NH Healthy Climate Working Groups

NH Healthy Climate’s volunteers are spread across our five active Working Groups Learn more about each group below and get involved!

Dr. Bob Feder

Behavioral Health Working Group

  • Strategizes around approach to education and advocacy on the impact of climate on the mental health of children and adults

  • Develops recommendations and guidelines for behavioral health clinicians whose patients are dealing with symptoms related to climate change

  • Reduces the behavioral health impacts of climate change by developing recommendations and guidelines for communities to increase their climate change preparedness

  • Collaborates with national and state groups

  • Created, “A Brief Guide to Individual Therapy for Climate-Related Mental Distress”

Chair:

Emily Johnson

Children’s Health Working Group

  • Protects the emotional and physical health of young children in the face of a warming climate

  • Develops strategies and serves as a partner for the Climate Informed Pediatric Care project

  • Advocates for the adoption of positive climate and health policies by child healthcare organizations, such as NH AAP

  • Engages the broader child healthcare community, including trainees and early-career healthcare workers in climate action

Chair:

Semra Aytur

Suzanne Gaulocher

Climate Justice Working Group

  • Actively listens to community issues on health equity/climate justice and social determinants of health

  • Partners with the NAACP-Manchester, the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and other community organizations on issues related to climate justice, environmental justice, and Social Determinants of Health

  • Designs collaborative health equity/climate justice projects with communities across the state of NH

  • Participates in the Environmental Justice Roundtable, meetings with state partners to collectively discuss environmental justice activities in NH and to build toward greater Environmental Justice in the state and region.

Co-Chairs:

Bob Dewey

Cynthia Nichols

Communications & Education Working Group

  • Oversees NH Healthy Climate’s digital outreach, including our website and bi-monthly newsletter, the NH CHAT

  • Leads the Speakers Bureau

  • Develops strategies for community outreach and marketing

  • Creates an interdisciplinary program of interactive webinars with state and national experts

  • Publishes Op-Eds and Letters to the Editors in media around the state

Co-Chairs:

Policy & Advocacy Working Group

  • Track, monitor and communicate with NH Healthy Climate participants regarding active legislation in NH relating to climate and health

  • Contribute evidence-based information from expert healthcare voices at public hearings for proposed legislation relating to climate and health

  • Advocate for climate solutions to improve health for all