career working at the intersection of public health, community engagement, and health equity. She previously served as the Community Engagement Manager at UW–Milwaukee’s Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health, where she coordinated Field Experiences for over 100 undergraduate and graduate students and built lasting partnerships with local organizations and public health leaders. Julia serves as the co-chair of the Early Career Professionals Section of the Wisconsin Public Health Association and is an active board member of Lead2Change, where she contributes to the Program and Community Engagement Committee.

Ryan Almeida, Graduate Nursing Student
Facilitator
Pronouns: He/him/his

Jeffrey Amondson, PhD
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Jeffrey Amondson, PhD

Jeff Amundson, Ph.D., is an experimental cognitive biopsychologist specializing in learning and memory. He attended graduate school at the State University of New York at Binghamton and after, worked as a postdoc at the University of Kansas, continuing his behavioral and neurobiological research in learning and memory. Following his postdoc, Dr. Amundson worked as a Clinical Sports Scientist developing an online tool for cognitive assessment after concussive events for athletes at all levels. He returned to academics, taking a teaching position with the University of Wisconsin System. Dr. Amundson joined the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2016 as an adjunct and currently is an Assistant Professor on the MCW-Central Wisconsin campus. He teaches anatomy/physiology content with a focus on the psychosocial aspects of medicine within the adjunctive specialty of Lifestyle Medicine.

Ross Astoria, JD, PhD
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Ross Astoria, JD, PhD

Ross Astoria is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside, in Southeastern Wisconsin. As a professor, he teaches courses in law, policy, and political philosophy. Ross has published on the interaction of carbon pricing with international trade law, utility law, the Clean Air Act, and environmental justice. His colleagues at Parkside awarded him the outstanding research award for his work on the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. He is currently completing a book on U.S. climate policy. He and his wife have two daughters. In his free time, Ross hikes, dances (Lindy Hop), and cooks.

Geri Aurora, RN
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her

Geri Aurora, RN

Geri Aurora, RN, MSN, CCRN is an Assistant Professor at Carroll University in Waukesha. In addition, she is a Level 4 critical care nurse at Froedtert Hospital. She enjoys teaching and learning from the past and future generations. She volunteers in a variety of health care and non-health care activities. Over the past 8 months, she has been involved in multiple HCW-sponsored events educating about the detrimental impacts of data centers on health. Her desire to protect nature began the first time she watched Ferngully. When she isn’t spending her spare time traveling, she is an avid gardener, focusing on vegetables as well as native plants.

Prescott Balch
Award Recipient
Pronouns: He/him/his

Prescott Balch

Prescott is a recently retired technology executive. He spent his career developing software in the financial services industry, finishing his career at US Bank. After successfully resisting a data center proposal in his hometown of Caledonia, he has been helping communities across the upper Midwest understand both risks and rewards with their proposals. His goal is to help communities make fully informed decisions. He currently serves as Caledonia's Village President.

Charlie Berens
Award Recipient/Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Charlie Berens

Charlie Berens is a Wisconsin-based comedian, Emmy-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and musician whose work celebrates Midwest culture. Best known for The Manitowoc Minute, Bellied Up, and The Cripescast, he has built an audience of more than 12 million followers and reached billions of viewers nationwide.

Beyond comedy, Berens is a committed advocate for all Wisconsin communities. He has served as the face of Wisconsin’s Annual Food for the Holidays Campaign for the past four years and partners with local charities, homegrown businesses, and community organizations throughout the state. Most recently, he has used his platform to raise awareness about the impacts of large-scale AI data centers on Wisconsin residents, advocating to protect local communities, natural resources, and the state’s future. Learn more at buildwisconsinbetter.org.

Joanne Bernstein, MD
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Joanne Bernstein, MD

Joanne Bernstein is an associate professor and course director for the Medical College of Wisconsin. She serves as an internist and clinical educator at the Zablocki VA in Milwaukee, WI. Before becoming a physician, Joanne worked as an electrical engineer at GE Healthcare. 

As a physician and mother of two, Joanne is concerned about the current and future health impacts of climate change. She believes we all have a role to play in reducing our environmental impact for the wellness and prosperity of future generations. Joanne has taken climate action by educating her patients, minimizing waste in her clinical practices and healthcare system, engaging with local and national advocacy groups, and developing medical curriculum to prepare our future physicians to do the same.

Megan Bollen
Speaker
Pronouns:

Megan Bollen

Megan is a certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. She is also Wilderness First Aid certified through the National Outdoor Leadership School and holds an M.A. from the University of Colorado Boulder. Over the years, she has designed and led a variety of experiential programs throughout the U.S. and abroad - working for non-profits, schools, universities, and corporations. Her work has varied, but has always centered on experience and place-based learning, as well as fostering connections with the more-than-human world, others, and ourselves. 

Having found nature to be transformative in her own life, she is passionate about being a part of the movement that is bringing people back into meaningful relationships with Earth, each other and themselves - IRL. 

Jessy Bradish, MA, MBA
Speaker
Pronouns:
 

Jessy Bradish, MA, MBA

Jessy Bradish serves as the Renewable Energy Specialist for the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension within the Community Economic Development Program. Jessy’s work heavily focuses on assisting local governments and communities navigating large-scale solar and wind energy projects, including renewable energy siting and negotiations. Jessy holds an MBA focused on Sustainable Supply Chains and an MA in Environmental Policy.

Sheena Cook-Fugslang
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Sheena Cook-Fugslang

Sheena Cook-Fuglsang is part of the UW-Extension Regional Community Health Team (RCHT), serving Southwest WI. We provide training, technical assistance, and resource support to build the capacity of community-based partners in identifying and responding to community-driven health priorities.

Sheena has been with UW-Extension for over 10 years, supporting WI residents in their pursuit of healthy living and community partners in creating better access to healthier environments and opportunities for people to have more say in decisions that shape their health. Before her work with UW-Extension, she worked in a variety of community-based settings in healthcare, non-profits, and K-12 and higher education.

Candance Doerr-Stevens, PhD
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Candance Doerr-Stevens, PhD

Candance Doerr-Stevens is an Associate Professor at UW-Milwaukee who teaches courses on the theory and practice of reading, writing, and multimodal literacies as they occur in classrooms and online. Her scholarly interests focus on the digital literacy practices of adolescents and teachers involved in media production, in particular the multimodal composition processes of digital storytelling and documentary filmmaking.

Dr. Doerr-Stevens earned a PhD in curriculum and instruction with a focus on critical literacy and English education from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Before graduate studies, Candance taught middle and high school English. She is most energized by her collaborative work with teachers, especially in her current role as Director of the UWM Writing Project.

Shawyn Domyanchich-Lee, PhD, MSW, BSW
Facilitator
Pronouns: They/them/theirs

Shawyn Domyanchich-Lee, PhD, MSW, BSW

Dr. Shawyn Domyancich-Lee (they/them) is the MSW Program Coordinator and Associate Professor in Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

As a Korean adoptee, Shawyn’s scholarship takes a critical approach to examining the historical origins of Korean adoption within the context of mid-century Cold War America. Shawyn also explores attachment and adoption, focusing on historical and intergenerational trauma and attachment, and attachment in close personal relationships. This has opened avenues into place-based attachment, especially as it relates to people’s connections to physical and natural place and space and notions of “home.” From this, Shawyn created and taught place-attachment-centered environmental justice courses in social work programs and in transdisciplinary sustainability courses across a variety of majors.

Shawyn works to help communities of learners and practitioners engage in the symbiotic relationships between self, others, and place to co-create meaning, story, and empowerment-backed praxis to lift voices, identities, and experiences often left in the margins. Shawyn has published and presented on their teaching methodologies and scholarship in academic journals, books and international media; on local and international podcasts; and at state, regional, national and international conferences.

Sarah Francois, LCSW
Planner
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Sarah Francois, LCSW

Sarah is a Clinical Social Worker specializing in psychotherapy treatment for adults with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders, Anxiety Disorders, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Her 25-year career in Wisconsin includes over a decade in community mental health services across Milwaukee and Dane Counties, nine years with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and five years in specialty private practice. Sarah is deeply committed to the provision of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions and identifies as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. 

 Sarah sought to join forces with HCW after noticing that several of her adult clients with severe OCD or Anxiety Disorders had thematic fears related to climate change, natural disasters, personal responsibility, betrayal, and hopelessness. At the same time, Sarah is inspired by her teenage sons, who frequently express non-pathological climate distress and are enthusiastic about being change agents for their generation.

Lori Gerstenfeld, MPH
Award Recipient/Speaker
Pronouns:

Lori Gerstenfeld, MPH

Lori Gerstenfeld is a public health professional in Milwaukee. She is currently a Wisconsin Population Health Service Fellow placed at the City of Milwaukee Health Department on the Emergency Preparedness and Environmental Health team. At the City of Milwaukee, Lori has contributed to the response and recovery to Milwaukee flooding events in August 2025 and April 2026, air quality policy and education work, and community engagement. She has a Master's in Public Health from Northwestern University, where she supported research with the non-profit Mobile Care Chicago and the University of Illinois Chicago on the impact of short-term changes in air quality on asthma rates in Chicago. She also has experience working at the EPA Region 8 office and the City of Evanston, IL. In her free time, Lori enjoys being active outside!

Berrit Goodman, MSOT, MPH
Planner
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Berrit Goodman, MSOT, MPH

Berrit earned a Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. Her experience includes a practicum in public health with the Oasis Institute in St. Louis, with projects focused on falls prevention among older adults.  She has worked as an occupational therapist since 2018, providing direct patient care across a variety of clinical settings in Washington, Idaho, and Wisconsin. Berrit’s professional interests include improving health equity and promoting greater healthcare access. She is excited to join the public health workforce in Wisconsin to further explore these interests in the Milwaukee community. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, cooking, crafting, and exploring the Milwaukee area.

Blaine Halverson
Award Recipient
Pronouns: He/him/his

Blaine Halverson

Blaine Halverson is a grassroots community organizer, mental health worker, and theater professional based in Western Wisconsin (specifically the Eau Claire-Menomonie area). In recent years, he has become one of the state's most prominent public voices educating local communities on the impact of hyperscale AI data centers.

Joel Hill, MPAS-PA-C
Planner
Pronouns: He/him/his

Joel Hill, MPAS, PA-C

Joel Hill is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has educated physician assistant students on various topics in clinical medicine and prevention since 2010. He also coordinates an online graduate and professional certificate in global health course for the UW’s Office of Global Health, which prepares graduate students for global field courses. Since establishing interdisciplinary partnerships between the UW-Madison PA Program and colleagues in Belize 12 years ago, he has made it his goal to assist the Belize Family Life Association’s mission to increase the rates of cervical cancer screening at the rural level, expanding screening efforts throughout the Stann Creek District.

Brittany Keyes, PT, DPT, ATC
Planner/Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Maily Kocinski
Award Recipient
Pronouns: She/her

Maily Kocinski

Maily Kocinski is a teacher in Beaver Dam. She holds a Masters degree in Elementary Education. Maily lives near the Meta data center construction site and became an advocate for state protections after experiencing water issues in her lifelong home. Ignited by a passion to hold the corporation accountable and protect the people and places she loves, she has traveled the state helping communities understand on-the-ground impacts of data centers, has shared her story with the press and lawmakers, and has learned the challenges of navigating broken regulatory systems firsthand.

Samantha Laskowski
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers
 

Samantha Laskowski

Samantha Laskowski is an innkeeper in La Farge and a self-described Energy Maverick. After the record-breaking floods in the Kickapoo Valley region, Samantha led community efforts to build more resilience, which included advocating for village-owned building upgrades and locally generated power. She currently manages a number of grants for the Village of La Farge.

John Meurer, MD, MBA
Planner/Speaker
Pronouns: He/his

John Meurer, MD, MBA

Dr. Meurer is Professor Emeritus of Community Health and Pediatrics in the Institute for Health & Humanity at the Medical College of Wisconsin. As past Institute Director, he helped to launch the MCW Center for Sustainability, Health and Environment. In 2025, John joined the HCW Board and became Strategic Development Chair. He is passionate about healthy climate policy and advocacy.

Yesenia Meza
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Yesenia Meza

Yesenia works as a bilingual (English/Spanish) Community Health Worker for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension. In this role, she is part of the Extension Rural Health Connection initiative, focusing on bridging the gap between rural healthcare and family well-being across Adams County.

Dawn Moneyhan
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Dawn Moneyhan

Dawn Moneyhan is a Tribal Elder of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, author, spiritual leader, knowledge keeper, pipe carrier, and teacher. With more than 30 years of public speaking experience and equally extensive experience within Wisconsin’s healthcare system, Dawn strives to reconnect people to the natural world through Indigenous culture and traditional practices and knowledge. Dawn teaches Western healthcare about the benefits of Indigenous culture and experience, offering perspectives, practices, and methods for a system that often forgets Western medicine began with, and grew from, Indigenous medicine.

Alex Nelson
Award Recipient/Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Alex Nelson, Medical Student

Alex Nelson is a fourth-year medical student and current sports medicine research fellow affiliated with UW-SMPH and the Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation. His research interests include bioinspired tissue engineering, orthobiologics and regenerative medicine, and surgical nutrition outcomes. He is interested in an academic career as a surgeon-scientist, educator, and community advocate. Outside of the lab and OR, you can find Alex tending his garden plot, writing op-eds, playing his alto saxophone, backpacking the Pacific Northwest, or riding his hand-built, fixed-gear bicycle.

He has been a member of HCW for the past 3 years, most recently assisting in the upstart of the Food & Water coalition, attuned to the intersection of labor rights, environmental health equity, sustainable agriculture, and immigration policy as they relate to the lived experience of migrant, seasonal, and undocumented laborers supporting Wisconsin's agricultural and cultural identities.

Isioma Odum, MASJ
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her

Isioma Odum, MASJ

As a dedicated advocate for racial equity and a seasoned participant in numerous leadership training programs, Isioma is on a journey in social justice and community engagement. Her experience spans organizing hospital unions, mobilizing communities of color for climate change, and championing the emotional and spiritual well-being of those in the diaspora.

Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Washington State University, which laid the foundation for her commitment to exploring complex social systems and their impact on communities of color. She later earned a Master of Arts in Social Justice from Loyola University Chicago, Institute of Pastoral Studies, where she engaged deeply with the concepts of equity, ethics, and systemic change.

Olaitan Oyedun
Facilitator
Pronouns: He/him/his

Olaitan Oyedun

Olaitan Oyedun is a Master of Public Health student at UW-Zilber School of Public Health. He has extensive experience in healthcare research, public health interventions, and health program management, with years as a Public Health, Community Medicine Physician, and Epidemiologist in Nigeria.

Dawn Padilla, RN
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her

Dawn Padilla, RN

Dawn Padilla is a Women’s HIV Nurse Case Manager at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dawn received her registered nursing degree from the University of Washington and previously served as a labor and delivery nurse. She also received her undergraduate degree in sociology and anthropology from Carleton College. Before becoming a nurse, she worked in community-based settings in migrant farm worker health, teen sexual health education, and complex care coordination in rural settings.

April Parker
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

April Parker

April Parker is a sustainability advocate and Regional Renewable Energy Program Coordinator at Faith in Place, where she advances clean energy education, environmental justice, and community-driven sustainability initiatives across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. With a background spanning ecology, environmental policy, and community engagement, April is passionate about bridging the gap between environmental research and the communities most affected by environmental challenges. She leads Faith in Place's Air Aware campaign, engaging residents in citizen science and indoor air quality education better to understand household pollution and its potential health impacts.

April holds master's degrees in Plant Biology and Conservation from Northwestern University and Environmental Science and Sustainability from Loyola University Chicago. Her work is rooted in making environmental knowledge, healthier living environments, and clean energy solutions more accessible and equitable for all communities.

Kylie Peterson
Facilitator
Pronouns: She/her

Kylie Peterson

Kylie Peterson is an undergrad studying Biology and International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has a special passion for medicine and the environment, where she is currently exploring these fields through medical research and global health policy. Healthy Climate Wisconsin’s mission fits well into her career and personal goals, and she is excited to be a student representative of HCW at the conference.

Paula Pintar, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, AL-CIP, FAPIC
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Paula Pintar, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, AL-CIP, FAPIC

Paula Pintar, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACNS-BC, AL-CIP, FAPIC has more than two decades of experience working as a Registered Nurse and Infection Prevention in diverse clinical and leadership roles across community, academic, and Veteran health care systems. She has held board positions for the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) at both local and national levels and has presented and authored abstracts at conferences. Her peer-reviewed publications focus on supporting and advancing the role of nursing professionals in infection prevention. She became an active community member successfully opposing a Microsoft data center from being built in her community. This has led her to be an active member in HCW and a Caledonia Village Trustee.

Carri Prom, BSN, RN
Award Recipient
Pronouns: She/her

Carri Prom, BSN, RN

Carri Prom is a former nurse practitioner, mom, and co-founder of the grassroots nonprofit Great Lakes Neighbors United. She became an advocate when her town of Port Washington became ground zero of the hyperscale data center issue in Wisconsin.

Jade Ratliff
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Jade Ratliff

Jade Ratliff is an Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Educator at the Schlitz Audubon Nature School. She specializes in nature-based early childhood education, bringing over 25 years of teaching experience spanning three states across nature schools, elementary education, literacy education, and professional teacher development.

Jacqueline Redmer, MD, MPH
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Jacqueline Redmer, MD, MPH

Jacqueline Redmer, MD, MPH, is a family medicine physician specializing in palliative care and hospice in southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Region. A Wisconsin native, she earned her MD and MPH from the University of Wisconsin–Madison after serving as a public health Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan. Her work has included caring for underserved communities in the United States and abroad, and she practiced rural family medicine for 10 years before focusing on end-of-life care.

Dr. Redmer is also a published poet and writer whose work has appeared in several literary and medical publications. She completed Columbia University’s Narrative Medicine program and enjoys listening to, reading, and writing stories.  She has led narrative-healing workshops for healthcare organizations and also her local community.  Dr. Redmer appreciates the multitude of ways this practice can increase our empathy for and attunement with others.

Lauren Reeg
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her

Lauren Reeg

Lauren is an advocate on Evergreen Action’s Midwest team, where she leverages policy expertise and economic analytics to lead clean energy policy campaigns in Wisconsin. Before joining Evergreen, Lauren led RMI’s Midwest Carbon-Free Buildings work. She earned a master’s degree in Environment and Resources from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with an emphasis in Energy Analysis and Policy. During her graduate studies, she interned with RENEW Wisconsin, where she focused on regulatory analysis of clean energy policy in Wisconsin.

Amanda Richman, MPH
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Amanda Richman, MPH

Amanda Richman is a Workforce Development Coordinator at the City of Milwaukee Health Department. She received her Master's in Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Amanda holds many leadership roles within statewide groups, including the Wisconsin Public Health Association, Healthy Climate Wisconsin’s Board, and is active in community-based groups locally.

David Rowlett. Medical Student
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him

David Rowlett. Medical Student

David is a third-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He was originally born in Washington state and grew up in the greater Seattle area before going to school at the University of Washington, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in neuroscience. After graduating, he worked as a nursing assistant for 2 years before coming to Wisconsin to start medical school. At this point in his training, having completed 3 of his 4 core clinical rotations, he is currently interested in pursuing internal medicine for residency, with an interest in gastroenterology. During his outpatient rotation in Milwaukee this past summer, he and his classmate Brandon worked with Healthy Climate Wisconsin on a Community Health Engagement Project where they helped research the DNR and create educational materials on the impacts that their decisions have on Wisconsin air quality.

Ashwini Seghal, MD
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his
 

Ashwini Seghal, MD

Dr. Ashwini Sehgal is an internal medicine physician at the Metro Health System and a Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He did his medical training at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Sehgal’s research has focused on quality improvement, health disparities, and climate change.

Stephanie Siwak, MPH
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Stephanie Siwak, MPH

Stephanie Siwak holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Her interests include environmental and occupational health, health equity, and the role of public policy in addressing systemic inequities. As a volunteer with Healthy Climate Wisconsin, she has contributed to research and advocacy focused on the public health impacts of energy infrastructure and utility policy. Outside of her advocacy work, she enjoys playing music and exploring Milwaukee's arts and music scene. 

Jasia Steinmetz, PhD, RD, CD
Planner
Pronouns: She/her

Jasia Steinmetz, PhD, RD, CD

Jasia Steinmetz is a Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, in the School of Health Promotion and Human Development. Alongside her academic roles, she has worked as a consulting nutritionist since 1992.

Her research focuses on dietetics education, food security, sustainability, and community development. Professor Steinmetz has published extensively, including contributions to The Sage Encyclopedia of Food Issues and is the author of the book Eat Local: Simple Steps to Enjoy Real, Healthy & Affordable Food. Her work promotes practical approaches to nutrition and sustainability.

Amanda Sullivan, PharmD
Planner
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Amanda Sullivan, PharmD

Amanda Sullivan is a pharmacist at Outreach Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Milwaukee, where she is passionate about providing accessible, community-centered healthcare. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from Midwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Illinois Chicago. Her background in biology sparked an interest in the connections between human health and the environment, shaping her perspective on the importance of a healthy climate for healthy communities. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys tent camping and exploring the many beautiful state parks Wisconsin has to offer.

Cassandra Thiel, PhD
Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Cassandra Thiel, PhD

Dr. Cassandra Thiel is a leading expert in clinical sustainability and a prominent voice on environmental management in healthcare. She is an Assistant Professor across three departments at New York University: Population Health and Ophthalmology at the Grossman School of Medicine, and Civil and Urban Engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering. Dr. Thiel also serves as the President and CEO of Clinically Sustainable Consulting LLC where she consults with healthcare systems, medical device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies for improved performance.

Her research leverages life cycle assessment, operations management, and industrial ecology to analyze and improve the environmental footprint of medical systems, healthcare practices, and medical technologies. A prolific researcher, she has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts and secured more than $1.5 million in grant funding, including awards from the NSF and NIH. Dr. Thiel is highly after as a speaker, having delivered over 120 lectures and grand rounds, including 40 internationally. She is also a dedicated mentor, having guided over 85 students and junior faculty in their Research.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence fellow, her work in India demonstrated that sustainable practices in cataract surgery can dramatically reduce its carbon footprint, a finding that has garnered international attention. Dr. Thiel earned her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh and her BS from Michigan Technological University, both in Civil Engineering

Christian Trunley
Planner/Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Christian Trunley

Christian Trunley is a nonprofit communications and events professional with a passion for connecting health professionals to create a powerful network for positive change. Christian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Minor in Food Systems from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and a Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, College of Nursing. This unique mix of educational experiences has equipped him with advanced skills in systems thinking, community engagement, and complex project planning.

Christian began his mission-based work in the food justice space, working with an organization that grew, cooked, and delivered nutritionally tailored meals to people living with life-threatening illnesses across Minneapolis and St. Paul. Over the last eight years, Christian witnessed the dedication of health professionals and the positive impact their voices can create. He now serves as the Volunteer and Development Coordinator at Healthy Climate Wisconsin.

Brandon Walton
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him

Brandon Walton, Medical Student

Brandon is a second-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Through a shared concern about the adverse health effects of poor air quality in Wisconsin and climate change at large, Brandon partnered with Healthy Climate Wisconsin to continue the fight for clean air for all. He has volunteered as a community member at Kinship Food Center in Milwaukee since 2021, where he fostered meaningful relationships with others that grew into an appreciation for public health at the community organization level. He also served as a chief scribe for three of his five-year tenure in the Milwaukee, WI-based Emergency Departments. Outside of his academic and professional pursuits, Brandon enjoys playing the piano and violin.

Emily Walz, MD
Planner
Pronouns: She/her

Emily Walz, MD

Emily Walz, MD is a community psychiatrist who is specifically interested in climate change's impacts on people suffering from severe mental illness.  She received her Masters of Social Work from the Ohio State University in 2005.  For several years, she managed a small caseload of severely, persistently mentally ill adults at Northwest Community Counseling Centers in Ohio.  She received both a medical degree and completed psychiatric residency training at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.  She was awarded a National Health Service Corps Scholarship and, for the past seven years, has worked at Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center, in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  Most recently, Emily has accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin; the position includes academic program development in Climate Psychiatry.

Elizabeth White, MD
Planner/Speaker
Pronouns: She/her

Elizabeth White, MD

Elizabeth White, MD, is a Family Medicine Physician practicing with Emplify Health, formerly Gundersen Health in Boscobel, Wisconsin. Her practice is focused on family-based care across the life cycle with a focus on prevention and community health. She received her Medical degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and continues as a UWSMPH Clinical Adjunct Faculty member as a rural clinical educator. She completed her residency training at Gundersen Health, a national leader in decarbonizing and energy independence in healthcare. Dr White is active both in advocacy for clean energy solutions in rural Wisconsin as well as working to bridge the rural-urban divide through climate advocacy. 

Sarah Zarling
Award Recipient
Pronouns: She/her

Sarah Zarling

Sarah Zarling is a Social and Environmental Justice advocate and photojournalist. She is the founder of Citizens Acting for Rail Safety, Watertown chapter, a Community Organizer with The WEBB at Walnut Way, and on the Climate Action Mapping Project of Wisconsin Board of Directors. Sarah has been traveling around the state helping residents, city leaders, and legislators understand more about hyperscale data centers, with a particular focus on impacts to residents near the construction.

Alexandria Zielinski, DNP, APNP
Planner/Speaker
Pronouns: She/her/hers

Alexandria Zielinski, DNP, APNP

Alexandria Zielinski is a nurse practitioner working in outpatient internal medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. In this role, she prioritizes holistic and personalized care which are foundational to well-being. She is also clinical faculty at Marquette University where she guides undergraduate nursing students in nursing theory and practice. As well as caring for patients and students at an individual level, she collaborates with others for healthier communities and advocates for policies that impact those she serves.

Alex has passion for systems change and understanding that all things are interconnected and interdependent, so she strives to improve planetary health. With a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Marquette University, her doctoral project focused on implementing environmental justice education using the Planetary Health Framework, aiming to create transformative nursing students equipped to address health disparities. She has collaborated with leading organizations to create education, raise awareness, and present on climate and health.

Landon Zimmerman
Speaker
Pronouns: He/him/his

Landon Zimmerman

Landon Zimmerman is a fourth-year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is applying for a pediatrics residency. He has been involved with Healthy Climate Wisconsin for more than a year, contributing to Health Harms Reports, authoring an op-ed on the health effects of pollution from hyperscale data centers, testifying at public hearings, and meeting with legislators. He has also served on the Legislative Action Committees of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians and the Wisconsin Medical Society. Landon is passionate about advocacy, particularly using his future role as a physician to elevate climate-health issues and their impacts on patients, communities, and families.