Photo by: Pixabay user Gerd Altmann

A look back at 2020

12/16/2020 | Harvard Chan C-CHANGE

Dear Friends and Supporters of Harvard Chan C-CHANGE:

2020 will be known as the year of COVID. As awful as it’s been, it has helped show how critically important the work of our school and Center is to ensuring the health and welfare of all people. We must have robust public health resources informed by science to understand population health, changing disease patterns, and address health and social inequities, to protect everyone’s health.

Our part in the COVID struggle came about through connecting COVID-19 to climate change and equity, making our school the most recognized in the world on this subject. We spoke to how historical environmental injustice provided the fertile ground for COVID to have such devastating effects on communities of color and how climate actions could at once help right those injustices and provide a healthier, more sustainable world in the future.

As many of our colleagues did the hard fundamental science to understand how the virus is spread and can be stopped by medicines or vaccines, we dove deeply into how we can take actions that at once can prevent future pandemics, combat climate change, and promote justice.

We had unprecedented engagement with the media and policymakers around the country and in D.C. We are now working to make sure that the science that’s been done is in the hands of those who can use it.

While many of you have followed our year through our regular communications, including the Climate Optimist, I wanted to send along some highlights of what our dedicated and extraordinary team has been able to do amid all the challenges that the pandemic has brought.

You are surely receiving many year end letters trying to put full perspective on the year we just had. I’m not ready to do that just yet. But I am ready to look forward, having learned some important lessons about how to do so from the year past. We need to make sure climate actions, equity and health remain at the forefront of the climate conversation. We need to understand that new crises will always come and that to get where we need to go on climate, we need to do the research and civic outreach that will remain relevant and motivating amid the storms ahead.

Thanks for taking this brief tour of our work and your continuing support. We are excited to broaden the reach of our School and of the Center in 2021.

Ari Bernstein, MD MPH
Interim Director, Harvard Chan C-CHANGE

Infographic shows numbers of interviews, media clips, and op-eds from Harvard Chan C-CHANGE


Funding and Research

Support for our work

We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received this year to spur climate actions that create a healthier and more just world and extend the reach, research, and thought leadership of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Specifically, we want to thank Biogen, the Barr Foundation, Energy Foundation, European Climate Foundation, John Merck Fund, and the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center.

Their funding provided the capacity to ensure the science and expertise of our faculty, researchers and students reached decision-makers at all levels of society, from parents to the U.S. Congress. This past year our research funds allowed us to pursue work on climate and health issues, with particular focus on the health impacts of natural gas and a regional analysis of the health benefits of reducing emissions from the transportation sector, now the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the United States.

Among the most important work we did in 2020 was to show how climate actions are pandemic solutions. Our Interim Director, Dr. Aaron Bernstein has spent his entire career studying the latest evidence on biodiversity, climate change, and disease emergence, which put us in a unique position to be out first as the leading expert on these connections in early March. Funding supported communications staff who cemented our position as the go-to resource for media on the connections between climate, health, and COVID-19. We were the first to draw these links – at a time when others were questioning whether it was wise – and have influenced thinking that has shown up in state and national recovery plans nationally, as well as in the European Union.

“He [Dr. Bernstein] is a champion and inspiring and I have no doubt he will drive this movement,”

- Dr. Maria Neira Director of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants at WHO

Seven doctors standing in front of a globeLooking ahead, the support we received this year from Biogen will kick off a multi-year project in 2021 to help under-resourced health care clinics become more climate-resilient and improve patient health. This first-of-its-kind program will allow us to work with Americares, which has a network of 1,000 front-line clinics across the country, to identify and address the needs of community health centers that are unprepared to address climate-related impacts on infrastructure, operations, or standards of care.

We will also pursue research and communications into the health and air quality impacts of transportation policies in the Eastern U.S, the impacts of changes in electricity emissions from electric vehicles, and how to integrate the grid effects from electric vehicle adoption into transportation planning thanks to the Energy Foundation and the Barr Foundation.

Our center has worked on climate and health issues for 20+ years. We have learned we will never get close to where we need to be in terms of public support or effective climate policies without research and communication. Our support from funders is vital to depoliticize climate change and to get people motivated to act in ways that will provide for the health of our families today and for our children’s future. We thank them for their dedication to the School and our Center, no other center at an academic institution or elsewhere has the same credibility, reach, and impact as the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard Chan School (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE). And, to put it bluntly, we wouldn’t be here without them.

Thanks for taking this brief tour of our work. We are excited to broaden the reach of our School and of the Center in 2021.

Advisory Board

Panel of headshots from Howard Frumkin, John Kerry, Gina McCarthy, Jeff Nesbit, and Mary Bassett
In January, we announced the Harvard Chan C-CHANGE Advisory Board to focus, strengthen, and grow the Center’s work. The board includes Secretary John Kerry, Jeff Nesbitt, Mary Bassett, Howie Frumkin and it is chaired by Gina McCarthy, former Director of our Center and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. Our board members provide feedback on our annual plan and accomplishments, discuss new areas of research, and advise on how best to communicate the latest science to spark the demands needed to tackle climate change.

About us

Our center is led by Dr. Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician and expert on the health effects of climate change on children’s health, who has spent his career studying the connections between biodiversity, pollution, and disease emergence.

Through research, storytelling, and strategic outreach, we have a proven track record of weaving cutting-edge science on how climate actions can deliver a healthier, more just, and sustainable world into conversations about climate change—from newsrooms, to boardrooms, to the highest levels of government.

“Our media attention this year shows that when we make clear that the actions to combat climate change are the same as those needed to lessen the spread and severity of pandemics like COVID-19, people catch on quickly to the win-win potential of climate action.”

- Dr. Aaron Bernstein

Unlike any other academic center, nonprofit, or medical affiliate, our research and outreach:

    • Creates solutions-focused research and messaging that shifts the motivation for climate action to protecting children’s health, preventing pandemics, reducing disruptions to clinical care, and radically improving health by transitioning to renewable energy.
    • Shines a light on people suffering most from air pollution and climate change—children, those with chronic health conditions, low-income communities, and communities of color—and the clean energy solutions that benefit their health.
    • Uses our voice, perspective, and guidance for targeted outreach to policymakers, educators/students, medical providers, entertainment industry, and parents to increase awareness and inform climate policies.
    • Serves as the media’s go-to source for climate change and health information and hosts training workshops to help reporters—from the top tier to local outlets—tell more impactful climate stories.

Solutions-focused research

When new policy proposals are in the works, we jump into action. We research and communicate how health is connected to policy and share it with key audiences and decision-makers.

Health impacts of climate policies

Many policies and investments can create jobs and improve infrastructure but only some also benefit health by tackling air pollution, improving the quality of low-income housing, or reducing energy bills. Our research frames climate change as a health equity issue rather than just an environmental issue.

We published more than 20 research papers and commentaries about the health impacts of climate policies and regulatory actions during a time when trillions of dollars are being invested in COVID-19 recovery, clean energy, and climate solutions. There is an urgent need to ensure these investments are made in ways that explicitly improve public health, and our science can help inform these decisions.

Researching climate solutions

Different types of renewable energy placed along a road

Jonathan Buonocore, Sc.D., and Kathy Fallon Lambert from our team, together with the Boston University School of Public Health and the University of North Carolina, is studying how potential transportation investments and strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions may impact human health and help address inequalities through better air quality and increased physical activity. The Transportation, Equity, Climate, and Health (TRECH) Project is analyzing how different climate policies could improve people’s lives in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and assessing the health consequences, equity concerns, and downwind impacts of potential policies proposed by the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

Our Clean Energy Futures Project led by Senior Advisor Kathy Fallon Lambert, shows low or zero carbon emissions policies for the electricity sector are achievable with climate and health benefits by 2040 to 2050.

In April, as EPA finalized their rollback of the toxics standards of the Clean Air Act, we worked to inform the media of the health implications. We circulated our Mercury Matters 2020: A Science Brief for Journalists to reporters, provided background information for The Economist, and Dr. Bernstein was quoted in the NYTimes about why increasing pollution during a respiratory pandemic is dangerous.

Solar Geoengineering is written over a field and blue sky

Together with Harvard’s Solar Engineering Research Program, we brought together scientists from across the university this fall to explore the public health implications of this technology. Jonathan Moch, Ph.D., joined us as a Postdoctoral Fellow this year to work on characterizing the health consequences of solar geoengineering and on analyzing the efficacy and health impacts of air pollution reduction efforts in China.

In 2021, our researchers will continue working on projects that compare the health impacts of burning gas to burning coal, the effectiveness of air quality warnings for protecting health, and contaminants found in kitchens with gas stoves.

Climate impacts to health care delivery

A doctor surrounded by medical instrumentsHealth care voices are exceedingly important to public understanding of climate change, which underscores the need to research and articulate the relevance of climate change to clinical practice as a means to engage the health care community.

Our Climate MD program, led by Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Renee Salas, was launched last year to focus on the health care effects of climate change and to prepare a climate-ready health care workforce.

Demonstrating climate impacts to health care delivery in major medical journals

This year, we reached health care professionals through medical journals by publishing and amplifying research that demonstrates the connections between climate change and the practice of medicine. We now have research on climate and pediatrics, psychology, emergency medicine, surgery, internal medicine, cancer, pulmonology, infectious diseases, and residency education.

Our Yerby Fellow, Dr. Renee Salas is regularly featured in prestigious peer-reviewed medical Journals like The BMJ and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) talking about the climate crisis and how it affects the practice of medicine. Her NEJM perspective, which has been viewed over 25,000 times, discusses the ways climate change is making it more challenging for clinicians to do their jobs. She was also featured in NEJM to present strategies for how local communities and states can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission during climate-related extreme events like heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires. She was in The BMJ to share how the healthcare industry can help limit climate change, promote public health through reduced pollution, create cost savings by eliminating waste and inefficiency, and become leaders in the global effort to limit global heating to 1.5°C. She also wrote about how the pandemic should foster advocacy from the health care sector for making climate action a critical part of recovery.

In a new article for the first-ever Health Affairs issue focused exclusively on the intersection of climate and health, lead author Dr. Salas and Dr. Bernstein outlined specific policy suggestions for achieving climate action through health policy and decision making. Their recommendations, primarily for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, can serve as a guide for creating a more resilient and equitable health care system that is better prepared to meet the needs of patients today and in the future. The authors note that with better evidence, governance, and funding, policymakers and health care stakeholders can improve population health and health care’s operational and financial resilience to climate change.

Spotlight

    • Dr. Salas was the lead author on the 2020 U.S. Policy Brief for the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, a comprehensive yearly analysis tracking the impact of climate change on human health around the world. Our fellow, Dr. Caleb Dresser, authored a section for the U.S. Brief on the growth in bacteria found in coastal waters that can cause water- or food-borne disease. We coordinated with Harvard Global Health Initiative and Climate Nexus to launch the report virtually on December 3, with climate and health leaders including our former Director Gina McCarthy and the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh, who discussed climate action in the Biden administration, as well as Property Brothers’ Drew Scott who discussed the real-world implications of the findings with Renee as part of our Reel Science program. Media highlights include: New York Times, NPR, Inverse, Earther, CNBC, Lancet podcast.

Global Report | U.S. Policy Brief | View Launch Event

Preparing medical leaders on climate and health

With the Harvard Global Health Institute, the Health Effects of Climate Change, a massive open online course created by Dr. Bernstein, is now in its third run and has enrolled more than 105,000 students in over 100 countries. Dr. Bernstein and co-authors outlined the first residency curricula to better prepare doctors for climate change and work with medical schools to integrate climate change into curricula through the use of clinical cases and targeted didactic curriculum.

Spotlight

Dr. Gaurab Basu joined us as a Health Equity fellow this fall, adding to our growing list of medical doctors who are part of the center. He just received the 2020 Science Defender award from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Dr. Caleb Dresser is a practicing emergency medicine physician and a Climate and Health Fellow. He is working with us to understand and enhance approaches to health risks during and after extreme weather events. He published this year on the growing evidence that changing environmental and climate conditions are triggering human displacement in Current Environmental Health Reports and how to train future medical leaders on climate change in Health Affairs this year.

 


COVID-19 Leadership, Communications, and Digital Outreach

Science informs the decisions that will shape our health today and into the future. But to make a difference, great science needs more than an appearance in a peer reviewed journal and a standard-issue press release. Harvard Chan C-CHANGE puts science into action by making the best available research on climate change, health, and equity available and understandable to change makers so they are equipped with the evidence and tools they need to protect our health. We work with the media through outreach and trainings to enhance access to climate and health research, ensuring more storytelling and coverage of meaningful and effective climate actions.

Our outreach on how climate change impacts our health today generated over 400 media clips (a 54% increase from 2019) and our researchers were interviewed over 180 times by major news outlets (a 155% increase from 2019), including:

  • AP, Fever chart: Earth had its hottest decade on record in 2010s
  • Medscape: Clinicians’ Challenge: ‘Bring Climate Change to the Bedside’
  • Washington Post: The EPA is about to change a rule cutting mercury pollution. The industry doesn’t want it.
  • Hollywood Times: Kate Bosworth, Eric Christian Olsen, & other actors join Harvard and EMA to launch new climate web series
  • NPR’s Here and Now: Doctors push for health care to address climate change in new teaching framework
  • USA Today: Trump’s EPA rewrote the rules on air, water energy. Now voters face a choice on climate change issues
  • NYTimes: Hotter planet already poses fatal risks, health experts warn

COVID-19 Leadership

COVID-19 taught us the world can change in an instant, and turning to scientists, doctors, and public health officials can protect our loved ones and neighbors. Following their advice can help us tackle the next crisis in the wings—climate change. In early March, we were the first to make the case that now is the time for trusted experts to speak loudly and with one voice: Climate solutions are pandemic solutions. We undertook a rapid-response strategy that not only injected climate into the national discourse, but also resulted in headlines explaining why air pollution is making the coronavirus worse (Washington Post), how minority communities are disproportionately affected (Forbes), why deforestation increases the pace of global pandemics (Fast Company, LATimes), how climate change fuels pandemics (Boston 25, USA Today), and why we need to defend science (Scientific American).

A Q&A with our Director Dr. Bernstein on the connections between COVID-19 and climate change was quickly picked up by outlets like Environmental Health News and Daily Climate and became the most popular page on our website, frequently referenced by the media. Our Covid and Air Pollution fact sheet summarizes the state of the science and is our second most viewed webpage.

“I can’t thank you enough for your help and support the past two weeks/months…Sorry to gush – but I just really appreciate your help and it’s always a pleasure to work with you.”

- Colleague at Climate Nexus

A summary of our covid and climate engagement since March includes:

Screenshot of Dr. Renee Salas speaking on CNN
Our Director Dr. Aaron Bernstein and Yerby Fellow Dr. Renee Salas participated in 14 Congressional briefings and advised the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office and city leaders on actions needed to rebuild stronger from the pandemic:

    • Dr. Bernstein was invited by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Environment to appear in a video report for media and the general public regarding concerns about the steps EPA has taken to relax pollution controls in the midst of a respiratory pandemic.
    • Dr. Bernstein joined Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office as a technical advisor on a bill to prevent the next pandemic.
    • Dr. Bernstein joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to serve as an expert advisor on legislation he is developing with Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) to ban all imports and exports of live wildlife into and out of the United States, as well as ending “wet markets” in the U.S.

“Your testimony was deeply moving, and I was so impressed by the true passion you have for your patients and for your work.  Thank you for making the time to appear before the Committee in the middle of all of your other work—and thanks for being democracy’s ‘homie’!”
 
“You were passionate, well spoken, and formidable (in the best way!).  I hope we can keep hearing from you.  Please keep us posted on your work.”
 
“You brought important facts to light, and we are certainly grateful!”

- Congressional staffers

Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Salas published six papers in leading medical journals on the connections between climate change and pandemics:

  • Science, Solutions for preventing the next pandemic
  • BMJ, Climate action: the best gift for global health
  • The Lancet Planetary Health, COVID-19 and clean air: An opportunity for radical change
  • BMJ, Lessons from the covid-19 pandemic provide a blueprint for the climate emergency
  • NEJM, The climate crisis and COVID-19—A major threat to the pandemic response
  • Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Mitigating the Twin Threats of Climate-Driven Atlantic Hurricanes and COVID-19 Transmission

“While we have not met personally, your reputation precedes you – I have heard wonderful things about you from colleagues who have heard you speak, and from Congressional staff who have benefited from your expertise.”

- Non-profit legislative manager

Setting the national narrative

We trained reporters on how to deepen their skills and expand their thinking around climate-related issues, and we trained scientists on how to talk with the media and better communicate messages on climate and health.

    • Dr. Bernstein presented on climate change and health to the Health Coverage Fellows, including reporters from Kaiser Health News, NPR, Clarion Ledger, Politico, WBUR, ProPublica, The Maine Monitor, CNN, Texas Observer, WGBH, Concord Monitor, and CNBC.
    • Dr. Bernstein trained 100 health professionals and health students on how to talk to the media and amplify messages about climate and health.
    • Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Dresser hosted a webinar with 30 high school and college journalists from the National Scholastic Press Association on how to report on climate and health and the links between COVID-19 and climate change.

Despite the cancelation of many in-person events, we participated in over 50 online panels, webinars, and conferences:

  • Dr. Bernstein presented a keynote to an international audience at the World Medical Association on COVID-19, politics and climate change.
  • We participated in five Climate Week events, including a panel hosted by The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU and the Institute for Policy Integrity on the “Perspectives on Climate Change and Public Health” with Dr. Bernstein, former Director Gina McCarthy, John Holdren, AG Maura Healy, and NYTimes climate reporter Lisa Friedman.
  • Jonathan Buonocore and Kathy Fallon Lambert led the TRECH Research Project Update to inform state policymakers, environmental justice groups, and NGOs involved in the Transportation and Climate Initiative about preliminary research results. She led briefings with WBUR, NJ Spotlight, E&E, NYTimes, and Boston Globe, as well as Our Transportation Future and the Climate Justice Alliance.
  • Dr. Bernstein joined Dr. Maria Neira, Director of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants at WHO for an online debate addressing different environment and climate-related aspects of COVID-19, hosted by the European Environment Agency.
  • Dr. Bernstein, Katherine Hayhoe from Texas Tech, and Marshall Burke from Stanford organized a 6-hour session at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting that focused on “Global crises and human response: What can the coronavirus teach society about climate change?”

Dr. Bernstein was invited to join:

  • The Board of Advisors at Parent’s Magazine, where he will serve as their Environmental Health Specialist.
  • The Climate for Health Leadership Circle at EcoAmerica, which is composed of nationally renowned health professionals who are uniquely positioned to spur climate solutions and educate the public and policymakers on climate and health.
  • The Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow and the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance to better define and name heatwaves so we can help communities take measures that are needed to protect them from this “silent killer” that affects our vulnerable populations most.

Digital review

Our digital strategy aims to inform, engage, and empower users to take climate action.

Digital analytics from Harvard Chan C-CHANGE social channels and web traffic
Social media: We use our growing presence to provide real-time context for current events, to promote our own and others’ research, and to raise awareness through sustained social media campaigns. In 2020 our combined followers topped 15,700 who engaged with our content over 17,000 times. We ran three awareness campaigns to provide concrete ideas for green New Year’s resolutions, increasing voter turnout, and tips for staying healthy in extreme heat.

“Next up, @DrAriBernstein, pediatrician + director of @HarvardCCHANGE who speaks powerfully to the intersections between climate, covid, pollution & our health. He’s my personal go-to on this topic so you don’t want to miss his talk, ‘salvation comes cheap'”

- Tweet from Katharine Hayhoe

 

Our monthly Climate Optimist newsletter helps readers overcome eco-anxiety and inspire action by featuring positive stories about climate momentum, plus tips for things you can do right now to help. This year our subscribers increased 15% to 5,500, and here’s what some have to say:

“One of my favorites, such a great tone and voice in it!”
“A fabulous newsletter!”
“I love the Climate Optimist—and what I really appreciate is the ‘voice’—a little sense of humor.”
“When can I get a Climate Optimist bike jersey…?! Really appreciate your newsletter (including acknowledgement of what parents are dealing with!”)

Website: Our website content aims to convey information that is short and to the point, modeled after Axios’ “smart brevity” publishing style that provides just enough background, context, topline messaging, and key takeaways. This year we saw an increase of 692% in web traffic as we welcomed over 174,700 visitors and 283,000 page views.


Education and Student Engagement

Reel Science

Infographic showing Reel Science analytics
In April 2020, Harvard Chan C-CHANGE launched the interview series Reel Science in collaboration with the Environmental Media Association (EMA), to provide candid and informative conversations between celebrities and scientists on topics ranging from climate change, infectious diseases, food security, to air pollution, environmental health, equity, and other critical public health issues.

“Actors and athletes have a unique ability to reach large diverse audiences. We should use our platforms to help educate and inform our networks of the critical environmental and social justice issues and how everyone can get involved.”

- Actor and Reel Science host Eric Christian Olsen

 

Thanks to support from the European Climate Foundation, the series is ongoing and we plan to expand our entertainment work in the coming year.

Stats (as of 12/15/20):

    • Twitter & YouTube: 7.3 Million impressions & 5,510 unique engagements
    • Facebook & Instagram: 850,000+ collective views on partners post (not including stories and other non partner post)
    • Facebook: 10,800+ impressions

Screenshot of actor Eric Christian Olsen interviewing Dr. Aaron Bernstein
Episodes:

Teaching the next generation

Climate is Health – Educational Resources on Climate, Health, and COVID-19
globe with knitted trees
This five-part series, in collaboration with Putney Pre-College, ran in spring 2020 exploring the connections between climate change and public health. Meaningful and action-oriented, the content is designed to help teachers and students engage with these issues, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The series is aimed at high school students, but the content is easily adaptable for younger age groups.

We had more than 100 educators enroll and it was used in 40 states, 16 countries and 7 languages. The content is free and available for the public use on our website.
Gina McCarthy with text "Session 1 - Basics of Climate and Health and How They Are Connected"

  • Session 1 – Basics of Climate and Health and How They Are Connected
  • Session 2 – The Connection Between Climate and COVID-19
  • Session 3 – How Climate Change Impacts You, Your Health, and Your Community
  • Session 4 – Climate Change, Inequitable Impacts, and Community Resilience
  • Session 5 – Personal and Community Climate Actions and Becoming a Climate Activist

In Summer 2021, we will be hosting three week long climate and health youth climate summits with Putney Pre-College. The Summits are designed to educate, empower, and prepare students to take leadership roles in the field of climate change and public health. To learn enroll or learn more please reach out to harvardyouthsummits@goputney.com.

Student Ambassador Program

Tapping into the collective knowledge of brilliant student leaders at Harvard Chan, our Student Ambassador Program equips students with critical skills to become climate and health leaders. In 2020 we welcomed a new cohort of Student Ambassadors for the academic year 2020/21.

headshots of the nine Harvard Chan C-CHANGE student ambassadors

    • Lissah Johnson – PhD Biological Sciences
    • Regan Plekenpol – MPH in Nutrition
    • Adele Houghton – DrPH in Environmental Health
    • Mahaa Ahmed – MS in Environmental Health
    • Jenny Lee – PhD Biostatistics
    • Ellen Chappelka – Masters in Health Policy and Management
    • Heather Kelahan – PhD in Population Health Sciences
    • Jess Schriff – MS in Environmental Health
    • Kaela Connors – MS in Global Health and Populations

Other student engagement work:

  • Rachel Croy worked on a project evaluating health benefits of offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Sarah Zelasky worked on a project evaluating how health impacts from PM2.5 from transportation changed from 2008-2017.
  • Brian Souza worked on a project using models to measure how installing batteries, deploying electric vehicles, increasing energy efficiency, and other changes to the electrical grid affect emissions from power plants throughout the US.

C-CHANGE in Your Skills and Spotlight Series:
These events for Harvard Chan students highlighted leaders at Harvard and beyond to discuss their careers and what drives their work.

    • Dr. Ed Baker, former Assistant Surgeon General in the US Public Health Service and former Director of CDC’s Public Health Practice Program Office
      • This event explored the theories and practices of leadership, and strategies in the ever-changing environment that health professionals work in.
    • David S. Jones, M.D., Ph.D, Ackerman Professor of the Culture of Medicine, Harvard & Sunil Amrith, Renu and Anand Dhawan Professor of History, Yale
      • This event explored how historians view environmental challenges such as climate change.
    • How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic with Dr. Aaron Bernstein
      • This workshop explored the attitudes and motivations that prevent people from supporting actions to decarbonize and identify strategies, including effective communication, to use when engaging climate skepticism.
    • Understanding the Fundamental of the Live Interview with Howard Koh
      • In this workshop, students were introduced to basic strategies for being interviewed by the press. It included reviewing the theory and practice of public health communication, sharing media experiences to date and critiquing examples of communication with the press.
Caleb Dresser

Caleb Dresser MD, MPH

Caleb is an emergency medicine physician whose research focuses on addressing health needs during and after climate-related disasters.

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Gaurab Basu

Gaurab Basu MD, MPH

Gaurab's work focuses on the intersection of climate change, health equity, medical education, and advocacy.

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Dr. Renee Salas

Renee N. Salas MD, MPH, MS

Renee's work focuses on the intersection of the climate crisis, health, and healthcare delivery.

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