OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Leadership
Safe drinking water, clean air, and a liveable climate are foundational to healthy communities and our health professional members fuel everything we do. You can learn more about volunteering for our leadership roles here >>
Board Chair | Policy & Advocacy Co-lead
Joel Charles, MD, MPH
Joel is a family practice physician at Vernon Memorial Healthcare and the Medical Director of the Kickapoo Valley Medical Clinic.
Joel Charles is a family physician practicing in rural southwest Wisconsin, where he serves as the Medical Director for the Kickapoo Valley Medical Clinic. He received his MD and Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship. He completed his residency at Sutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency. Joel helped found Healthy Climate Wisconsin.
Secretary & Treasurer | Climate-Smart Healthcare Lead
Claire Gervais, MD
Claire is a family practice physician at UW-Health and has launched multiple nonprofits including the Healthy Lawn Team.
Claire Gervais is a family practice physician and a Professor with the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. She is one of the founders of Healthy Lawn Team and Healthy Climate Wisconsin, and additionally serves on the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Environmental Health Network.
Board Member
Carla Wright, MD
Carla is a physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist at Milwaukee Health Services.
Carla is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist at Milwaukee Health Services.
Board member
Pamela Guthman, DNP, RN, APHN-PHN
Pamela has worked as a public, community, and population health nurse for over 40 years.
Pamela is an emeritus Assistant Population Health Nursing Professor at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UW-Eau Claire. She has worked as a school, community and population health nurse for 40 years and served as a Chief Executive Officer for a rural community action agency. She was part of a statewide effort that resulted in the Wisconsin Public Health Association declaring racism as a public health crisis and provided leadership regarding a resolution to support family reunification for refugees relocating to Wisconsin. She is also a board member for Forward Community Investment, a community development financial institution investing in historically under-invested low-income areas and businesses with a goal of achieving racial and social justice.
Milwaukee Lead | Policy & Advocacy Co-lead
Victoria Gillet, MD
Victoria is a primary care internist and Associate Program Director for Primary Care at Advocate Aurora Health.
Victoria is a primary care internist and Associate Program Director for Primary Care at Aurora Health Care Internal Medicine Residency in Milwaukee. Her educational endeavors focus on structural competency in healthcare, particularly on health inequities in Milwaukee. She is also a dedicated environmental activist, and in addition to her work with HCW, she is the conservation chair for Sierra Club Great Waters Group, and a lead volunteer with the Sierra Club Wisconsin Beyond Coal team. Her advocacy work focuses on decarbonizing Wisconsin's energy grid and reducing the burden of environmental racism in Milwaukee.
Climate-Smart Healthcare Co-lead
Kelly DeMarco, OT-L, NBC-HWC
Kelly is a National Board Certified Occupational Therapist, Health and Wellness Coach, Horizon Home Care & Hospice Rehab Manager, and Green Team Leader.
Kelly DeMarco is a National Board Certified Occupational Therapist and Health and Wellness Coach, Horizon Home Care & Hospice Rehab Manager and Green Team Leader, Mindfulness Trainer, Licensed WomanSpeak Circle Leader, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Certified, Regenerative Homesteader and founder of kellyGREENcoaching LLC. One of her professional missions is to mobilize OTs in the climate action movement.
Advisory Committee
Bruce Barrett, MD, PhD
Bruce is a Professor & Vice Chair for Research at Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, UW - Madison
Bruce Barrett received MD and PhD degrees from the UW – Madison in 1992, then did an international health fellowship with Johns Hopkins University at a WHO research institute in Guatemala. He joined the Department of Family Medicine faculty in 2000, was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2006, full Professor in 2013, and Vice Chair of Research in 2019.
Board Vice-Chair
Rene' Settle-Robinson, DPM
Rene' is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery and Outreach Community Health Center.
Dr. Settle-Robinson is a graduate of the Climate and Health Equity Fellowship 2022 Cohort of George Mason University and the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. She has been an active leader locally, regionally, and nationally in the National Medical Association and is the first Black Female to be residency trained in foot surgery in the State of Illinois and among the first 5 Black females in the United States. She currently practices at a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center, Outreach Community Health Center, on Milwaukee's Northside.
Strategic Development Chair
Chirantan Mukhopadhyay, MD
Chirantan is a Ophthalmologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem.
Chirantan Mukhopadhyay is an ophthalmologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem. After the birth of his second child, Chirantan became passionate about climate change and believes it is a critical part of patient care, education, and public health. Chirantan helped found the Healthy Climate Wisconsin and believes action is the best cure for despair.
Board Member
Jonathan Temte, MD, PhD, MS
Jonathan is the Associate Dean for Public Health & Community Engagement at UW-Madison School of Medicine & Public Health and professor of Family Medicine.
Dr. Temte is the Associate Dean for Public Health & Community Engagement at UW-Madison School of Medicine & Public Health and a professor of Family Medicine. He Chairs the North American Primary Care Research Group’s Climate Change and Health Special Interest Group. He holds a MS is Biological Oceanography and a PhD in Zoology.
Board Member
Richard Dart, MD
Dick is a Emeritus Research Clinican at Marshfield Clinic Health Systems.
Dr. Dart is presently an Emeritus Research Clinician, in the Center for Precision Medicine at Marshfield Clinic Health Systems Research Institute. He trained at the Cleveland Clinics in Internal Medicine and Nephrology, both of which he is board-certified. Dr. Dart was in clinic practice on the staff at Marshfield Clinic for 34 years. He previously served as the President of the Wisconsin Medical Society and is on the Health and Public Policy Committeee of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American College of Physicians.
Advisory Committee
Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH
Jonathan is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Population Health Sciences at UW-Madison.
Jonathan is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Population Health Sciences at UW-Madison. For 15 years, Patz served as a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC)—the organization that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize– and he co-chaired the health report of our nation’s first U.S. National Assessment on Climate Change. He has published over 200 articles and several textbooks on climate change and health and is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.
Advisory Committee
Katie Wickman, MS, RN, CIC
Katie is the Sustainability Manager for Ascenision Health.
Katie Wickman is the former Sustainability Manager for Advocate Aurora Health. Wickman is a registered nurse with experience in clinical bedside nursing and infection prevention.
Advisory Committee
Andrew Lewandowski, DO
Andrew Lewandowski is a community pediatrician with Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin.
Andrew Lewandowski is a community pediatrician with Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin with a career focus on climate justice solutions and climate medicine communication and education. He counsels the public, policymakers, healthcare providers, and his patients about climate change and health.