Dear ,

Right now many of us are holding grief and sadness. From ICE raids, to global conflicts, to political turmoil, it can feel hard to keep up with the barrage of news and live with the knowledge that ongoing climate change will exacerbate already dire conditions. 

At Climate Health Now in moments of crisis we continue to do what we know will benefit ourselves and our communities in the short and long term - and that is to continue to build our movement and leverage our trusted health voices for equitable systems-level climate action. 

For this reason, in this newsletter we are proud to share our recent and upcoming efforts to build people power, build meaningful community and refine our vision and goals. These accomplishments are only possible because of the collective dedication of our members -- thank you for taking part in this movement!

May the remaining days of your summer bring you moments of joy and peace, 

Climate Health Now Statewide Leadership Team - Ashley McClure (Executive Director), Brenda Nuyen (Statewide Leadership Team Chair), Margie Chen, Hina Fullar, Lisa Chang and Whitney Villa Greswold

Announcing new Statewide Leadership Team members - Lisa Chang and Hina Fullar!

We are so happy to have recently onboarded Lisa Chang and Hina Fullar as part of our Statewide Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT is charged with stewarding CHN by providing strategic direction and oversight for CHN's movement. Lisa Chang is a retired ophthalmologist from Alamo, CA and Hina Fullar is a psychiatrist also located in Alamo. Lisa has been instrumental in coaching CHN's Advocacy Action Teams and Hina has been active on CHN's New Member Welcome and Polluter Accountability Action Team. Welcome to SLT, Lisa and Hina!

Social media & website update!

We have been working diligently on updating our website, our upcoming events page, and social media handles and we'd love for you to follow us and help us use social media to share out about our work! Please click the links below to support us! Please also feel free take a look at our updated website and email whitney@climatehealthnow.org with any suggestions for how it can be improved to better communicate our work and mission. 

The Climate Health Now org chart gets a refresh!

As many are aware, Climate Health Now uses the Leading Change Network’s snowflake model for community organizing that emphasizes distributed leadership, interdependence and mutual accountability, sustainable relationships, clear roles, and a capacity for exponential growth. Our org chart reflects this model, with 7 unique teams housed under Climate Health Now and our sister organization, Climate Health Now Action Fund. Interested in serving on a team? We recruit members for each team on an annual basis. If you are interested in learning more, please email connect@climatehealthnow.org

                                         Climate Solutions Potlucks!

We are very excited to have two more upcoming Climate Solutions Potlucks. Please consider joining us!:

- Sat., 9/6 - San Diego/San Diego County

- Sat, 11/1 - Riverside - stay tuned for details! 

A special thanks to Amanda A., Ashley M., Donna G., Goli S., and Reetu, Elaine, Aditya, Chelsea Y, Margie C. and Robin C. who all hosted or co-hosted a potluck. If you are still interested in participating in this initiative as a host or co-host, please complete our host interest form. 

AND if you attended a potluck but did not fill out our climate solutions form, please make sure to do so! Our goal is 100 form completions to share with local representatives. 

We are so energized by the turnout to the potluck series thus far (see pictures below!) and are also please to share that other organizing groups have used and adapted our hosting template to reach even more community members. 

                                         Strategic Planning - 2025

Starting in June through the end of 2025, CHN is undergoing a strategic planning process in order to create a 2026-2028 strategic plan. The purpose is to unite CHN's team leaders and members through an inclusive, collaborative process that builds relationships across all teams– and within our membership, while defining our long-term aspirations and envisioning our collective potential for advancing CHN's mission. 

Together we will clarify and invigorate our vision, mission, organizational structure, and three-year goals— creating alignment and connection that unifies our teams' efforts. We look forward to engaging with you during this process and hearing your opinion about the future direction of CHN!

              Fall Series on Healthcare Sustainability and Cost Savings

This fall we will be launching a three-part series on healthcare sustainability changes and cost savings! Stay tuned and join us to learn about healthcare case studies of clinical changes that both save money and reduce GHG emissions/waste. Speaker will open source projects that meet these criteria, and show each how to build local relationships and pitch these changes in the workplace.

The first in the series is already scheduled for September 4th from 12:30pm-1:30pm - learn more register here!

Requesting your support - Does your workplace have an Employee Giving Week?

As folks are likely well-aware, cuts to federal funding have led to increased competition for foundation funding sources. In addition, many funders no longer have open request for proposals (RFP) processes. As a result, we are hoping to maximize our end-of-year giving campaign this year, but we need your help!

Does your employer have an Employee Giving Week? If so, would you be willing to share how Employee Giving Week works at your organization and/or introduce us to a point of contact who is able to make sure Climate Health Now is eligible for funding through employee giving portals? Please email connect@climatehealthnow.org to share. We appreciate you!

          Join us in our campaign to stop new oil and gas drilling in California!

The federal administration's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced that it is considering opening over one million acres of our California public land -- from San Joaquin Valley up to the Central Coast to the San Francisco Bay Area -- to new toxic, climate-fueling oil and gas drilling. 

This plan threatens:

• Public health in regions already burdened by oil and gas pollution

• Air and water quality in frontline communities

• California’s progress on climate and clean energy

• Critical wildlife habitat, open space, and outdoor recreation

As health professionals we have a unique voice and ability to powerfully oppose this plan. If you are interested in helping co-lead our efforts to build power in opposition, please complete our 2025 Advocacy Campaign Co-Lead Form. 

 Develop your climate health leadership skills, AND earn CME/CNE/IPCE-- join our strategic storytelling training!

In partnership with People Power Health and Stanford Medicine, Climate Health Now is offering this transformative program that will strengthen your leadership capacity as a climate health advocate by equipping you with the skills to craft your own powerful climate health public narrative. 

This course is eligible for CME/CNE and IPCE (Interprofessional Continuing Education) credits (AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (11.50 hours), ANCC Contact Hours (11.50 hours), Non-Physician Participation Credit (11.50 hours). 

Participants will:

1. Build leadership skills (applicable to any issue you care about) by crafting a personal climate-health Public Narrative. 
2. Mobilize communities and decision-makers for equitable climate solutions. 
3. Elevate health as a central focus in climate policy and media discussions.

Join us and Register Here!

AND if you'd like to learn more about the leadership practice of Public Narrative before you commit to the course, join us on Thursday, August 28th from 12:30-1:30pm to:

• Learn from the inspirational public narratives of health colleagues,
• Explore your own story, and
• Learn about upcoming opportunities to dive deeper 

                                                     Shout Outs!

Shout out to Amanda d'Almeida for organizing a Sun Day event in Santa Monica on 9/21 and leading us in our upcoming Tuesday, 9/2 webinar for how any health professional can get involved in Sun Day!

Shoutout to Wendy Bernstein who participated in an August 20th Sacramento-based committee hearing opposing oil and gas legislation. 

Shout out to members Jerry Abraham and Alfred Glover who participated in Climate Action Campaign's People's Hearing in Los Angeles on extreme weather and climate policy - article here. 

Shout out to Amanda Millstein for being interviewed on the Symons Says Substack about Lee Zeldin's plans to roll back 31 EPA clean air and clean water regulations and how we can stop it. 

Shout out to Cindy Haq and Gary Stewart for being featured on the Earth Calling public affairs show on KUCI 88.9 FM.

Thank you for taking the time to read our quarterly newsletter - If you have suggestions for how our communications can be improved, please reach out to whitney@climatehealthnow.org

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