Celeste Agan (she/her) LCSW, has worked as a counselor and a clinical social worker for the last 18 years. At the start of her career, she worked as an outreach counselor going to the homes of at-risk families, often observing the effects of the environment and living situations on mental health. During her time in a PhD program with a concentration in environmental social work, she co-authored an article in Climactic Change regarding the effects of water insecurity in the Philippines. Since 2015 she has worked as a clinical social worker through in person and telehealth services, primarily with the military and their families at Telemynd and with Central Alabama Wellness while as reviewing remotely the work of other therapists. She also worked as an associate professor at the University of Tennessee teaching macro practice social work.

Rachel Forbes (she/her) MSW, is an associate professor of the practice of social work and the Western Colorado MSW program director at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. She is an appointed member of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Commission on Educational Policy, the inaugural cochair of the CSWE Committee on Environmental Justice, and a former member of CSWE’s Council on Global, Learning and Practice. Rachel was the taskforce cochair for the CSWE Curricular Guide for Environmental Justice (2020). She is co-editor of the book Ecosocial Work: Environmental Practice and Advocacy (2023) and co-author of the book The Intersection of Environmental Justice, Climate Change, Community and the Ecology of Life (2021). She has taught coursework on sustainability, ecological justice, culture and place-based equity, and fostering sustainable behavior across undergraduate and graduate programs for over 10 years. Rachel’s current research and teaching looks at the impacts of climate change on mental health and ecological justice social work practice. Her work has been published in Environmental Justice and has been funded by the CSWE Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work. Rachel lives in Glenwood Springs, Colorado where she advocates for environmental justice in mountain communities across Colorado’s Western Slope.

Dr. Leah Prussia (she/her) is an Associate Professor at the College of St. Scholastica. Her background includes knowledge and practice in mental health services, substance use, trauma, and program administration. Their practice includes teachings from Anishinaabe Elders, Nature, Somatic Experiencing, and Relational-Cultural Theory. Leah’s work focuses on fostering mind/body and personal/planetary relationships. She is actively involved with Rights of Nature and is presently working with a collective to secure rights for the St. Louis River Estuary, which holds spiritual and ecological significance to the Anishinaabe and those that consider Duluth home. Leah serves on CSWE’s Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice, along with the Environmental Justice Committee affiliated with the Global Commission.