Our Story

Lisa Del Buono and her son, David in Washington D.C. with the Citizens' Climate Lobby in 2014.

In 2012, Elizabeth (Lisa) Del Buono, MD, woke up to the fact that our climate was rapidly changing and that urgent collective action was needed to reverse the tide. She first grew concerned from the perspective as a parent, and she says the "momma bear" in her wanted to do everything she could to ensure that her son had a quality future.

So, in early 2013, Lisa became a Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteer and eventually co-founded CCL's Health Action Team. As a retired diagnostic pathologist, she recognized that health impacts presented by fossil fuel pollution and climate change, and subsequently, that health professionals could be trusted messengers who could play a meaningful role in combating the climate crisis.

When the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health (MSCCH) was founded in 2017, the group legitimized the discussion of climate change within the medical arena, creating a framework around the intersection of health, climate, and equity.

Lisa started the Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action as a state affiliate of the MSCCH in 2020, and since then, the group has grown into a professional association of more than 400 Michigan health professionals, who are committed to climate action.

Our Team

Teresa Homsi, MPH

Deputy Director

Teresa has a master’s in Public Health from Central Michigan University and a bachelor’s from CMU in environmental studies, journalism, and anthropology. Teresa previously worked for WCMU Public Media as an environmental reporter, covering climate change, contamination, and conservation. She also started Central Sustainability, an award-winning program that acts as CMU’s office of sustainability. You can reach her at teresa@michigancca.com.

Nyanna Slaughter-Smith

Director of Engagement & Communications

Nyanna is a community advocate from Pittsfield, Massachusetts with experience with children, politics, the criminal justice system, and entrepreneurship. She is a dedicated public servant committed to seeking change in the justice, economic, social, and political system. You can reach her at nyanna@michigancca.com

Cindy Nack

Director of Operations

Cindy brings over 19 years of nonprofit association management experience. She loves to play volleyball and enjoys coaching middle school volleyball. Cindy loves animals and also owns a Pet Nanny company where she takes care of animals in the client's home while they are away. You can reach Cindy at cindy@michigancca.com

Our Board

Elizabeth (Lisa) Del Buono, MD

Founder & Board Chair

Lisa spent most of her professional career practicing in Traverse City, MI with expertise in GI and breast pathology. In 2013, as Lisa became more aware that climate change was an issue that required immediate collective action, she cut back her clinical practice and began volunteering with Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Over the years, she served as a CCL group leader, liaison to several Members of Congress, co-lead CCL’s Health Action Team, and was a State Liaison Coordinator. In 2020, she retired from her clinical practice and founded MiCCA with the desire to utilize the trusted healthcare voice to educate the public and policymakers about the health benefits of addressing climate change. You can reach Lisa at lisa@michigancca.com.

MaryLee Pakieser, MSN, RN, BC-FNP

Treasurer

MaryLee has worked in a variety of clinical settings including acute and chronic healthcare in rural and metropolitan hospitals, home care and hospice agencies, free, federal qualified, VA, and migrant farmworkers' clinics, and in correctional facilities. She graduated from Saint Francis School of Nursing, Evanston IL, obtained her BSN from Ferris State University and completed her MSN from Vanderbilt University. She has held leadership positions with several professional nursing associations including Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners as President, American Nursing Association-Michigan as President, the American Nurses Association Board of Directors. She currently serves on the Traverse Area District Library Board of Trustees as President.

Kindra Weid, RN, BSN, MPH

A graduate of the University of Michigan, School of Nursing (2000), Kindra currently practices as a critical care RN with 20+ years of experience in nursing. She is also passionate about environmental health issues, which drove her to obtain a Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2009). Kindra serves as the Coalition Coordinator for MI Air MI Health and is also the Coalition Coordinator for It’s Electric!, Michigan’s electric school bus (ESB) coalition. She strongly believes that everyone deserves to breathe clean, healthy air and is currently working on behalf of the Moms Clean Air Force supporting field organizers in their engagement with EPA and other stakeholders, and facilitating involvement in state ESB coalitions across the country.

Larry Junck, MD

Larry served for his entire career as a neurologist and neuro-oncologist for the University of Michigan (UM), where he directed or co-directed the Brain Tumor Program for over 2 decades. He is currently Professor of Neurology, Active Emeritus and is certified in neurology and neuro-oncology. Awards include the Outstanding Clinician Award from UM. Larry serves on the directing boards of the Michigan State Medical Society and Washtenaw County Medical Society. His climate-related activities include co-founding and co-directing Neurologists Interested in Climate and Health (NICH), founding and directing Michigan Medicine Climate Voices, participating in Voices for Carbon Neutrality at UM, and serving as a Michigan congressional liaison for Citizens Climate Lobby.

Mary-Jacqueline K Muli RN, BSN

Mary-Jacqueline Kavivi Muli (BSN, RN) is the founder of The Climate Justice Nurse and a practicing critical care nurse at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, she has resided in Detroit, Michigan, for more than two decades. An alumna of the University of Detroit Mercy and a ReBUILDetroit Scholar—an NIH-funded initiative designed to expand research participation among underrepresented populations—her professional and scholarly work centers on advancing health equity in Detroit within the context of the climate crisis. She will commence her doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Nursing in the fall of 2026, where she intends to further investigate the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, and community health. Beyond her clinical and academic pursuits, Muli remains actively engaged in community-based initiatives, including volunteer service, the mentorship of emerging leaders, and cross-cultural exploration through travel and immersion.

Steve Ashmead, MD

After graduating from Baylor College of Medicine in 1976, Steve moved to Michigan for his Primary Care residency in Family Medicine in Kalamazoo. Steve met that Gal from Kalamazoo and was forever tied to this pleasant peninsula. Before returning to the state in 1987 Steve spent 2 years with the Indian Health Service and 2 years at a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural New York. Subsequently he worked the rest of his career providing primary care in Grand Rapids. He additionally taught family medicine residents and medical students as a faculty of Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Steve also served as the Associate Director of the Trinity Family Medicine Residency for over 20 years. Now in the
Third Act of his career, he is passionately addressing the crises of climate change so that we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations. In his free time, he is enjoying the ability to be outside and enjoy nature.

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