Mitzie Meyers, PhD, RN, CNE, AHN-BC
Dr. Mitzie Rains Meyers has been dedicated to the health of people and the environment throughout her nursing career in neonatal/pediatric 
practice and as a nurse educator. She currently serves as full-time faculty at the University of Northern Colorado School of Nursing and is a clinical advisor for Tender Care Pediatrics. Mitzie serves on the Planetary Health Task Force for the American Holistic Nurses Association. She is a core member of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education developing educational resources for nurses. Mitzie has made local, national, and international presentations on planetary health. She has published several nursing articles on the topic and is currently co-authoring a chapter on Planetary and Environmental Health in a nursing textbook. Mitzie is certified as a nurse educator and in advanced holistic nursing. She has designed academic courses in Planetary Health and integrated concepts into existing courses. Currently, Mitzie is collaborating with a transdisciplinary team at her university on mitigation and resilience strategies toward climate change. She will be featured as a keynote speaker at the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators Annual Institute in June. Mitzie is also a peer reviewer for Johns Hopkins University Press. While living in both her hometown of New Orleans, LA and now in Colorado, Mitzie enjoys time in nature and working toward conserving our ecosystems.
Resources:
Co-hosts of the EHRI-CNS Series:
Heide Cygan, DNP, RN, PHNA-BC
Dr. Cygan is an Associate Professor at the Rush University College of Nursing, in the Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health where she teaches public health nursing to graduate and doctoral students. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan and her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Advanced Public Health Nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Cygan is a board certified advanced public health nurse. As a public health nurse, a main tenant of Dr. Cygan’s practice is understanding the reciprocal relationship between humans and their environment. Much of Dr. Cygan’s current scholarship is dedicated to advancing planetary health through nurses and other health professionals. She specifically focuses on innovative teaching strategies that develop nursing students as planetary health leaders.
Heidi Honegger Rogers, DNP, FNP C, APHN BC, FNAP
Dr. Honegger Rogers is a clinician educator – associate professor at the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing. She is the Director of Interprofessional Education for the UNM Health Sciences Center. Her advocacy and scholarship centers in climate change and health, equity and justice, nature connection, wellbeing, and planetary health. She leads the Planetary Health Task Force for the American Holistic Nurses Association, and she works with Nurses for Planetary Health, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, the Global Consortium for Climate Change and Health Education Nurses Working Group, and the Planetary Health Alliance. She is a facilitator with the Work That Reconnects and a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide. She is dedicated to bringing a Planetary Health Lens into our work as nurses and health professionals. Pronoun preferences: she/her/hers.
About the Focus on EHRI-NCS Series
The NIEHS funded EHRI-NCS grant (PI Jessica Castner, PhD, RN, FAAN) offers research, educational, and career-building opportunities for nurse environmental health scientists. In this series, two participants, Dr. Heide Cygan and Dr. Heidi Honegger Rogers interview other fellows about their studies and experiences. Join us for a fascinating journey of ideas!
About the Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast
2025 marks the 8th season of the Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast. Since 2017, Beth and other hosts have interviewed dozens nurses across the globe, all of whom are working at the intersection of health and environment. The goals of the podcast are 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, and to spread the word about the fabulous work of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. We’re glad you found us!
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 a former board member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and serves on the boards of Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate and Climate Smart Missoula.
