Recordings for Shale and Public Health Conference

Lauren Minsky, PhD — Haverford College Seeing Cancer in Communities: The People’s Cancer Incidence Screening Tool

Lauren Minsky has a PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania and is on the faculty of the Health Studies program at Haverford College. Her research explores historical trajectories of environmental health, from the wheat fields and rice paddies of South Asia to the soybean and shale gas fields and refineries of Pennsylvania. She recently created the People’s Cancer Incidence Screening Tool (PCIST) as a way to see elevated cancer incidence signals over a twenty year period in Pennsylvanian municipalities. She uses PCIST data to better understand the cancerous and wider metabolic consequences of cumulative chemical exposures at the local level, and to help support communities that are fighting to protect themselves from toxic trespass.

Kathleen Nolan, MD — Physicians for Social Responsibility New York Connecting the Dots: Adverse Health Impacts Caused by Shale Oil & Gas

“Connecting the Dots: Adverse Health Impacts Caused by Shale Oil & Gas” explores causal reasoning and presents research illustrating how published findings over the past decade support the conclusion that shale oil and gas exploration, storage, transport, and use cause harm to all human tissue and organ systems, including hematologic cancers.

Kathleen Nolan, MD, MSL, works as Catskill Mountainkeeper’s Senior Research Director, focusing on issues related to the health impacts of fracking and fossil fuel infrastructure. Kathy holds a Medical Degree, along with a Masters of Studies in Law, from Yale, and she specialized in pediatrics, clinical research design, and bioethics, before moving to the Catskills in 1989 to pursue residential training at a Zen Buddhist monastery. In 2011 Kathy joined Mountainkeeper’s staff and co-founded Concerned Health Professionals of New York. Since 2014, she has been the volunteer Board President of the New York Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Dani Wilson, MSW — Cancer and Environment Network of Southwestern Pennsylvania Childhood Cancer and Fracking: A Need to Act on What We Know

Dani Wilson, MSW, is a macro social worker and the Executive Director of the Cancer & Environment Network of Southwestern Pennsylvania (CENSWPA). In this role, she leads a cross-sector movement dedicated to bridging the gap between scientific research and community-led solutions to reduce environmental cancer risks. Dani serves as an Executive Council member of the Cancer Free Economy and is the co-chair of the Environmental Health Workgroup within the Pennsylvania Cancer Coalition. With a career rooted in public health—beginning as a teenage HIV/AIDS peer educator in the 1990s—Dani has held numerous leadership roles, including serving as the Executive Director of Cancer Bridges. She is a co-creator of the Pittsburgh Environmental Science, Justice, and Healing Summit and a Warm Data Host with the International Bateson Institute, where she applies systemic lenses to complex health and environmental challenges.

Aaron Barchowsky, PhD (Moderator) — University of Pittsburgh

Aaron Barchowsky is an environmental, molecular toxicologist whose research over the past thirty-five years has focused on mechanistic investigation of how environmental contaminants, primarily metals, promote cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic diseases. While best known for fundamental research in the pathogenesis from arsenic in drinking water and food, his research has translated to providing the World Health Organization with estimates of the substantial global burden of cancers and cardiovascular disease caused by arsenic in food.

Gary Allison, PhD — Open-FF; consultant to The FracTracker Alliance New Chemical Disclosures in Colorado; and What that Means for the Rest of Us

Gary will explore the current state of chemical transparency in fracking by comparing the national FracFocus database with Colorado’s innovative new disclosure instrument.

Gary Allison is a data scientist with a PhD in Zoology/Marine Ecology. His current interests include chemical disclosure instruments for the fossil fuel industry and making data sets more accessible to the public.

Kimberly Terrell, PhD — Environmental Integrity Project Industrial Pollution and the Burden of Proof: Lessons from Louisiana’s Cancer Alley

Dr. Kimberly Terrell is a Research Scientist at Environmental Integrity Project, a non-profit that investigates environmental problems and fights for average people facing David-vs-Goliath odds against industrial polluters. She provides technical support to communities that are impacted by heavy industry, and her research focuses on racial disparities and health impacts associated with industrial pollution. Prior to joining EIP, Dr. Terrell was a research scientist at Tulane University’s Environmental Law Clinic. A recipient of the Columbia Academic Freedom Award and the American Association of Law Schools Pro Bono Award, Dr. Terrell is a nationally recognized researcher with broad expertise in environmental health, including air monitoring, epidemiology, and statistics.

Moderator: Emily Copeland, Esq. — Science Communication Network

Emily Copeland, Esq. (Moderator) — Science Communication Network

Emily Copeland brings over 19 years’ experience in media relations, crisis and science communication, as well as social media strategy. Her expertise in science communication lies in helping scientists at all career stages build their capacity to communicate clearly and effectively with a variety of audiences. She graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism for Public Relations and holds a Juris Doctorate from the Florida International University College of Law in Miami, Florida.

Reid R. Frazier — The Allegheny Front

Reid R. Frazier covers energy for The Allegheny Front. His work has taken him as far away as Texas and Louisiana to report on the petrochemical industry and as close to home as Greene County, Pennsylvania to cover the shale gas boom. His award-winning work has also aired on NPR, Marketplace and other outlets. Reid recently received a fellowship from MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative.

Quinn Glabicki – Photojournalist and investigative reporter, PublicSource

Quinn Glabicki is a photo journalist and investigative reporter based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work focuses on the environment, public health and corporate and government accountability. Quinn’s work has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reuters, The Associated Press, National Geographic and The Guardian, among others. His work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International, the Livingston Awards, the National Edward R. Murrow Awards and the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT.

Quinn is currently a staff reporter and photojournalist at Public Source, a nonprofit newsroom in Pittsburgh, and he is a 2025 fellow of the Pulitzer Center. He holds a degree in political science from Haverford College.

Susan Phillips — WHYY Covering Environment and Public Health

Susan Phillips is senior climate reporter and editor for WHYY News and leads the station’s Climate Desk. She is a founding member of the award-winning StateImpact Pennsylvania website and has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004, covering politics, immigration, and criminal justice. In 2013 she was awarded the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her fracking coverage and the Associated Press Sandy Starobin Award for uncovering threats to drinking water related to gas drilling. She has received ten Edward R. Murrow awards, most recently a national Murrow for a series of climate solutions videos. She spent a year at MIT studying climate change as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow.

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Matt Mehalik, PhD (Moderator) — Breathe Project

Matt is Executive Director of the Breathe Collaborative and its communication platform, the Breathe Project. From 2007–2016, he served as Program Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh. Matt has been teaching sustainability and environmental policy at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University, since 2008. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in sustainability, design and education and has co-authored “Ethical and Environmental Challenges to Engineering.” Matt’s Ph.D. is in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. He serves on the Phipps Conservatory Board of Trustees.

Cindy Fisher — Cecil Township Board of Supervisors

Cindy Fisher is a graduate of Duquesne University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Education. She has represented Cecil Township residents on the Board of Supervisors for the past 12 years and was recently elected to a third 6-year term in November 2025.

Senator Katie Muth – Minding the Gaps: Oil and Gas Policy, Loopholes and Legislation

Josephine Gingerich (Moderator) — Physicians for Social Responsibility PA

Josephine Gingerich (she/her) is the Health Advocacy Outreach Coordinator at PSR PA. In her prior work, Josephine was a petrochemicals & pollution community organizer for PA, OH, and WV and was a habitat restoration specialist that worked with several conservation agencies across the country. Originally from Michigan, Josephine has a degree in biology and chemistry from Western Michigan University. Outside of work, Josephine fills her time with birding, gardening, and science fiction.

Tracy Carluccio — Delaware Riverkeeper Network Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Exports: A Dead End for Pennsylvania

An examination of the pressure for more fracked gas development in Pennsylvania due to the promotion of LNG exports and how communities are fighting back. The negative impacts of more fracked gas development, the harm that LNG operations would bring to communities and the environment, and the economic burdens that would result for Pennsylvanians will be discussed.

Tracy Carluccio is Deputy Director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN), where she has worked as an environmental advocate since 1989, working throughout the Delaware River Watershed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware. Carluccio focuses on opposing fracking, oil and gas development such as Liquefied Natural Gas exports, shale gas infrastructure and related issues; promoting clean and renewable energy and action on the climate crisis; and addressing PFAS and other toxic contamination.

Sandy Field, PhD — Climate Reality Project: Susquehanna Valley PA Chapter Climate Organizing in Rural Central PA

This presentation will highlight strategies that have been successful in fighting petrochemical projects in rural Central PA by comparing successes in two very different communities.

Sandy Field is the chair of the Climate Reality Project: Susquehanna Valley PA chapter and the Save Our Susquehanna citizen’s group. She has been a volunteer climate activist since 2017 and has given over 25 presentations on the climate crisis and organized many actions against new fossil fuel build out in PA. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cellular Biology and works from her home in Lewisburg, PA as a freelance science and medical writer.

Sean O’Leary — Ohio River Valley Institute Natural Gas & Our Economic Future

This presentation will describe the felt economic impacts of Appalachia’s natural gas boom as well as that of downstream industries, including petrochemicals and data centers, and explain why expansion of these industries will contribute very little to growth in jobs, income, and overall prosperity.

Sean O’Leary is a founder and senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, a not-for-profit public policy think tank focusing on economic development and shared prosperity for northern Appalachia and the greater Ohio River valley. Sean is the author of the “Frackalachia” series of reports, examining the region’s energy economy and the failure of the Appalachian natural gas boom to contribute meaningfully to jobs, income, and population growth. He is also a playwright whose works have been recognized by the National Endowment for The Arts and the West Virginia Division of Culture & History.

Elle Thoni (Moderator) — People Over Petro Coalition

Elle Thoni (they/them) is a writer, narrative strategist, and public artist/producer who believes in the cultural power of storytelling to catalyze hopeful action. As the Grassroots Communications Strategist for the People Over Petro Coalition, they work with frontline organizers to integrate creative strategies and amplify vital narratives about the shared work to stop the petrochemical buildout in the Ohio River Valley. They hold an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University, where they were awarded a $25,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for TAMARACK, their drama series pilot about critical mineral mining in Minnesota’s Northland.

Michael Bagdes-Canning — Pennsylvania Action on Climate Standing Up By Sitting Down

This presentation looks at incorporating nonviolent direct action into a campaign, encouraging people to think in terms of campaigns rather than one-off actions.

Michael Bagdes-Canning is a retired teacher, husband, father, and grandfather. He is currently Mayor of Cherry Valley Borough in Butler County and has mounted grassroots campaigns for State Representative and Lieutenant Governor. For the past 16 years, he has been involved as a frontline organizer in the climate, anti-corruption and anti-fracking fight. He is a founder of Marcellus Outreach Butler, the Better Path Coalition, and Pennsylvania Action on Climate, and serves on the State Coordinating Committee of the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign.

Linnea Bond — Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania The Artivist Practice: Social Justice in Performance

Linnea Bond is an educator, organizer, and performance artist. Braiding social justice and art, she uses narrative to engage audiences’ imaginations on building alternatives to our extractive present. Her work has included theatre as part of protest actions, filmed documentary, and storytelling in conjunction with community engagement.

Carole Loeffler — Arcadia University Stitching Change: Exploring the Power and Forms of Craftivism

Craftivism combines making with activism—using handmade projects to raise awareness, start conversations, and inspire social change. This presentation introduces the work of several craftivism practitioners, showing how practices like knitting, needle felting, embroidery, and collaborative art can become powerful tools for action.

Carole Loeffler is a Philadelphia-based artist and educator whose work explores how textiles evoke the presence of past generations, creating narratives that reflect her own lived experience. She holds a B.F.A. from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and an M.F.A. from the University of South Florida. Loeffler has presented her work in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions nationwide and has developed community-centered public projects such as Granny Graffiti. She serves as Assistant Director of the Honors Program at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania.