Growing up on an organic farm in Missouri, Alex developed a passion for actions that benefit both human health and the planet. He pursued training in both health and environmental studies at University of Texas at Austin, and conducted research on sustainable development at the border of Rajaji National Park in India. During his medical training at Yale School of Medicine, he spent 6 weeks rotating at the ASRI Medical Center in Borneo, where he was enamored by the center’s union of underserved tropical medicine, community empowerment, and rainforest conservation / reforestation. He currently is a practicing physician and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, where his scholarly work and teaching efforts focus on climate change and healthcare. He is also working with Health in Harmony to develop a planetary health curriculum for health professionals.

What is one thing that excites you about Health In Harmony’s work?

If I have to choose just one thing, I would say the radical listening approach! While saving rainforests is one of the top interventions for reducing global warming, doing so in a way that puts the wisdom and wellbeing of the local and indigenous guardians of these forests first is, to me, the most important aspect of Health in Harmony’s work.