Dr. Daniel Smith
is the Weingarten Endowed Assistant Professor at Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. He teaches across the curriculum in courses such as Imperatives for Global and Public Health Nursing and Planetary Health for Global Populations. Dr. 
Smith’s research utilizes participatory action research and data science methodologies to better understand the health impacts of various environmental exposures. He is currently completing studies related to heat-related illness first aid in migrant farmworkers and understanding local patterns of lead exposure in the Latinx community of Norristown, PA. Daniel is also a nurse practitioner at LCH Health and Community Services in Kennett Square, PA, where he provides primary care services to mushroom farmworkers and serves as the co-chair for the global nurses’ climate change committee with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. Find him on Twitter @danjaxsn.
Resources
- Developing skills for real-world nursing practice in the Anthropocene (Oerther, Smith, Keller, Manjrekar, L’Ecuyer, 2022)
- Heat stress and kidney function in farmworkers in the US: A scoping review (Smith, Pius, Plantiga, Thompson, Mac, & Hertzberg, 2021)
- Using occupational histories to assess heat exposure in undocumented workers receiving emergent renal dialysis in Georgia (Smith, Mac, Thompson, Plantiga, Kasper, Hertzberg, 2022)
- Climate effects on health (CDC)
- Climate Change from A to Z (Kolbert, 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.
