CCHE Awards
APHA's Center for Climate, Health, and Equity recognizes outstanding leaders and students who have demonstrated remarkable commitment, leadership, and innovative solutions to advance health equity in the face of climate change. Over the years, we have presented awards to honor APHA member groups, Affiliates, individuals and student-led groups driving positive change at the intersection of climate, health and equity.
Excellence in Climate Leadership Awards
Through the Excellence in Climate Leadership Awards, we recognize those who are working to combat climate change and mitigate its effects on health. The center presents awards to APHA member groups, Affiliates and individuals.
👉 Learn more about the 2025 Excellence in Climate Leadership Awards here!
Read about the past climate leadership awardees for 2024 and 2023.
Student Champions for Climate Justice Awards
The Center for Climate, Health and Equity recognizes that raising awareness of climate-related health equity impacts in academic communities is vital to motivating future public health leaders to take action. We award U.S. college or university student groups to hold a campus event to highlight climate change, health and equity.
👉 Learn more about the 2025 Student Champions for Climate Justice Awards here!
Read about the past student champion awardees for 2024, 2023, and 2022.
2025 Excellence in Climate Leadership Awardees
Affiliate awardees
South Carolina Public Health Association has led outstanding work to address heat and energy challenges in Columbia, South Carolina. SCPHA partnered with APHA and the Smart Surfaces Coalition to promote technologies that help cool cities and improve resilience. Their collaborative approach through community outreach, focus groups, and local partnerships has built trust and ensured residents’ voices shape their work.
SCPHA also launched a mini-grant program supporting seven local organizations, students, and researchers to implement or study smart surface projects. These efforts have already generated strong community involvement and visible results. By collaborating with local organizations, directly engaging community members, and advocating for sustainable practices, SPCHA is making a tangible difference in public health and the environment.
Tennessee Public Health Association has led impressive work to build climate resilience in Tennessee’s rural communities, with a particular focus on extreme heat and flooding. After receiving a grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), Tennessee Public Health Association developed the Climate Impacts, Resiliency, and Preparedness in Rural Tennessee workshop, which is a train-the-trainer curriculum for community leaders on climate impacts and resiliency with the goal of training community leaders to be able to provide training to their respective communities.
Member group awardee
The Intersectional Council’s Climate Change and Health topical group (ISC-CCH) fosters collaboration on climate, health, and equity by engaging APHA sections in dialogue and action on climate and health. This member group brings APHA members together through monthly meetings, annual webinars, and conference events, creating a strong network of public health professionals committed to climate action.
ISC-CCH hosts monthly meetings to inform and engage members on climate health news and the work of the Center for Climate, Health, and Equity. During their mid-year webinar, ISC-CCH invites discussion for various topics on the intersection of public health and climate change. This year’s webinar featured presentations on climate change and our food systems. They also lead scientific and roundtable sessions at APHA’s Annual Meeting and host social gatherings that strengthen professional connections and collaboration. In recent years, ISC-CCH has also supported APHA’s Climate, Health, and Equity Summit, moderating breakout sessions and contributing to program planning. Their outreach extends through the APHA LEAD Climate Change community, keeping members informed and engaged year-round.
Individual awardees
Jo Kay Ghosh, PhD, MPH, is the Director of Research and Evaluation at Heluna Health. With over 15 years of experience in public health research and practice, Ms. Ghosh has made outstanding contributions to understanding and addressing the health impacts of climate-related disasters. Her research spans wildfire smoke, extreme heat, storms, flooding, and power outages, focusing on how households can better prepare for these growing threats.She has published incredible work on extreme heat preparedness in the western United States, wildfire smoke exposure, and public attitudes toward prescribed burns, reaching thousands of readers and informing health education campaigns. She has created accessible public resources, including toolkits and infographics in multiple languages, and has spoken with media outlets to raise awareness about climate-related health risks.Ms. Ghosh also led a national survey of 20,000 adults to explore willingness to adopt climate-friendly diets and is now studying how extreme heat affects pregnancy outcomes. As an active member of APHA’s Children’s Environmental Health Committees’ Climate Advocacy Workgroup, she helped develop fact sheets on climate impacts to children’s health.
Nate Young, MPS is a Program Manager who recently joined the Pima County Health Department’s Office of Heat Response and Relief. In his current role, Nate coordinates a county-wide effort to respond to and protect residents from extreme heat. Nate and his team incorporate epidemiological and social vulnerability data to craft a data-driven approach for heat response, which allows for the allocation of limited resources across a diverse partner network. By utilizing data to better inform decision-making, they have been able to unite and coordinate the efforts of hundreds of heat-relief partners to promote equitable access to life-saving services across Pima County. This approach has resulted in thousands of residents receiving direct heat relief services and millions being reached as part of the “Beat the Heat” awareness campaign.
Y. Tony Yang,ScD, LLM, MPH, is the Endowed Professor of Health Policy and Associate Dean for Health Policy & Population Science at George Washington University’s School of Nursing. He has made climate change a public health priority through policy leadership, scholarship, and a deep focus on equity. His academic contributions include over 200 peer-reviewed articles, with first-authored work featured in leading journals across multiple disciplines such as New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and others.
In 2024, he was named one of 18 next-generation research leaders for his project “For People, For Planet,” which improves the sustainability of health research in the U.S. and the U.K. Through this work, he helped shape policy options, co-authored key reports, and brought together leaders from academia, industry, and public health.