The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE) has joined forces with Putney Pre-College, an initiative of Putney Student Travel, to launch a youth summer program on climate and public health this July.
Part of the Center’s 25th anniversary, the Harvard Chan C-CHANGE Youth Summits will train students to be leaders in their communities through workshops, field-based activities, and meetings with scientists, health and policy experts, academics, energy innovators, and more.
The Youth Summits combine Putney’s extensive history of designing educational and innovative student programs with Harvard Chan C-CHANGE’s academic expertise and thought leadership on climate and health.
Confronting Climate Realities with Concrete Action
Sunday, July 18 – Saturday, July 24
Join like-minded high school students, engaging educators, and inspiring mentors this summer for a climate change program with Putney Pre-College at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Choose an Action Focus and delve into climate issues related to your interests, strengths, and passions. Gain perspective from world leaders and politicians. Meet inspiring advocates, scientists, renewable energy innovators, and entrepreneurs at the forefront of addressing the climate crisis. Engage with themes such as health, energy, water, transportation, and agriculture, and, over the course of the program, develop a capstone project focused on transforming your ideas into action.
Learn more
Tackling Public Health Challenges to Address Inequities and Climate Realities
Sunday, July 25 – Saturday, July 31
Dive into issues of public health alongside peers, educators, and leading professionals from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on this high school summer program. Choose an Action Focus based on your interests and explore how public health is intertwined with racial and social justice, economics, and climate change. Gain perspective from scientists, world leaders, and politicians about the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges and opportunities for navigating global public health issues. Engage with themes such as climate, pandemics, public policy, and air and water quality over the course of the program and develop a capstone project to transform your ideas into action.
Learn more
This program was developed thanks to the support of Gina McCarthy, now the National Climate Adviser to the Biden/Harris Administration and former Director of Harvard Chan C-CHANGE.
Guest Speakers

Michelle A. Williams, MS, ScD
Dean of the Faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Gaurab Basu MD, MPH
Primary Care Physician and Co-Director of the Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy at Cambridge Health AllianceInstructor, Harvard Medical School

Aaron Bernstein MD, MPH
Interim Director, Harvard Chan C-CHANGEPediatric Hospitalist, Boston Children’s Hospital
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School

Marcia Castro MA, PhD
Andelot Professor of Demography Global Health and PopulationChair, Department of Global Health and Population Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Francesca Dominici, PhD
Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population and Data Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthCo-Director of the Data Science Initiative

Howard Frumkin MD, DrPH, MPH
Former Director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the CDCProfessor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington

Howard Koh MD, MPH
Former Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, Harvard Chan School and Harvard Kennedy School

Natalia Linos MSc, ScD
Executive Director, FXB Center for Health & Human Rights at Harvard University



Renee N. Salas MD, MPH, MS
Yerby Fellow, Harvard Chan C-CHANGEAffiliated Faculty, Harvard Global Health Institute
Emergency Medical Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Governor Peter Shumlin
81st Governor of VermontMenschel Senior Leadership Fellow, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Co-Director, Putney Student Travel

Secretary Kathleen A. Theoharides
Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts