the NUANCE // a community health podcast.

I had the honor of speaking with Colette Pichon Battle, Esq. at the Bioneers Conference 2026 prior to her panel: Water, Spirit, Power. I have been a long time admirer of Colette and the work Taproot Earth brings into the world since learning about them while living in New Orleans. A generational native of Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, Colette Pichon Battle is the Vision & Initiatives Partner at Taproot Earth, a global and time-bound political project advancing climate justice through Black liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty.  She is a trusted voice in the climate justice and Black liberation movements, and her work focuses on creating spaces for frontline communities to gather and advance climate strategies that support the collective stewardship of water, energy, and land.Internationally, Colette is recognized for her impactful use of legal and judicial strategies to advance environmental goals. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Heinz Award for the Environment, the 2022 Catalyst Award from Rachel’s Network, and the 2022 William O. Douglas. In 2020, she was selected to give a TED talk on climate migration which launched her global work on the human right to migrate inside of a new climate reality. In 2019, she was selected as an Obama Foundation Fellow for her work with Black and Native communities on the frontline of climate change in the US. In 2016 Colette was named a White House Champion of Change for Climate Equity and in 2015 she was selected as an Echoing Green Climate Fellow advancing social entrepreneurship inside of climate disaster recovery.Colette earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and received her Honorary Doctorate (2018) and her law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.You are invited to see more of the work of Taproot Earth Here: https://www.taproot.earth/enTheir IG: https://www.instagram.com/taprootearth?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&mdxt=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==More about Bioneers here: https://bioneers.org/about/purpose/

In this conversation, I spoke with Jai Dulani. As Senior Research Specialist at MediaJustice, Dulani writes analysis and develops research projects focused on the media and tech industry. Dulani comes to MediaJustice with over twenty years of experience working in movements for racial and gender justice. Dulani grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and Chandigarh, India. He has worked in various leadership roles as an educator, fundraiser, facilitator, and consultant at community based organizations in New York City. Previously, Dulani was Director of Institutional Giving at Race Forward, Co-Director of FIERCE, and Media Educator at Global Action Project. Dulani is also an artist and writer. He is co-editor of the anthology The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence in Activist Communities. Dulani is based in Greenfield, MA.More about BroBots vs the People: https://mediajustice.org/our-work/brobots-vs-the-people/https://mediajustice.orgIG: https://www.instagram.com/mediajusticeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/media-justice/More about Jai Dulani :https://jaidulani.com

This is a very special conversation recorded in person with Joann Roan, who is a Diné Elder and facilitated by the amazing folks at Tó Nizhóní Ání. Joann is originally from Horse Lookout — an area behind Big Mountain, in what's now the Hopi Partitioned Lands. Joann is Dził T'aaí, and today she lives in New Lands, Arizona, where she relocated with her family. She's a water and land protector, and she's been a voice against new helium leasing in New Lands.We are also joined by Nicole Horseherder of Tó Nizhóní Ání — which translates to 'Sacred Water Speaks.' It's a Diné-led nonprofit from the Black Mesa region of the Navajo Nation. The organization was formed in the spirit of the Diné elders who fought to protect Black Mesa, and it carries that work forward — mobilizing to protect the region's water sources from industrial use and waste. Today, Tó Nizhóní Ání is working to bring power back to Diné communities impacted by coal, while leading the transition away from fossil fuels. As they say: Tó bee iiná — water is life.Immense gratitude for Makaius Marks, Tó Nizhóní Ání Media Organizer, who voiced the interpretation from Diné bizaad (Navajo language) to English. Makaius also produced and cocreated the final podcast episode. Thank you to Nicole and Makaius for the interpretation of Joann’s words from Diné bizaad (Navajo language) into English. Thank you to Adrian Herder, Nicole Horseherder, Maikaius Marks, and Joann Roan for the work they bring into the world and for joining me in this project. Links for more information: https://tonizhoniani.org/As always, thank you to Trent Jones for sound engineering! 

Dr. Monica L. Ponder (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Health Communication & Culture in the Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies (CCMS) within the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University. Dr. Ponder's research examines organization-level approaches to public health and crisis communication practice, particularly those centering womanist and radical Black feminist lenses. She serves as a Faculty Fellow at the Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice (MHHJ) and as an inaugural faculty fellow with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stonybrook University. Dr. Ponder also leads the C3 Lab for Health Communication at Howard University. As a scholar-activist, Dr. Ponder has led many successful public health initiatives. A long-time social entrepreneur, she advises community organizations on health communication strategy and community-centered engagement. She serves on the Whitman-Walker Health System Board of Directors, and as a steering committee member of the Society for Health Communication and BLKHLTH Cares. She formerly served as an advisory member of Beyond Sports' Return to Play Fund and as Board Chair of Georgians for a Healthy Future.As a lifelong learner and practitioner, Dr. Ponder brings to her teaching a 14+ year career in health communication at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She views the classroom as a safe space where students become aware of their own power as scholar-activists, empowered learners, and emerging public health change-makers. In the classroom, she facilitates thoughtful conversations, encourages culturally responsive knowledge production, and collaborates respectfully as students engage their intellectual curiosity.You are invited to find Dr. Ponder's research here: https://profiles.howard.edu/monica-ponderWe mention the resource by Erin Brokovich and data centers, which can be found here: https://www.brockovichdatacenter.com

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.https://www.lylajune.comhttps://www.rehuman.earthhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mother-earth-medicine-podcast/id1591832998

Professor Megan Mayhew Bergman is an award-winning fiction writer, conservation journalist, filmmaker, and cultural critic. She serves as Director of Creative Writing at Middlebury College and Director of the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference. She is the author of four books and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Paris Review, Harper’s Bazaar, and elsewhere.See more of Megan's work here: https://www.mayhewbergman.com

Born in Scotland at 318ppm CO2, Manda Scott trained as a veterinary surgeon, but is now an award-winning novelist, host of the Accidental Gods podcast and co-creator of the Thrutopia Masterclass. Best known for the Boudica: Dreaming series, her latest novel, Any Human Power, is a mytho-political Thrutopian thriller that explores the potential for a future we'd be proud to leave as our legacy. She believes that the way forward now is for everyone to craft open-hearted connections with all parts of ourselves, each other and the Web of Life. She lives with her wife in the Shropshire Marches.Accidental Gods Podcast https://accidentalgods.life/our-podcast/Accidental Gods Membership https://accidentalgods.life/join-us/Thrutopia Masterclass https://thrutopia.life/the-thrutopia-masterclass/Dreaming Awake https://dreamingawake.co.uk/Manda - books https://mandascott.co.uk/ Manda Socials BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/mandascott.bsky.socialMastodon https://mastodon.scot/@EceniFacebook https://www.facebook.com/accidentalgods.life/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandascottauthor/

We had the honor to speak with Jo and Yvonne. Jo Bjorgaard DNP, RN, PHN, CSSBB (she/her) is the Operations Director at the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA) North America Hub. She is a nurse leader based in St. Paul, Minnesota, specializing in health innovation, leadership, and planetary health. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Minnesota and has extensive experience in planetary health education, climate advocacy, and healthcare sustainability. Her professional roles include Instructor & Teaching Specialist at the University of Minnesota, Senior Climate and Founder and Principal Consultant of RISE Climate + Health Collective and Board Member and Committee Chair with Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate. Yvonne Monger is the co- Youth Director at the PHA North America Hub and an undergraduate Nursing student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities’ School of Nursing and serves as the Youth Director of the Planetary Health North American Regional Hub. Her work centers on health equity, environmental justice, and public health policy. She currently coordinates the Climate Resilience Public Health Task Force within the University’s Office of Sustainability, where she helps bridge climate action and community well-being.

In this conversation we speak with four incredible guests from the BLIS (Black Liberation-Indigenous Sovereignty) Collective, Savannah Romero, Trevor Smith, George Galvis, and Lisa Holder. Trevor Smith (he/him) is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the BLIS Collective. He is a writer, researcher, and strategist focused on racial inequality, wealth inequality, reparations, and narrative change. Savannah Romero (she/her) is the Co-Founder and Deputy Director of the BLIS Collective. She is an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and serves as the Director of Communications and Narrative Strategy at Tahoma Peak Solutions. Previously, she served as the Manager of Movement Building and Organizing at IllumiNative, a racial and social justice organization dedicated to building power for Native people by amplifying contemporary Native voices, stories, and issues. (Your'e invited to read more about Trevor and Savannah here: https://www.bliscollective.org/team)Lisa Holder is President of the Oakland, Calif.-based Equal Justice Society. Known for her groundbreaking appointment as a member of the California Reparations Task Force and more than 20 years of experience as a civil rights litigator and scholar, Lisa has made EJS a leader and premier coalition partner in the reparations movement in California and nationally.  (Your'e invited to read more about Lisa here: https://equaljusticesociety.org/about/lisaholder/)George Galvis is the Co-founder and executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ, pronounced “courage”). Since 1993, George Galvis has promoted restorative justice and healing to transform lives. (You're invited to read more about George here: https://curyj.org/our-people/george-galvis/)BLIS Collective: https://www.bliscollective.org

In this conversation, we speak with Chenoa Scippio who is Santa Clara Pueblo and Navajo (Naschitti), and a proud daughter, granddaughter, and sister. She holds bachelors degrees in Population Health and Native American Studies from The University of New Mexico. Chenoa has years of formative experience in community organizing through working with non-profit organizations and student groups while at UNM. Her passions stem from promoting cultural preservation, social justice, and sustainability initiatives in tribal communities.Chenoa is an Environmental Justice Project Coordinator at Tewa Women United. Outside of work, Chenoa loves to spend time with the land through hiking, farming, or dreaming of ways to become an even better advocate for precious homelands.https://tewawomenunited.org