We're just one month away from our virtual event with Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania: Climate Change and Health: Indicators and Pathways. It will take place on Friday, April 15, from 12 - 4:30 PM Eastern, and we want to give you a sneak peak at some of the speakers who will be joining us.

​
Dr. Gary Belkin

Gary is the former Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and founded the Billion Minds Institute which brings science and policy to bear on tackling the “social climate” crisis of the climate crisis.

He works with municipalities in the US and globally to innovate methods for population community mental health and resilience in ways that advance social justice and that shift knowledge, skills, and implementation tools to community members. Efforts to realize that include the $250m/yr ThriveNYC initiative, and a community-wide response to depression and trauma in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake in collaboration with the NGO Partners in Health. Those approaches inform his current focus: how to ambitiously scale civic-led coping and collective acting in the face of environmental collapse.

He also led large systems of care, including as Medical Director for Behavioral Health across the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, and is Founding Editor of the journal Global Mental Health.

Presentation title: Leadership for the Social Climate

Follow Gary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrGaryBelkin​

Dr. Esther Obonyo

Esther is the founding director of the Penn State-led Global Building Network. She is also an associate professor of engineering design and architectural engineering with affiliate appointments in the School of Arts and Architecture and Institute of Computational and Data Science.

Presentation Title: Enhancing the Resilience of Low-Income Housing in the Post-Covid World

Follow Esther on social media:
​https://twitter.com/EstherUF1​
​https://www.facebook.com/esther.obonyo.3​
​https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-obonyo-28ba3ab​

Alice Thompson

Alice is a graduating medical student from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and the co-founder and Program Director of Visible Hands Collaborative, the first training institute for Integrative Community Therapy in the US.

She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated from Schenley High School, and went on to pursue her interest in Politics at Bates College in Lewiston, ME. After graduating, Alice spent several years working in civil rights, employment law, and community organizing in Washington, DC and Pittsburgh.

She then continued to follow the evolution of her passions to medical school, where she led multiple student groups including Primary Care Progress, Medical Students for Choice, and PsychSIGN. She is pursuing a residency in psychiatry after graduation.

Follow Esther on social media:
​https://www.facebook.com/visiblehandscollaborative​
​https://www.instagram.com/visiblehandscollaborative​

The influences of weather and climate on human health are varied and increasingly alarming. Exposure to health hazards related to climate change has the capacity to affect all individuals physical and mental health and may do so by harming air, water, food and shelter on which they rely. The frequency, severity, duration, and location of weather and climate phenomena - like rising temperatures, heavy rains and droughts - are changing. This means that areas already experiencing health-threatening weather and climate phenomena are likely to experience worsening impacts. In this regard, socially and economically disadvantaged communities face the greatest risks.

​Climate Change and Health: Indicators and Pathways will focus on mental health and wellbeing, climate migration and populations of concern, and social and health inequities.

​This virtual event is open to health professionals and the general public.

​→ Click here to register for the event.​

Save the Date

Halt the Harm Network is partnering with Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania to bring you more great events later this year. Stay tuned for more information and registration details for the following events:

🗓 Climate Emergency Film Club - starts May 19th, from 6 - 7 PM Eastern and will run through November 17th.

🗓 COP 27: A Regional Response to Climate Action, Health, and Equity - June 24, from 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Eastern

Best,

Ryan Clover