Moms Clean Air Force is thrilled to welcome a heavy-hitting lineup of speakers for our Climate Disruption, Air Pollution, and Young Peoples’ Health event, live-streamed exclusively by Parents, on February 8. This inaugural gathering will facilitate crucial conversations among leaders in climate advocacy and children’s health, including doctors, government officials, mental health experts, and environmental justice advocates.
Get to know our speakers better with these quick snapshots of their work:
Michael Regan
Michael Regan is the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to his nomination as EPA Administrator, Regan served as the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, where he spearheaded the development and implementation of North Carolina’s seminal plan to address climate change and transition the state to a clean energy economy. Under his leadership, he secured the largest coal ash clean-up in United States history. Read Administrator Regan’s full bio.
Brenda Mallory
Brenda Mallory is the 12th Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the first African American to serve in this position. In this role, she advises the President on environmental and natural resources policies that improve, preserve, and protect public health and the environment for communities across the U.S. She is focused on addressing the nation’s environmental justice and climate change challenges while advancing opportunities for job growth and economic development. Read Mallory’s full bio.
Chelsea Clinton
As Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton works alongside the foundation’s leadership and partners to improve lives and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and around the world. This includes the foundation’s early childhood initiative Too Small to Fail, which supports families with the resources they need to promote early brain and language development. Read Clinton’s full bio.
Susan Anenberg
Susan Anenberg is a Professor and Chair of the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also the Director of the GW Climate and Health Institute. Anenberg’s research focuses on the health implications of air pollution and climate change, from local to global scales. Read Dr. Anenberg’s full bio.
Grace Bastidas
Grace Bastidas is an editor, writer, on-air personality, and parenting expert. In 2022, she was named Editor-in-Chief of Parents, a nearly 100-year-old brand reaching millions of caregivers each month. A bilingual New Yorker raising two daughters, she also hosts the podcast That New Mom Life. Prior to her current role, she launched and led a multicultural brand for Latina caregivers. Grace has always been passionate about giving voice to underrepresented communities. Read Bastidas’ full bio.
Zahra Biabani
Zahra is a youth climate activist, entrepreneur, author, and TED speaker who has been sharing action items and hopeful news for the planet for two years and counting to about 60,000 people on her social media platforms. Her book, Climate Optimism: Climate Wins and Creating Systemic Change Around the World, was published in April 2023. Read Biabani’s full bio.
Paul Billings
Paul Billings is the National Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the American Lung Association, where he oversees the Lung Association’s lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, climate, healthy air and tobacco control advocacy program. During his 30+ year tenure at the Lung Association, he has led federal advocacy campaigns that resulted in stricter regulations on tobacco products, cleanup of air pollution from motor vehicles and power plants, and more. Read Billings’ full bio.
Aishah-Nyeta Brown
Aishah-Nyeta Brown is an impassioned youth climate change advocate, researcher, and storyteller. She is the Social Media Manager for Good Energy Stories and the Climate Mental Health Network. Her remarkable journey into the world of environmental awareness was fueled by a deep-rooted love for storytelling. Aishah-Nyeta recognized the power of narrative as a means to connect with people, ignite their passion, and convey the urgency of climate change. Read Brown’s full bio.
Judith Enck
Judith Enck is a former Regional Administrator with EPA, appointed by President Barack Obama. She founded an organization, Beyond Plastics, in 2019 to end plastic pollution through education, advocacy, and institutional change. Passionate about protecting public health and the environment, she also teaches classes on plastic pollution as a Senior Fellow and visiting faculty member at Bennington College. Read Enck’s full bio.
Osasenaga Idahor
Osasenaga Idahor is the producer and host of the podcast The Climate Doctor, no MD. He started the podcast in 2022 to learn more about the ways urban communities’ health is affected by environmental factors and to spread awareness. He is also a member of EPA’s inaugural National Environmental Youth Advisory Council and a junior premed student at Harvard, studying environmental science and public policy. Read Idahor’s full bio.
Dr. Lisa Patel
Lisa Patel is the Executive Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change and a Board Member for Our Children’s Trust. Patel received degrees from the Yale School of the Environment, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and University of California–San Francisco. Read Dr. Patel’s full bio.
Patrice Tomcik
Patrice Tomcik is the National Field Director for Moms Clean Air Force. She first became involved in the fight for clean air and climate solutions when gas wells were permitted to be fracked a half mile from her children’s schools in southwestern Pennsylvania. She joined with other parents to demand environmental health protections for her community, which launched her volunteer work with Moms Clean Air Force. Read Tomcik’s full bio.
Dr. Lise Van Susteren
Dr. Lise Van Susteren is a general and forensic psychiatrist in Washington, DC, and an expert on the physical and psychological impacts of climate change. In 2011, she co-authored the report The Psychological Effects of Global Warming on the U.S.—Why the US Mental Health System Is Not Prepared. Van Susteren is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University. Read Dr. Van Susteren’s full bio.
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, serves as the Executive Director for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), extending partnerships, organizing, leading, and managing policy, education/training, and science-related programs. For the past 23 years, she has served as a key spokesperson for children’s vulnerabilities and the need for their protection, conducting presentations and lectures across the country. Read Witherspoon’s full bio.
REGISTER FOR CLIMATE DISRUPTION, AIR POLLUTION, AND YOUNG PEOPLES HEALTH