Environmental Science, Sustainability, and Environmentalism

Judith Helfand is best known for her ability to use her quirky sense of humor and irony, first-person storytelling chops and the power of transparency to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time -- from reproductive technology, corporate malfeasance and toxic chemical exposure to the climate crisis, the “politics of disaster" and deep grief. Three of her films have premiered at Sundance and were nationally broadcast on PBS (POV, Independent Lens), HBO and The Sundance Channel. BLUE VINYL received the 2002 Sundance Excellence Award in Cinematography along with two Emmy nominations and its prequel, A HEALTHY BABY GIRL, won a 1997 Peabody Award. She is also a field-builder who has helped reshape the documentary landscape by co-founding two critical national organizations Working Films and Chicken & Egg Pictures.

In late 2018 she completed and launched COOKED: Survival By Zip Code, an award winning feature documentary about extreme heat, the politics of disaster and survival by zip code, for which she was awarded the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s 2019 Freedom of Expression Award. It was nationally broadcast on the PBS Independent Lens Series in February 2020, rebroadcast to commemorate the film's 25th anniversary and give historical context to the scourge of covid this past July and is currently being used virtually with many different communities across the U.S. and Europe to frame/reframe the current COVID-19 crisis with a long view on how and why acute disparity exists in the United States. Helfand's newest feature LOVE & STUFF, inspired by the2014 NYT Op-Doc of the same name, had its world premiere at Hot Docs 2020, is currently on the film festival circuit and the centerpiece of a series of virtual engagement workshops inspiring people to talk about love, mourning and grief, in the time of covid, and how to use zoom and the act of talking about stuff to foster critical connections and have those critical, yet hard to have end of life discussions (before it's too late).

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Dr. Paul Archibald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York (CSI). He comes to CSI from Morgan State University School of Social Work in Baltimore, Maryland where he served in a vital role as an early career researcher to develop an emerging public health social work paradigm “stress singularity” as well as an emerging discipline and science entitled “Epidemiological Criminology.” His professional goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minority social workers who understand the public health social work framework which is the prevention and health promotion practice of social work that utilizes epidemiology to promote health, social justice and the overall well-being of the community being served — data-driven but people-focused. Dr. Archibald has over a decade of public health social work clinical practice and training dedicated to the prevention and treatment of mental and physical health outcomes among persons exposed to chronic stressors — especially those in the criminal justice system. His current research focuses on using an intersectional approach to understanding the impact of social determinants of health on stress-related health disparities. Dr. Archibald holds dear to his heart his public health social work role as “holistic health promoter.” He is a firm believer that “it takes a whole community to make a community whole!”

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Dr. Ginny Mantello, Director of Health Wellness, Office of Staten Island Borough President, Attending Neuroradiologist, at Montefiore Medical Center and Main Line Health System, PA, Current and Past Co- Chair of multiple large initiatives and Coalitions including, Staten Island Asthma Coalition, Staten Island Child Wellness Initiative, SI Medical Ecosystem for Disaster Preparedness(SI COAD) where she also serves as the medical director.

Dr Mantello works very close with public health focused agencies like SIPCW (Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness) and the Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI PPS) working on emerging public health needs, Medicaid Health reform and Population Health improvement projects. She also works closely with the two hospitals and 5 Federally Qualified Health Centers and 10 skilled nursing facilities along with over 75 Health Care, Government and community based partners on Staten Island. Her focus is upstream primary prevention and early intervention in the youth, with emphasis on Asthma, Obesity and Behavioral Health.

In the past she has worked closely with schools on implementing Wellness Councils and prevention programs and with the community on promoting preventive screenings and Healthy Lifestyle programs. Over the past year she has dedicated a large part of her time leading a COVID Incident Command System team and local Emergency Operations Center to help our community during the covid-19 pandemic. She is currently involved and focused on vaccine roll out on Staten Island, particularly focusing on the vulnerable populations including seniors and those with Developmental Disabilities.

Dr Mantello has received numerous awards for community service including the DaVinciSociety‘s Renaissance award, the Carnation Award for improving the Health and wellbeing of Staten Islanders through the Richmond county medical society, women of distinction award through the Staten Island Borough based council, the Leadership and community service award offered by Community Health Action of Staten Island and the YMCA Community service award to name a few. Dr. Ginny was also one of few recently named on the City and State Staten Island Health Hero list for her work during the covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Easterling serves as the First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Equity Officer at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH). Dr. Easterling has spent more than 5 years in a senior leadership role at the Health Department. Prior to serving as First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Equity Officer, Dr. Easterling served as Deputy Commissioner of the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness at the NYC DOHMH, where he oversaw programmatic work focused on reducing overall premature mortality and closing the racial gap on the top leading causes of preventable death. He also served as the Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Health’s Bureau of Brooklyn Neighborhood Health, where he helped advance key programming to address pressing concerns, including maternal deaths and gun violence. Dr. Easterling is a community physician committed to health equity, social justice and movement building to achieve the health outcomes that all people deserve both locally and globally.

Dr. Easterling holds a Bachelor of Science from Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA), a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, and a Master of Public Health (M.P.H) from Icahn School of Medicine at Sinai in New York. He completed his residency in Family Medicine at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, NY and a General Preventive Medicine residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Sinai in New York.

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Dr. Mayra Lopez-Humphreys is an Associate Professor and Director of the BSSW program at the City University of New York, College of Staten Island. Her research focuses on restorative approaches with justice-involved populations in the criminal justice system. Currently, she serves as the principal investigator in an academic-community partnership with Community Connections for Youth (CCFY) on a research project that examines peer-mentoring interventions with justice-involved youth and adults. Additionally, her interest in critical multiculturalism has concentrated on evidence-informed approaches that foster equity and belonging. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Restorative Justice: An International Journal, and Urban Social Work. Dr. Humphreys has 15+ years of non-profit leadership experience in organizational development, program evaluation, and asset-based community development. She has led the development of participatory program designs and academic-community partnerships that endeavor to center the lives of historically stigmatized populations.

Heat waves in the United States kill more people during a typical year than all other natural disasters combined. Until now, no one could explain either the overwhelming number or the heartbreaking manner of the deaths resulting from the 1995 Chicago heat wave. Meteorologists and medical scientists have been unable to account for the scale of the trauma, and political officials have puzzled over the sources of the city's vulnerability. In Heat Wave, Klinenberg takes us inside the anatomy of the metropolis to conduct what he calls a "social autopsy," examining the social, political, and institutional organs of the city that made this urban disaster so much worse than it ought to have been.

Race, Ethnicity and Health, Second Edition is a critical selection of hallmark articles that address health disparities in America. It effectively documents the need for equal treatment and equal health status for minorities.

This book makes a significant contribution to the emergent body of public health knowledge by examining debates around the social context of health, including key socio-economic, environmental and cultural factors.

The Encyclopedia of Environment and Society brings together multiplying issues, concepts, theories, examples, problems, and policies, with the goal of clearly explicating an emerging way of thinking about people and nature. With more than 1,200 entries written by experts from incredibly diverse fields, this innovative resource is a first step toward diving into the deep pool of emerging knowledge. The five volumes of this Encyclopedia represent more than a catalogue of terms. Rather, they capture the spirit of the moment, a fascinating time when global warming and genetic engineering represent only two of the most obvious examples of socio-environmental issues.

Environmental Justice offers a wide ranging analysis of this rapidly evolving field, with compelling examples of the processes involved in producing inequalities and the challenges faced in advancing the interests of the disadvantaged.

This is the first book-length examination of environmental justice from the perspective of economics. A cast of top contributors evaluates why underprivileged citizens are overexposed to toxic environments--exploring related implications for policy remedies.

In Sacrifice Zones, Lerner tells the stories of twelve communities, from Brooklyn to Pensacola, that rose up to fight the industries and military bases causing disproportionately high levels of chemical pollution. He calls these low-income neighborhoods "sacrifice zones," and he argues that residents of these sacrifice zones, tainted with chemical pollutants, need additional regulatory protections.