Community Partner: Green Umbrella
Green Umbrella is a non-profit sustainability alliance based out of Cincinnati, Ohio that is partnered with hundreds of member organizations around the tri-state area. Their goal is to generate a sustainable, resilient future for our region. They achieve this goal by advocating for environmental stewardship, community action, promoting equity, and providing a space for the generation of ideas.
Green Umbrella was formed in 1998. Since 2010, they have hosted the Great Outdoor Weekend which promotes outdoor recreation across the city. Over the next 10 years, they developed several new projects that included city planning, food access, and equity. In 2014, they hosted the first Midwest Regional Sustainability Initiative and in 2018 launched the Cincinnati 2030 district which creates bold sustainability goals across the city. Through their advocacy, Cincinnati has committed to reducing their energy and water consumption, as well as, transportation emissions by 50% by 2030.
About Mitch
I am an Ohio native. I was born in Columbus and raised in Cincinnati. I went to college at Miami University and majored in Neuroscience and Anthropology. I proceeded to continue my education at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. I plan to pursue a career in Internal Medicine and to complete additional training in climate-health advocacy.
For most of my life, I knew I wanted to be involved in healthcare. In college, my aspirations honed onto medicine, because I believed that a medical degree would enable me to better advocate for issues I cared deeply about. During this time, I have also been equally ardent about the outdoors. I rock climb, run ultramarathons, and do pretty much any other activity that brings me deeper into the forests of my home. After my first year of medical school, this love for nature propelled me to work as a wilderness medic for a summer camp in Northern Minnesota. While guiding a trip through the Uinta mountain range in Utah, I experienced tangibly the effects of climate change. One day, we might be walking through a beautiful, healthy meadow with sheep, cattle, and wildflowers. The next day we may cross a mountain pass and descend into ashes from last year’s wildfires. Like many places across this country, these fires were burning far too frequently due to climate change.
That moment was an epiphany where I realized clearly how directly intertwined our health is with our planet’s. This was only strengthened when I learned how massive a role the health care system has in perpetuating global warming. Over the past 3 years, I have worked locally and nationally to produce educational materials on climate change for future healthcare professionals. During this work, I came in contact with Green Umbrella and quickly realized that they are an incredible organization that cares deeply about the health of people and our planet. Savannah Sullivan is the Senior Director of Programs at Green Umbrella and a leader in this space. Green Umbrella is currently completing an analysis of the health effects of climate change in Cincinnati. I will help with analysis of this study and work to educate community members on the importance of these findings. This project will include a large advocacy component, where I will learn how to meet with public officials and public health leaders. I am incredibly excited to begin this work soon.