Leadership
The California Nurses for Environmental Health & Justice Leadership Council is made up of nurses from around the state who meet bi-weekly to help coordinate nurses’ environmental health engagement in California.
Barbara Sattler
RN, DrPH, FAAN
Sonoma County, CA
Professor Emeritus at University of San Francisco where she teaches in the DNP and MPH Programs. Founder of the national Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, current Board member, and co-Chair of the national Food and Agriculture Forum. Author of many environmental health and nursing articles, and Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Brianna M. Singleton
RN, PHN, MPH, AGPCNP-NP
San Francisco, CA
Brianna is a dedicated occupational and environmental health nurse practitioner interested in the intersection of health equity, labor rights, and environmental justice. When not daydreaming about a more just, safe, and sustainable environment, Brianna can be found making healthcare more accessible for manufacturing workers.
Dante Laghetto
RN
San Diego, CA
Charge nurse level III at Kaiser Urgent Care, Unit-Based Team’s Health and Safety Champion, and a member at the Kaiser San Diego Green Team, where he plays an important leadership role in sustainable health care practices. In addition, Dante also runs biO2america.com, a plant-based food and beverage company with large-scale environmental green projects, such as planting more than 40,000 trees.
Erika Alfaro
BSN, RN, PHN
San Mateo, CA
Erika Alfaro Lemus is a public health nurse for Health and Family Services with San Mateo County, where she works as a nurse case manager for California Children’s Services. Ms. Alfaro Lemus has a broad range of nursing experience, from pediatric cardiac ICU to utilization review and community health. She has been working in the nursing field since the age of 18. She is also involved with her local Bay Area National Association of Hispanic Nurses, is a proud Spanish Bilingual SF Toastmasters past president and is passionate about health and nature.
Katie Bolin
RN, BSN, MPH
Oakland, CA
Katie is a public health nurse with a heart for environmental justice and food sovereignty. A Master of Public Health student at the University of California Berkeley, she studies the overlap between environmental issues and healthy communities. She has experience in maternal and child health, home visitation, and community health, as well as community organizing at the non-profit and neighborhood level.
Karen G. Duderstadt
PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN
San Francisco, CA
Clinical Professor Emerita at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing and dedicated Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the community for many years. She has presented and published on a wide range of child health policy topics and environmental health issues. She is a founding member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), has served on the Steering Committee and the Policy and Advocacy Committee, and joins the California Leadership committee to focus on advocating for children and advancing environmental health policy within the state.
Lisa Hartmayer
RN, MSN, NP-C, CCTN
San Francisco, CA
Lisa is a nurse practitioner at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center on the Kidney Transplant Service. She is the co-chair of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments Practice Forum and a member of Climate Health Now and Breast Cancer Action. She has been involved in the Women Worker’s Biomonitoring Collaborative, studying women worker’s exposures to chemicals. Lisa joins the California leadership committee with a passion to address climate change and make healthcare more sustainable.
Sarah Brown Blake
RN, PhD, PHN
Davis, CA
Sarah is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at California State University, Chico. Her professional background is in community and public health nursing, and she is passionate about equitable access to drinking water and climate justice. She was an inaugural ANHE Environmental Health Nurse Fellow (2019-2020).
Mechelle Perea-Ryan
PhD, FNP-BC, RN-PBC, PHN
Fresno, CA
I am a Family Nurse Practitioner and Professor at Stan State in the Central Valley. I earned my PhD at UC Merced and I am involved in Health Policy, pediatric health, health disparities and decreasing the environmental impacts to health where we live, work, and play.
Meg Adelman
RN, BSN, MPH
Marin County, CA
Experienced PACU/Pre-op nurse, with a passion for lifestyle medicine, and plant-forward dietary interventions to combat the global chronic disease crisis. Co-founder and Wellness Director of Navitas Organics, Co-creator of Futurewell Summit, and Co-chair of ANHE’s Food and Agriculture Forum, Meg joins the California leadership committee to focus efforts on addressing environmental health issues and policies within the state.
Michelle Bergen
DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, RN, CONC.
Fresno, CA
I am a nurse practitioner at the VA hospital in Fresno, California and I work on the hematology-oncology unit. I am also involved in a steering committee that advocates for environmental protection and justice in the south central district in Fresno. The ongoing project steered by the committee is on land use and how heavy industries can potentially impact the physical, social and mental health of the populations who live in the south central area of Fresno county.
Penelope Applegarth
MSN, FNP-C, FCN
Sebastopol, CA
Experienced clinical Family Nurse Practitioner in Sebastopol, CA. Joined the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and is on the Leadership Committee. Passionate about working to reduce pollution in our oceans, the air and soil. Working to raise awareness and make policy changes in our State.
Erin Carrera
RN
Marin County, CA
Erin Carrera is a registered nurse and a public health advocate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public health nursing and a master’s degree in sustainable business. Erin currently works as in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at UCSF where she is also a dedicated union representative. She served as the Chief Nurse Representative for the California Nurses Association at UCSF from 2010 to 2019. As a long time member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) she collaborates with local and state grassroots organizations to lobby for clean water, air and energy in California and beyond.
Lorraine Thiebaud
RN, BA
Loomis, CA
Lorraine Thiebaud is retired after working for over 40 years at San Francisco General Hospital where she was active in the Service Employees International Union and served as the union Local’s President a number of times during her career. She was active in several major influencing policies including efforts during the AIDS epidemic that resulted in the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. She now lives in Loomis on her organic farm and she continues to be active in local and state policies and politics.
Staci Keithahn
BS
Patterson, Ca
Staci is an executive assistant for Ca Nurses for Environmental Health & Justice and an aspiring nurse. She is a graduate of CSU Stanislaus with a bachelors degree in Health Science and has a passion for sustainble living, clean oceans, and food sovereignty. As a life-long Central Valley resident, it is Staci’s ambition to find affordable and practical ways to implement sustainable living in her community.