Join a panel discussion co-sponsored by The Susan and Richard Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and The Center for Innovation in Global Health as we reflect on World Health Day and delve into the ways in which climate change is reshaping public health systems, exacerbating existing health inequalities, and creating new challenges.
As the global climate crisis intensifies, its effects extend far beyond the environment, influencing nearly every facet of human health. This panel brings together experts from public health, environmental science, and policy to explore the far-reaching consequences of climate change on physical, mental, and social well-being.
Doors open at 4:45 p.m.
The will be a reception directly following the event.
Please enter The International House on South Dorchester Avenue, an accessible entrance is on 59th Street.
Associate Instructional Professor
Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
University of Chicago
Jessica Darrow is an Associate Instructional Professor and directs the Kiphart Scholars Program in Global Health & Social Development at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Darrow teaches across the curriculum: in the core and in elective courses within the Kiphart Scholars Program. In 2023 students nominated Darrow for the William Pollak Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Darrow received her AB from the University of Chicago, and her AM and PhD from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Her practice experience includes five years as Executive Director of a small education-based non-profit organization operating in East and Southern Africa, and over two decades of service with the Wieboldt Foundation engaged in supporting local grassroots multi-issue community organizing groups in the Chicago area.
Founder and Executive Director of EmpoderaClima
Brazil
Renata Koch Alvarenga is a Brazilian leader in the global climate movement, focusing on gender equality and youth engagement. Founder and Executive Director of EmpoderaClima, a youth-led, Brazil-based multilingual organization advocating for women's empowerment and climate action in Latin America and the Caribbean, Alvarenga has been a prominent voice for climate justice for a decade, in forums such as the New York Times, Bloomberg, and the World Economic Forum.
Alvarenga has been involved in youth leadership spaces at UN Women, UN Climate, and UNICEF for several years, and in 2021, Alvarenga was the first young Brazilian to speak at the opening of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, alongside the United Nations Secretary-General. A Harvard MPP graduate, Alvarenga has worked at the UN Youth Office, the World Bank, and the British Mission in Brazil. Alvarenga was an inaugural awardee of the Emerging Leaders Beautiful Forces grant by Estée Lauder and Vital Voices in 2024, and got on the Forbes Under 30 list.
Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences Division
University of Chicago
Kate Burrows, PhD, is an environmental health scientist whose research focuses on the relationship between climate- and weather-related extremes and public health. Burrows has interdisciplinary training in environmental epidemiology (PhD, Yale University School of the Environment) and social-behavioral sciences (MPH, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health), which allows her to investigate global health issues from a unique perspective that incorporates sociocultural determinants of health and environmental exposures.
Burrows is a mixed-methods scientist and conducts qualitative and community-based research as well as quantitative research using big data at the national level. Prior to joining the University of Chicago in 2023, Burrows was a Voss Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society.
Alejandro Daly is a MPA graduate specialized in Energy and the Environment from Columbia University. As a founding member and former Executive Director of the Latin American Coalition for Clean Air and El Derecho a No Obedecer, Daly has worked to promote the right to a healthy environment in Latin America. Daly has experience working as a consultant for multiple UN and philanthropic organizations on clean air and climate action.
Daly is also a Global Shaper from the World Economic Forum and the winner of the LEAD 2030 Award for his commitment to climate and health. Daly has worked to promote the right to a healthy environment in Latin America, creating a network of over 200 community-led partners around clean air, and mobilizing over 150,000 people.
Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences Division
University of Chicago
Laura McGuinn, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago, specializing in environmental epidemiology. McGuinn's research focuses on the individual and joint impacts of air pollution and other environmental and social factors on mental and physical health outcomes throughout the life course, with a particular focus on child and adolescent life stages.
McGuinn's work also addresses how green space can help to mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve overall well-being, particularly for youth and other vulnerable populations. McGuinn received a BS in psychology from Loyola University Chicago, an MSc in public health with a concentration in environment and health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a PhD in environmental epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Most recently, she was a pediatric environmental health fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
From the spread of infectious diseases to mental health challenges driven by extreme weather events, this session will provide key insights into the intersection of climate and health. This session will not only explore the risks but also highlight the actions needed to address these challenges. Join us to engage with experts and gain a deeper understanding of how climate change directly affects global health, and what can be done to protect and improve well-being in this rapidly changing world.
Event Sponsors include:
- University of Chicago Center for Innovation in Global Health
- The Susan and Richard Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.
- The University of Chicago International House
- The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
If you have any questions about access or to request a reasonable accommodation that will facilitate your full participation in this event such as ASL interpreting, captioned videos, Braille or electronic text, food options for individuals with dietary restrictions, etc. please contact the event organizer.