Raney Linck DNP, RN, is Inaugural Nursing Faculty and Assistant Professor at the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Linck earned his Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership from the University of Minnesota. He was named 
Nurse of the Year in Education by the Minnesota March of Dimes. Dr. Linck’s scholarly work focuses on improving nursing education through innovative teaching techniques, including active learning practices, technology, and curriculum development. He has also published on best methods to incorporate integrative nursing principles and practices into pre-licensure nursing education, and sees planetary health as an important part of that work.
Ande A. Nesmith, PhD, LISW is an Associate Professor and School of Social Work Director at the University of St. Thomas (UST) in the Morrison Family College of Health in St. Paul, Minnesota. She researches environmental justice, the rights of nature, and planetary health. She has developed curricular tools to 
promote an eco-centric perspective that values ethical decisions and prioritizes the health and well-being of all living organisms and all environmental systems. For the past 10 years, she served on the UST university-wide Sustainability Committee, developing interdisciplinary approaches to address environmental inequalities and engage students in climate action and sustainable living. When she is not working on environmental justice, Dr. Nesmith studies outcomes for youth aging out of foster care, and was recently awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study this in the Czech Republic. Currently, Dr. Nesmith is launching a new program supporting environmental justice and planetary health within the School. She also co-chairs the national Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Committee on Environmental Justice and is a commissioner of the CSWE Commission on Global Social Work Education.
Resources:
- Planetary Health Alliance Annual Meeting (October 31-Nov 2, 2022)
- Human Behavior in the Natural Environment: Embracing an Ecocentric Paradigm (Nesmith, 2022; In Madhanagopal, D. & Nikku, B.R. (Eds), Social Work and Climate Justice.)
- Environmental justice and social work education: Social worker professional perspectives (Nesmith & Smyth, 2015).
- Environmental Justice. inSocialWork® Podcast Series (Forbes, Nesmith, Powers, & Schmitz, 2016)
- Social education curricular guide for environmental justice
- Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
- Vot-ER: Integrating civic engagement into health care
- (Lacy-Nichols, Marten, Crosbie, Moodie, Lancet, 2022)
About the Nurses’ Climate Challenge Series: The School of Nursing Commitment
Brought to you by the Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast, this special 2022 Nurses Climate Challenge series elevates nursing faculty leading their institutions in bringing climate and health to nursing students and beyond. Listen in as Nurses Climate Challenge founder Shanda Demorest, registered nurse and outdoor enthusiast, interviews nursing faculty inspiring others to take climate action. Co-sponsored by ANHE and Health Care Without Harm, the Nurses Climate Challenge is a national campaign with the goal of empowering nurses to educate 50,000 health professionals about the health impacts of climate change by the end of 2022.
Shanda Demorest, Guest Host of the School of Nursing Commitment Podcast Series
Dr. Shanda Demorest, DNP, RN, PHN (she/her/hers) is a Sustainability Strategy Manager with Practice Greenhealth, where she works with hospitals and health systems to reduce their environmental impact. A cardiovascular nurse with horticultural training by background, Dr. Demorest earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership from the University of Minnesota.
About the Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast
Since 2017, Beth and other hosts have interviewed dozens of nurses across the globe, all of whom are working at the intersection of health and environment. Practicing clinical nurses, faculty and educators, policy makers and elected officials, leaders of non-profits, students, and more have shared their work, commitments and perspectives.
There are two primary goals of the podcast. First, to spread the word about the fabulous work of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments – so we’re glad you found us! Second, to highlight and share the amazing and leading work nurses around the world are doing to help protect our natural world in order to support health and healing.
Again and again, nurses are spearheading social change, climate action,environmental justice, and improving health for vulnerable populations, while using their valuable clinical skills, teaching, and caring. Nurses’ work can seem overlooked or taken for granted, and we are here to tell their important stories. We hope you enjoy meeting the nurses in the Nurses for Healthy Environments podcast!
Beth Schenk, Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast Host
Elizabeth Schenk, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a leader of environmental stewardship in healthcare, where she has been working to reduce pollution from healthcare for 3 decades. Schenk is the executive director of environmental stewardship for Providence, one of the largest 
non-profit health systems in the United States. She led the development of CHANT: the Climate and Health Tool to understand perceptions, behaviors and motivations of health professionals regarding climate and health. She developed the WE ACT PLEASE framework for environmental stewardship, identifying key focus areas of Waste, Energy/water, Agriculture/food, Chemicals, and Transportation. Schenk serves on the national board of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and on the boards of Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate and Climate Smart Missoula. She lives in Missoula, Montana.
