the NUANCE // a community health podcast.

Dr. Brian Lonquich is a primary care physician. He is triple board-certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine. A SoCal native, he was raised in the Santa Clarita Valley and went to UC Riverside for undergraduate studies in Spanish Literature and Biology. He then went onto graduate medical school from UCLA and completed an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at UCLA before moving to Baylor/Texas Children's in Houston, TX to complete a Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship. While in Houston he worked with physician-scientists at NASA to creatively use existing equipment on the International Space Station to help with planning missions to The Moon and Mars. He moved back to Southern California after training to be closer to family. Dr. Lonquich is passionate about global health equity and access, and has worked extensively in Latin America and Africa. He is fluent in Spanish. He is an ardent supporter of medical education and came back to UCLA to help deliver academic, evidence-based medicine to the Central Coast. DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on the show are those of The Nuance Podcast and of Medicine Explained and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of their places of employment. The opinions expressed on this podcast are meant for entertainment and education purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor should they be used as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified board-certified practicing physician. 

Christa Barfield is the CEO of FarmerJawn Agriculture. Christa is a health-care professional turned farmer and lifelong Philadelphia resident. It was 10 years into her career in health-care administration when her life led her to pursuing health and happiness in a more sustainable way. After a solo trip abroad in January 2018, she returned home inspired to connect with the land, plant life, and social issues that heavily impact Black and brown communities and all people’s perception of food. Her business is a reincarnation of her healthcare career with a focus on regeneration and nutrition security. Now with 128 acres across 3 counties in PA, she has built FarmerJawn with an equitable focus on Food is Medicine and she is leading conversations locally and internationally on how to take a Farm first approach to America’s relationship with food and health.DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on the show are those of The Nuance Podcast and of Medicine Explained and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of their places of employment. The opinions expressed on this podcast are meant for entertainment and education purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor should they be used as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified board-certified practicing physician. 

Wawa Gatheru is Kenyan-American climate activist and founder, passionate about bringing empathetic and accessible climate communication to the mainstream. Harnessing her academic background as a Rhodes Scholar and her work as a youth climate activist, Wawa’s life goal is to help create a climate movement made in the image of all of us.In 2019, Wawa was named the first Black person in history to receive the prestigious Rhodes, Truman and Udall scholarships for her environmental scholarship and activism. She is the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, a national organization dedicated to empowering Black girls, women and gender expansive people across the climate sector. She is an inaugural member of the National Environmental Youth Advisory Council of the US EPA, the first federal youth-led advisory board in US History.Wawa sits on boards and advisory councils for organizations such as EarthJustice and National Parks Conservation Association. These accolades are just highlights of the many projects Wawa is contributing to.DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on the show are those of The Nuance Podcast and of Medicine Explained and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of their places of employment. The opinions expressed on this podcast are meant for entertainment and education purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor should they be used as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified board-certified practicing physician. 

Sonya Gabrielian, MD, MPH, is a psychiatrist and health services researcher at the VA Greater Los Angeles and an Assistant Professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. At the VA, she is an investigator with the Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, & Policy (CSHIIP) and the Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). She is also an Affiliated Researcher at the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans and a current Fellow with the Implementation Research Institute at the Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Gabrielian’s research interests focus on improving housing retention and community functioning among homeless adults; she has a VA Career Development Award to use implementation approaches to improve housing acquisition and retention for homeless Veterans with serious mental illness. She is also a practicing psychiatrist in the VA’s homeless program.DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on the show are those of The Nuance Podcast and of Medicine Explained and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of their places of employment. The opinions expressed on this podcast are meant for entertainment and education purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor should they be used as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified board-certified practicing physician. 

Dr Ashley McClure, is a Seattle native who has been practicing outpatient internal medicine in Oakland, California since 2016. After becoming a mom in 2018, followed by the infamous Paradise Fire that fall, she realized that for this moment in history being a doctor isn't enough. She felt compelled to reorient her life around doing everything possible to help catalyze the transition to clean renewable energy in order to protect her daughter’s— and all our children’s futures. Since her climate awakening, she’s been collaborating with health colleagues to bring our trusted voices to climate solutions advocacy, including organizing in the medical community as a CMA and AMA alternate delegate and as a co-founder and now co-director of the California-based nonprofit Climate Health Now. She welcomes your reaching out if you’re inspired to link arms in activism and advocacy-- and she hopes you do-- together we can be powerful. Brenda Nuyen, MD is a comprehensive ophthalmologist at a private practice in Los Angeles, CA. She is currently on the Climate Health Now Statewide Leadership Team. Brenda was first introduced to climate and advocacy work through Climate Reality Project in 2020. She then discovered Climate Health Now as a way to merge her interests in both climate and health. Brenda is also on the Editorial Board of EyeSustain, a global coalition of eye societies, organizations, and ophthalmologists collaborating to make ophthalmic care and surgery more sustainable. She recently was part of the Climate Advocacy Lab's inaugural Climate + Health Peer Learning Circle cohort. Climate Health Now: https://climatehealthnow.org/

Dr. Jiaying Zhao (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at University of British Columbia (UBC),  Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Sustainability, and UBC Sauder Distinguished Scholar. She received her PhD in Cognitive Psychology at Princeton University. She uses psychological principles to design behavioral solutions to address financial and environmental sustainability challenges. Specifically, she designs effective behavioral interventions to alleviate poverty, promote actions to mitigate climate change, increase recycling and composting rates, and encourage biodiversity conservation actions. Sources: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2814253#:~:text=The%20recognition%20of%20climate%20change,of%20US%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions. https://www.umanitoba.ca/media/Simpson_Mason_Godwin_2017.pdf Dr. Zhao lab: https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca/ TED TALK: https://www.ted.com/talks/jiaying_zhao_how_to_feng_shui_your_fridge_and_other_happy_climate_hacks

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. Dr. Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC. Dr. Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities. Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities. 2021 saw the publication of two new books, Solidarity Economics: Why Mutuality and Movements Matter (co-authored with Chris Benner) and South Central Dreams: Finding Home and Building Community in South L.A. (co-authored with Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo). His previous 2018 book, State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Means for America’s Future was lauded in a New York Times review as “concise, clear and convincing.” To read more about Dr. Pastor and his work: https://dornsife.usc.edu/eri/manuel-pastor/

In todays conversation, we chat with cofounder and CEO of digdeep.org, George McGraw. George founded DigDeep to help those communities in America build and manage their own water systems. They’ve brought clean, running water to thousands of families on the Navajo Nation, Appalachia, and Texas border colonias. DigDeep also conducted groundbreaking research, empowers communities to advocate for their rights, and teaches  Americans to use our resources more intelligently. George received his Masters in International Law and Conflict Management from the United Nations University for Peace. He’s a leading voice in social entrepreneurship, environmental justice, and water and co-authored the first national report on water access, Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States (2019). In this conversation, we talk about what the water access gap is, and why it is so important to have access to running water and sanitation. George explains how race and income impact communities' access to water. He explains the economic and health impact of the water access gap and how climate change is affecting access to water. He shares stories of how DigDeeps work is impacting people and how we can get involved in helping to ensure a fundamental human right for everyone, access to clean, running water. 

Dr. Linda Eckert is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and an internationally recognized expert in immunizations and cervical cancer prevention. She has worked as a consultant with the World Health Organization on global cancer prevention for the last fifteen years, facilitating policy development for the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer screening. She is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology with an Infectious Disease Fellowship at University of Washington’s Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Global Health. For over thirty years, Dr. Eckert has worked at Seattle’s Harborview Hospital, the largest public hospital in the Pacific Northwest, serving people from all over the globe who represent a broad spectrum of economic means and disease symptoms. Dr. Eckert also serves on the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) Expert Immunization Committee and was the obstetrics lead for the Global Alignment of Immunization Safety in Pregnancy Program. She was a research investigator for COVID-19 and RSV vaccines in pregnancy and HPV vaccines in individuals living with HIV. Her areas of clinical expertise include infections in women, vaccines, vulvar disease, cervical cancer screening, and cross-cultural medicine. She is the author of more than eighty peer-reviewed research articles appearing in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. She recently wrote “Enough” Because We Can Stop Cervical Cancer.

Shilpi Chhotray (@shilpichhotray) she/her is a globally recognized communicator on the plastic pollution crisis with an expertise in strategic communications, organizing, and narrative change.  Currently she is the co-founder and executive director of People over Plastic, a BIPOC-led media platform dedicated to uplifting the intersectional stories behind environmental racism. People over Plastic devlops platforms and safe spaces for frontline leaders to share their lived experiences in an unfiltered context. You can hear Shilpi as the host of PoP's podcast series. Previously, Shilpi served as the Break Free From Plastic Global Communications Lead. Due to her experience on the issue and role as a media liaison, Shilpi is often a go-to source for journalists including the NY Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, BBC, Reuters, and Al Jazeera. Shilpi regularly speaks on plastic pollution, climate change, and intersectionality including Environmental Grantmakers Association, Grounded, and Bioneers. Throughout her career, Shilpi has worked for a number of environmental organizations including the Environmental Defense Fund and Mission Blue/Sylvia Earle Alliance where she guest authored for National Geographic.