By Cordy Plymale
Climate Health Risk Tool Intern
When you hear the phrase, “push the boundaries,” what do you think? These three words are the foundation of EarthLab’s mission, which explains that developing innovative, just, and equitable solutions to environmental challenges comes from bridging expertise, partnerships, and resources at UW with the wider community. This past summer, I considered this phrase deeply. For me, these three words were the driving force of my experience as an EarthLab intern.
My Summer as a “Climate Health Risk Tool Intern”
This summer, I had the privilege of working at the Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) for my internship. This organization aims to promote the health benefits of climate action and envisions a world where climate and health initiatives promote one another through resilience and sustainability. CHanGE strategically works towards these goals by mobilizing an interdisciplinary team that tests interventions, develops tools, and works with communities worldwide to create equitable climate and health solutions. One of the groundbreaking tools CHanGE has developed is the Climate Health and Risk Tool (CHaRT). This heat-health risk mapping and decision support tool has an interactive platform that allows users to explore how various factors – combining vulnerability, hazard, and exposure – contribute to climate risks faced by communities, and then points them toward solutions to consider.
Working with this tool has deepened my understanding not only of the different ways climate impacts human health but also of how unevenly climate hazards are distributed. The inclusion of vulnerability factors (e.g., being non-white or Indigenous, having low English literacy, being socially isolated, etc.) calls attention to the systemic inequities that drive disproportionate health outcomes. Historical systems of oppression and institutionalized racism further marginalize and disadvantage already underserved populations, which compound the health risks for these communities. This story is no different when it comes to the environment. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and the Duwamish River Community Coalition found that the Duwamish Valley has some of the worst air pollution in Western Washington, which can be attributed to built environment factors such as industry and automobile pollution. Residents in this area are, thus, nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma. Duwamish Valley is home primarily to BIPOC individuals and the poverty rate of the area is twice that of Seattle. To ensure solutions are legitimate and effective, we must confront these systems and actively include impacted communities in the solution-making process.
“Pushing the boundaries” has also meant that more creative, sustainable solutions are discovered when we come together across sectors and disciplines. This summer, I have been exposed to numerous diverse professionals in various industries during the weekly EarthLab cohort meetings that have provided valuable insight into their work in the climate space. Additionally, the intern cohort itself is made up of students from different educational backgrounds. It has been inspiring to learn from such a passionate and diverse group of people.
EarthLab and CHanGE’s wonderful exhibition of pushing the boundaries has motivated me to push my own boundaries on a more personal level. On the first day of the internship, Ben Packard, Executive Director of EarthLab, urged the intern cohort to do three things. He said, “Take chances, stay open, and take advantage of your networks.” I took this advice seriously and pushed myself to take advantage of all of the amazing opportunities this internship has to offer. Working with the CHaRT tool at CHanGE represented a great opportunity to learn more about how data can be used to inform public health policy. It was a bit of a learning curve at first, as it required familiarizing myself with new competencies including fuzzy logic modeling, user interface and user experience, information science, and GIS heat-health risk mapping. I dove into these learning opportunities full force and am grateful for the new skills I have because of it and for the support I received from my supervisors – Dr. Jeremy Hess and Marci Burden – along the way.
Beyond technical skill development, I have also grown immensely as a professional. I have conducted numerous interviews, with my fellow intern Payton Curley, doing customer discovery work for CHaRT. This has entailed meeting with CHanGE’s impressive partners – Public Health Seattle King County, Washington State Department of Health, Americares, and Puget Sound Energy – to learn more about their work around climate and health and to explore how CHaRT can be best developed in a relevant and accessible way. Over the course of these interviews, I have grown my professional communication skills and have become a strong active listener. I have also taken the independent initiative to conduct informational interviews one-on-one with different individuals to whom I have been exposed throughout this experience to learn more about their professional journeys as I work on navigating my own.
The Power of “Yes”
In pushing myself, I have also tried to internalize the notion of saying “yes.” EarthLab exposes interns to countless opportunities, but it is ultimately up to the individual to take advantage of them. Interns had the opportunity to attend the Bloomberg Green Festival – special thanks to guest speaker Gus Williams, Climate & Workforce Development Advisor at the City of Seattle for extending tickets to the event – during which I was able to listen to inspirational climate activists, environmental scientists, and other professionals at a TedTalk event. I also participated in the Square Mile Relay Event at the festival. Attending these events was intimidating because I knew next to no one there. However, I reminded myself to say “yes” and I am so glad I did, as I was able to connect with and learn from amazing individuals.
Saying “yes” has also exposed me to opportunities at my internship site. CHanGE works closely with Public Health Seattle King County so I have had the privilege of being invited to several events with them. This has included Public Health Seattle King County’s Heat Strategy Launch and their Climate and Health Adaption Mapping Project for Community Determined Solutions (CHAMP-CDS), which entails collaborating directly with community members in Auburn, WA to develop meaningful and effective climate solutions. CHAMP-CDS meetings are continuing over the next several months and I am thrilled to continue to attend.
I have also pushed my boundaries by saying “yes” to speaking at the UW Recognition Gala in September, a university-wide event that celebrates the generosity of community members who make the positive change that UW facilitates possible. Filling this role is an honor that I was connected to through my work at CHanGE, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to represent the student voice and to bring attention to the impactful work being done around climate and health at EarthLab, CHanGE, and beyond at the UW. It goes without saying that public speaking at this level is daunting; however, this internship has helped me grow confidence in myself and I am eager to take on this opportunity. We’ve talked about imposter syndrome quite a bit at the cohort meetings and a major message I’ve taken from these discussions is that, as young people, it’s important to remember that your perspective is valuable, it’s okay to take up space, and you are in these spaces for a reason. You are meant to be here. You are valuable. You are inspirational.
Final Thoughts
At the beginning of summer, Ben Packard recommended a book to me by Hannah Ritchie, titled “Not The End of The World.” He thought it would be right up my alley because of its themes of data, public health, climate, and optimism. This book challenges the dominant perspective that we are “doomed” because of climate change. Ritchie presents statistic after statistic that proves there is hope to overcome the climate crisis, despite the narrative of doom that floods the media. The data-driven optimism in this book has further fueled my passion to unite us all towards a hopeful future.
In my own life, I am pursuing a Public Health-Global Health degree at UW and am especially interested in working to reduce unnecessary suffering worldwide through consulting evidence-based data to inform public health policy. This aspiration is exactly what I had the opportunity to exercise through my work at CHanGE. Being a compassionate person who truly cares about working with communities and ensuring health-promoting resources are accessible has fueled my work ethic. Throughout my work doing customer discovery, developing CHaRT, and writing policy documents – namely, a generic Heat Action Plan for CHaRT – I have prioritized being an active listener and making resources accessible to foster authenticity, and trust among partners and community.
Now at the end of the summer, I’m finding myself thinking back to the beginning and wondering what “pushing the boundaries” would look like in practice. What I’ve come up with is this: humans are more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. When we push boundaries to unite sectors, disciplines, and cultures, push ourselves to think divergently, and consider diverse perspectives, we’re also pushing ourselves to infuse hope into a world that’s made up of more innovative and equitable solutions. My intern experience this summer has inspired me to push boundaries and I urge you to do the same. Challenge yourself to push the boundaries to imagine a better future. After all, to get to a better future, we must first believe one is possible.
A note from the author: I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the entire EarthLab team, including the 2024 intern cohort, for making this internship experience more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. Everyone was truly so inspiring and an absolute pleasure to work with. Special thank you to Allie Long for your guidance throughout writing this blog, Lissan Tibebe for your moving leadership throughout the program, Ben Packard for your wisdom, and Payton Curley for being an amazing co-intern. Finally, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Dr. Jeremy Hess and Marci Burden for their supervisory support and inspiration that has further fueled my public health aspirations.
Introducing NextGen Narratives, a fresh addition to the EarthLab news page, tailored for University of Washington students to express how they’re thinking about taking equitable climate action in a variety of ways. If you’re a student eager to join NextGen Narratives, don’t hesitate to contact Allie Long, EarthLab’s Communications Lead, at alongs@uw.edu.