Want to Get Involved?
Want to Get Involved?
Want to Get Involved?
Want to Get Involved?
Want to Get Involved?
Mission
Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action educates and mobilizes clinician leaders to bring the health voice to climate policymaking in Virginia.
Vision
Virginia will become a national model for equitable climate change solutions that protect the health of all Virginians.
Theory of Change
Clinicians have the knowledge and mission to play a vital role in protecting the health of Virginia’s families and communities from the effects of climate change. This clinical voice can overcome entrenched partisan and economic barriers, by focusing on the health benefits of climate solutions and the health dangers of inaction.
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Our Values
Climate Change and Health - Climate change is real and a threat to the health of all Virginians. VCCA focuses on protecting the health of our patients and communities through education, community outreach, and advocacy around climate policy solutions.
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Clinician Voice - Health professionals from a demographically, geographically, and clinically diverse range of all medical disciplines, as trusted messengers in society, have a stake and a voice in the subject of climate change and health.
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Nonpartisan - VCCA is not a partisan body. We focus on climate and health. We support laws and initiatives that promote the health of our patients and communities through climate friendly policies.
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Justice - Climate policies should consider factors related to social justice sensitive to the needs of underserved communities who too often bear a disproportionate burden of negative health impacts due to climate change.
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Health Focus – Though a healthy environment is fundamental to health, VCCA’s expertise and focus lies in the policies and programs that explicitly address the human health impact of environmental policies.
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Evidence – As members of the scientific community, VCCA contributes to climate change research and critically evaluates climate literature to promote evidence-based recommendations on health policies.
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Our Work
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Advocacy
Climate policy is health policy. VCCA clinicians provide credible, health-based perspectives on climate policy solutions to ensure that policies are made with the health of our citizens and communities as a top priority. During our annual Health and Climate Lobby Day, dozens of clinicians and health students from across the state gather in Richmond to advocate on behalf of their patients for clean energy solutions. We also provide opportunities throughout the year for our members to engage in advocacy around climate policy solutions.
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Education/Research
VCCA brings educational events on climate and health to medical centers across Virginia. In collaboration with partners, we coordinate conferences that convene experts from Virginia’s academic centers and beyond. Through these events we educate practicing clinicians on what changes in the climate mean for the health of their patients and their practice.
Our clinician leaders provide lectures at hospitals and clinics across the state. We have delivered presentations at Inova Fairfax and Alexandria Hospitals, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Carilion Clinic and others.
VCCA is proud to participate in the newly formed Virginia Department of Health Climate Change Committee, launched in 2019. We applaud Virginia Department of Health for this initiative and look forward to supporting this critical work in the future.
Community Outreach
VCCA collaborates with community leaders to educate and empower the public around local and state climate-related policies that impact our health and welfare. We testify at public hearings, participate in review groups on energy and environmental policy and publish letters and opinion pieces that support climate policy solutions. We also deliver presentations to community organizations, helping the public understand what a changing climate means for the health of families and communities.
Our Team (click on pictures for full bio)
Samantha Ahdoot, MD, FAAP
Founder, Chairperson of Steering Committee
Nicholas Snow, MD
Vice-Chair of Membership & Recruitment
Co-Chair of Education
Steering Committee Member
Irène P. Mathieu, MD
Steering Committee Member
Matthew Meyer, MD
Steering Committee Member
John Bagwell, BA
Staff: Executive Director
Learn a Bit About Who We Are
Samantha Ahdoot, MD, FAAP
Chairperson of the Steering Committee
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Dr. Samantha Ahdoot is a practicing pediatrician at Pediatric Associates of Alexandria and an Assistant Professor of Medical Education at University of Virginia School of Medicine. She graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in English and earned her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at Tufts Floating Hospital for Children. Sam served as Chair of Pediatrics at Inova Alexandria Hospital from 2015-2019, and is on the Board of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as Environmental Champion. She represents the AAP on the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health Steering Committee, and was lead author on the AAP Global Climate Change and Children’s Health Policy Statement and Technical Report, published in Pediatrics in November 2015. She is Chair and Founder of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action.
Robert Kitchen, MD, FAAFP
Vice-Chair of Advocacy
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Robert Kitchen is a board certified family physician who retired in April 2018 after thirty-nine years of practice. He most recently practiced with the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group providing care for members of Kaiser Permanente in Northern Virginia. During his twenty-four years with MAPMG he cared for a panel of patients and also held administrative and leadership positions. Prior to this practice he served twenty years in the Air Force with both stateside and overseas assignments with the last six years being on the faculty of the Family Practice Residency at Andrews Air Force Base. Bob received his MD degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and his BS from the US Air Force Academy.
Nick Snow, MD
Vice-Chair of Membership & Recruitment
Co-Chair of Education
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Nick Snow is a practicing gastroenterologist in Winchester. He earned his Chemistry degree from Yale, and his MD from Ohio State. He did residency and fellowship at Duke before joining the Internal Medicine faculty there. He left Duke in 1995 when he moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley. He has been active in writing letters to the local paper, and speaking to community groups and medical groups on climate change and health for a decade. Nick has been a member of VCCA since 2018, and has lobbied on climate issues on multiple occasions. He is on the board American Conservation Film Festival based in Shepherdstown, a Climate Reality Leader, and a member of Citizens Climate Lobby.
Neelima (Neelu) Tummala, MD
Vice-Chair of Public Relations
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Neelu Tummala is a physician and clinical assistant professor of surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She completed medical school at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and residency in Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. She has a special interest in advocacy concerning the health effects of climate change, and has been actively involved with providing medical education, conducting research, writing, and giving public testimony on this issue. She is a trained Climate Reality Leader and apart from Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action, works with the American Lung Association, The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Environment Virginia as a volunteer activist and educator.
​ Homan Wai, MD, FACP
Co-Chair of Education
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Homan Wai obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and completed his Internal Medicine residency at George Washington University Hospital in 2009. He has been a faculty at Inova Fairfax Hospital since 2009 and practices as an inpatient Internal Medicine physician (Hospitalist). He also serves as the Clerkship Director of Internal Medicine at the UVA School of Medicine regional campus at Inova. Homan was a member of the Sustainability Committee at the Inova Fairfax Campus from 2009-2015 and served as co-chair and chair for the committee from 2011-2015. He was an inaugural member of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action since its inception in 2017. Homan served as the Vice-Chair of Operations and Recruitment from 2018-2020 and has now transitioned to the role of Vice-Chair of Education.
Paul DiLorenzo, MD, FACC
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Paul DiLorenzo is a practicing cardiologist, founder of Fairfax Heart Associated 1989, currently at Inova Cardiology. He completed medical school at University of Virginia School of Medicine, residency at George Washington University, and Fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was former President of the Medical Staff at Inova Fairfax Hospital and
chairperson/member of numerous committees, investigator in many multicenter trials, author of multiple manuscripts, and frequent lecturer. He has been interested in environmental issues since the 1970s. He and was the catalyst to ending Styrofoam at Inova Fairfax systems. He supports VCCA’s efforts in reducing climate change both for global health and global existence. He believes that small changes in personal behavior make a difference and set an example. He believes that codifying changes in policy in favor of prevention of climate change make an even bigger difference. He has an electric car.
Samim Atmar, MD
Co-chair of Healthcare Sustainability, Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Samim Atmar is an Emergency Medicine physician working at the Inova Health System. He was born in Afghanistan and, at a young age, moved to Pakistan as a refugee before later immigrating to the United States as a teenager. He obtained his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine followed by residency at Mt. Sinai St Luke’s-Roosevelt in NYC. He completed the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Technology Policy Fellowship (STPF) with a focus on climate change and social justice at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). He is the co-chair of the Healthcare Sustainability Committee of the Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action. Dr. Atmar is fluent in Spanish and Farsi (Dari) and interested in exploring the nexus between health, climate change and social justice.
Abigail Hankin-Wei, MD
Co-chair of Healthcare Sustainability, Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Abigail Hankin-Wei is an emergency physician who works at INOVA Fairfax Hospital and Page Memorial Hospital in Luray, Virginia. Dr. Hankin-Wei was a member of Healthcare without Harm when she was a medical student at the University of San Francisco, California. After medical school, her interest in the health of communities, and the intersection of social, economic, and environmental factors with individual health led her to pursue a Master's in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, she completed an EM residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a research fellowship at Emory University. From 2015-2021, she lived in Maputo, Mozambique with her family, and collaborated with the Ministry of Health to develop the first EM residency program in Mozambique. While in Mozambique, she witnessed first hand the devastating consequences of climate change and extreme climate events on the most vulnerable communities on the planet; she also witnessed a different approach to the practice of medicine, especially with respect to equipment reuse and waste minimization. These experiences prompted her to become active in VCCA upon her return to the US. Dr. Hankin-Wei co-leads the Healthcare Sustainability Committee with Samim Atmar and Sara Wohlford.
Irène Mathieu, MD
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Irène P. Mathieu is a writer and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia, where she serves as affiliate faculty in UVA’s Center for Health Humanities & Ethics and leads the Wellness and Youth Social Action Lab. Mathieu earned a BA in international relations from the College of William & Mary before completing a Fulbright fellowship in the Dominican Republic. She earned her MD from Vanderbilt University and completed a residency in general pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. Mathieu is also the author of four poetry collections. Often called an “eco-poet,” she has developed curricula using poetry to teach undergraduates, medical students, and pediatric residents about social determinants of health. She is particularly interested in climate justice advocacy, community-engaged research, and pediatric health equity.
Vivienne Pierce McDaniel, DNP, MSN, RN
Steering Committee Member
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Vivienne Pierce McDaniel is a registered nurse with over 17 years of leadership and academic experience who places a high value on advancing health equity especially for underserved and underrepresented populations. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant for James Madison University School of Nursing and Sentinel U® healthcare simulations and learning innovations. As an adjunct nursing professor in a graduate program, she teaches health policy and advocacy and chairs doctoral students through their Doctor of Nursing Practice projects.
Dr. McDaniel is the President of the Central Virginia Chapter National Black Nurses Association (CVCNBNA) and co-chairs the CVCNBNA’s Health Policy Committee. She serves on several boards including the Board of Trustees of Henrico, Parham and Retreat Doctors’ Hospitals, the Virginia Nurses Foundation, the Virginia State University BSN Completion Advisory Board, and the Central Virginia Chapter Nurses Association Board of Directors. She is the inaugural chair and equity ambassador of the Virginia Nurses Association and Foundation Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council and has authored several publications related to her DEI work.
Dr. McDaniel earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Walden University with a focus on health policy and advocacy, her Master of Science in Nursing Management and Organizational Leadership and Bachelor of Science degrees in Nursing from American Sentinel University and an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing from Thomas Nelson Community College. She is a 2021 fellow of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing inaugural Diversity Leadership Institute.
Matthew Meyer, MD
Steering Committee Member
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Matthew J. Meyer is a critical care anesthesiologist and an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia. His first job was as an environmental educator at a non-profit focused on conservation and stewardship in Vermont. He went to medical school at the University of Vermont, and completed a residency in Anesthesiology and fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He researches perioperative efficiency and sustainability. His goal is to eliminate healthcare waste and thus lessen the impact of the healthcare economy on the environment.
Tracy Kelly, MDDNP, MSN, CPNP-P/AC
Steering Committee Member
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Dr. Tracy Kelly, joined the UVA School of Nursing in February 2019 as program director of their Pediatric Acute Care NP program. Dr. Kelly has more than 20 years of experience as an acute care pediatric nurse practitioner and has practiced at a number of noted hospitals, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Yale New Haven Hospital, Morristown (NJ) Memorial Hospital, and Duke University Medical Center. In addition, she brings more than a decade of experience in the classroom, having taught nursing students at Duke, Yale, and Seton Hall Graduate School of Nursing.
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In addition to developing graduate nursing curricula, writing grants, and coordinating research studies, Dr. Kelly’s global work is both expansive and impressive. Most recently, she was the lead pediatric educator for the only tertiary children’s hospital in Sierra Leone, as part of the Welbodi Partnership, located in Freetown. With Partners in Health, she cared for Ebola patients in West Africa in 2014 and 2015, and worked for two years as a clinical mentor for pediatric clinicians and nursing students with the Rwandan Ministry of Health from 2012 to 2014.
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Dr. Kelly earned a BSN from Georgetown, an MSN from UVA, and a DNP from Yale, and has been active in her community as a volunteer with the Eyes, Ears, Nose, Paws canine medical training program, as a North Carolina Medical Advisory Disaster Preparedness Team member, and as a board member of Hemophilia of North Carolina.
Jerome A. Paulson, MD, FAAP
VCCA Advisor
Medical Society Consortium
on Climate and Health
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Jerome A. Paulson, MD, FAAP is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics and Emeritus Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health at the George Washington University Schools of Medicine and of Public Health. He created the American Academy of Pediatrics Program on Climate Change and Health. He is a consultant to the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and is a founding member of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action. He is helping a group of clinicians create George Clinicians for Climate Action. He is a past chair the executive committee of the Council on Environmental Health of the AAP and past Medical Director for the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units – East. He served on the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee for the US EPA. Dr. Paulson co-created, and for a number of years lead, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health & the Environment.
Dr. Paulson received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with honors and with general honors from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. He received an MD degree from Duke University in Durham, NC. He did his pediatric residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospitals and Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He also completed a fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics at Sinai Hospital.
Pamela Tinker, B.S. Physical Therapy., MAIS
Steering Committee Member
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Mrs. Pam Tinker is President and Founder of Frog Pond Early Learning Center, a non-profit school with a nature-based curriculum. Pam is a graduate of MCV/VCU in Physical Therapy (PT) and worked for 15 years in the INOVA health system. She was instrumental in planning and directing the Mount Vernon Hospital Rehabilitation program which included Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Recreation Therapists, Neuropsychologists and Physiatrists. Other PT experience includes hospital and outpatient neurological rehabilitation; school based physical therapy in Fairfax County and Falls Church Public Schools; home health physical therapy; and geriatric care. Pam is a tribal citizen of the Cherokee Nation and founding member of the Capital City Cherokee Community, a newly formed satellite community of the Cherokee Nation.
Pam is a native Northern Virginian. She has been married 40 years to retired Cardiologist, Bruce Tinker, and they have two adult children. She has hosted children and adults over the past thirty years at their mountain retreat, where she introduces groups to the natural environment and hosts a variety of workshops.
Sara Wohlford, MPH, RN
Co-Chair of Healthcare Sustainability, Steering Committee Member
Sara Wohlford is the Director of Sustainability at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia where she facilitates and coordinates programs for the health care system that reduce inefficiencies and waste and promote environmental sustainability. After receiving a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Virginia Tech, Sara conceptualized and proposed her current position, created a work structure for sustainability for Carilion’s seven hospitals, and developed the Carilion Clinic Environmental Stewardship Council. Her programs increase recycling, decrease energy utilization, decrease natural resource consumption, and divert tens of thousands of pounds of waste from Virginia landfills annually, while educating and demonstrating to staff, patients, and visitors the inextricable links between community health, environmental health, and sustainability. Her program received the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award Gold Medal for improving health and the environment in the State of Virginia.
John Bagwell, BA
Staff: Executive Director
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John has been working with VCCA since its founding to develop organizational strategy and manage day to day operations. John is an nonprofit consultant and has worked with a wide range of clients including others in the public health and climate spaces. John holds a BA from Wofford College and is based in Richmond, Virginia.