the NUANCE // a community health podcast.

We had a beautiful community gathering for Sun Day, celebrating the power of green energy while centering environmental justice in the green energy transition. Thank you to all of the community members and organizations that made it possible! We had 3 speakers at the event: Chedaya Brown, PhD student:Investigating dual-use solar initiatives and renewable energy policy and implementation through an environmental justice lensDr. Loraine Lundquist, PhD has a PhD in physics, and teaches sustainability – economic, social, and scientific solutions at California State University, Northridge, she is the chair of the Board of Directors for LA ForwardKevin Briseno rising sophomore who is studying Physiology and Environmental Sciences. He is a member of the Youth advisory board at Youth on Root.

Jeff Share’s research and practice focuses on preparing educators to teach critical media literacy and environmental justice. He was an award-winning photojournalist and bilingual elementary school teacher. Since 2007 he has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the School of Education and Information Studies. Jeff has written several books including: Media Literacy is Elementary: Teaching Youth to Critically Read and Create Media, Teaching Climate Change to Adolescents: Reading, Writing, and Making a Difference, The Critical Media Literacy Guide: Engaging Media and Transforming Education, and For the Love of Nature: Ecowriting the World. Jeff is a Fulbright and Language Specialist who has provided professional development to educators in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. His personal website: https://jshare.wixsite.com/jeffshare

Gem Montes is a Policy Analyst and Advocate at the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PCEJ) in the Inland Empire. Upon realizing that the City of Colton, which experiences some of the worst air in the nation, has little to no public access air monitoring information, she partnered with PCEJ to create a Community-Based Participatory Research project called The Air I Breathe. Gem is a leader in grassroot advocacy. In 2022, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Riverside’s School of Public Policy. While there, she received a fellowship with the University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative as an Engagement Fellow. Immediately afterwards, she received a fellowship with the California Climate Action Corps as a Heat Rezilient Fellow at Pauma Tribal Farms. Notably, she has accrued multiple certifications in tribal subjects. Gem’s broad range of education and experience has allowed her to successfully navigate complex relationships and establish trust with government agencies, tribal affiliates, environmental organizations and community members. Her passion and commitment to finding solutions for the injustices imposed upon frontline communities results in work that is second to none. At an age when most are retiring, she remains eager to learn and continues to be a force to be reckoned with.

Stefan Wheat, MD is an emergency physician and faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington, practicing at both Harborview Medical Center and UWMC—Northwest Hospital emergency departments. With the Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) at the University of Washington, Dr. Wheat works to understand the scope of the health threats posed by climate change, promote healthcare system adaptation and emergency preparedness, and inform policies to keep people safe in a rapidly changing world. He completed a fellowship in Climate & Health Science Policy at the University of Colorado where he worked as a Physician-Fellow at the Department of Health and Human Services in their Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) and as an Associate Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education.His work has included founding ClimateRx, a seamless tool designed to help health professionals to connect with patients and colleagues on how we can respond to the health risks of climate change, and the development of Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE), a global health professional-led initiative that aims to provide free, publicly accessible, evidence-based resources to accelerate the incorporation of climate change and planetary health information into educational curricula.Link to ClimateRx:https://www.climaterx.org/Funded Climate and Health Research opportunity for WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region researchers and community partners:https://deohs.washington.edu/change/implementation-and-evaluation-fellowship-climate-change-and-healthClimate Change and Health Bootcamp (intensive 3-day certificate based course hosted by Columbia University (open to all health professionals):https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/academics/non-degree-special-programs/professional-non-degree-programs/skills-health-research-professionals-sharp-training/trainings/climate-change-health

Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining) is a Diné (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader, and international speaker. She is a voice for global peace, and her paintings are created as tools for individual, earth and global healing. She draws upon the Indigenous sciences of Thriving Life to reframe questions about sustainability and balance, and she is devoted to supporting the next generations, Women’s Nation and Men’s Nation, in being functional members of the “Hoop of Life” and upholding the honor of being human.For context, this podcast episode was recorded on 1/22/2025

Dr. Anne Marie Amies Oelschlager is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She founded, developed, and expanded the Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Division at the University of Washington to provide care to patients across the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. Her clinical expertise is in contraception and hormone therapy, pubertal and menstrual disorders, congenital anomalies of reproductive organs, differences of sex development (intersex conditions), and reproductive health issues complicated by underlying physical or developmental disability or underlying medical conditions. She also serves as Chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Clinical Consensus Gynecology Committee. She is a clinical instructor and lecturer on reproductive health care for the medical students at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda.Links mentioned:bedsider.orgDISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on the show are those of The Nuance Podcast and of Medicine Explained and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of their places of employment. The opinions expressed on this podcast are meant for entertainment and education purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor should they be used as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified board-certified practicing physician.