Health at Risk: The Local and Global Impacts of Climate Change

In honor of World Health Day, join us at The University of Chicago as we delve into the ways in which climate change is reshaping public health systems, exacerbating existing health inequalities, and creating new challenges. 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.

Experts from the University of Chicago's Committee on Environment, Geography, and Urbanization (CEGU) will engage in a moderated conversation with advocates focused on clean air and climate action across Latin America. These advocates have led initiatives to promote the right to a healthy environment, mobilizing large-scale community efforts and engaging with over 200 partners. The discussion will also feature leaders in the global climate movement, specializing in gender equality, youth engagement, and climate justice in Latin America. With a background in youth leadership at prominent international organizations, these experts have been recognized for their significant contributions to climate action and empowerment, earning awards and recognition in global forums.

Doors open at 4:45pm CDT

Reception to follow

Entrance on South Dorchester Avenue

Accesible entrance on 59th Street

Info: 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.

Join us as we delve into the ways in which climate change is reshaping public health systems, exacerbating existing health inequalities, and creating new challenges. 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.

Info: 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, Renata 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. She has been involved in youth leadership spaces at UN Women, UN Climate, and UNICEF for several years, and in 2021, she was the first young Brazilian to speak at the opening of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. A Harvard MPP graduate, Renata has worked at the UN Youth Office, the World Bank, and the British Mission in Brazil. She was an inaugural awardee of the Emerging Leaders Beautiful Forces grant by Estée Lauder and Vital Voices in 2024, and got on the 2024 Forbes Under 30 as the cover of Social Entrepreneurship.

Info: Dr. Kate Burrows is an environmental health scientist whose research focuses on the relationship between climate- and weather-related extremes and public health. She 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.

Dr. Burrows is a mixed-methods scientist. She 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, Dr. Burrows was a Voss Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society.

Info: 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, Alejandro has worked to promote the right to a healthy environment in Latin America. Alejandro has experience working as a consultant for multiple UN and philanthropic organizations on clean air and climate action. Alejandro 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. Through his work Alejandro 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.

Info: Laura McGuinn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago, specializing in environmental epidemiology. Her 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. Her 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. She 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.

Info: Jessica Darrow is an Associate Instructional Professor & directs the Kiphart Scholars Program in Global Health & Social Development at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Dr. Darrow teaches across the curriculum: in the core and in elective courses within the Kiphart Scholars Program. In 2023 students nominated Dr. Darrow for the William Pollak Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Darrow received her award at the Crown Family School Hooding at Rockefeller Chapel. She received her A.B. from the University of Chicago, and her A.M. and Ph.D. 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.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

International House, 1414 East 59th Street, Chicago, United States