News

Use the Power of Story to Strengthen The Impact of Your Work in Climate and Health

Stories have the power to inform, connect, and inspire, which is especially important for those working at the intersection of climate and health, where facts and data alone are not always enough. 

‍CAFE’s Public Narrative Workshop, now in its second year, will introduce practical storytelling tools and techniques to help participants expand the reach and impact of their work. Participants will explore how to connect personal experience to broader themes, deepen understanding of shared challenges, and craft stories that communicate their work with clarity and purpose. 

The workshop consists of four sessions on November 13, November 20, December 4, and December 11, from 9:00–11:00 a.m. ET.

Application deadline: September 12, 2025.

Learn more and apply

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Thank you to all who joined us for the Hurricanes and Health: Understanding Risks and Fostering Resilience‍online conference on August 4, 2025! If you missed it, or want to revist key moments, here’s a recap: 
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Hurricanes & Health Expert Panel

• Research update: Arbor Quist from Ohio State University opened with an overview of hurricanes and health research, and discussed key challenges and research gaps. 
• Landfall frequency: Shaui Wang from the University of Delaware described the increasing frequency of hurricanes making landfall in the Atlantic basin due to shifting climate patterns. 
• Emergency preparedness: Edwin Sumargo from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Mike Souza from Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency shared how state level emergency management teams prepare and coordinate for hurricanes across sectors. 
• Hurricane Forecasting: John Morales from NBC-6, South Florida spoke about evolving challenges in hurricane forecasting and the potential health implications for communities. 

Watch Now
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Hurricanes & Health Lighting Talks

Quick as a flash! 7-minute presentations to spark new ideas

Our seven lighting talk speakers delivered fast-paced, impactful talks covering hurricane effects on mortality, chronic conditions, birth outcomes, diarrheal diseases and older populations, as well as the implementation of resilient health care systems and spatiotemporal modeling to potentially decrease health impacts.

Watch the full session

Speakers included:

• Arnab Gosh, Cornell University
• Jiahang He, Boston University
• Xuejuan Ning, Yale School of Public Health
• Szu Yu Lin, The University of Tokyo
• Michelle Evans, Pivot
• Elena Naumova, Tufts University
• Ryan Zomorrodi, University of Illinois Chicago
• Elizabeth Fussel, Brown University*

* We regret that we experienced technical difficulties and could not record Elizabeth Fussel’s presentation.
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Workshop: Assessing hurricane exposure for epidemiological research

This workshop, led by Brooke Anderson from Colorado State University, covered how to assess hurricane wind exposure for epidemiological studies using storm tack data and wind field models. She introduced R packages “hurricaneexposure” and “hurricaneexposuredata”, which allow researchers to estimate local-level exposure to hurricanes. She took a deep dive into analytical methods for assessing hurricane exposure, using wind exposure over time in this example case with the R “hurricaneexposure” package. 

Watch the workshop | Access the R Package

Stay tuned for future events like this!

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In the rapidly evolving field of climate and health, staying current with the latest tools and training is essential for impactful work. To support your efforts to navigate this landscape, we’ve launched the Educational Resource Hub, a comprehensive, crowd-sourced collection of educational resources curated by and for the community.

How It Works

Rather than hosting content directly, the Resource Hub serves as a centralized directory linking to existing educational materials. The platform operates on a community-driven model where users can both access and contribute resources, creating a continuously expanding collection tailored to the needs of climate and health professionals. The collection also hosts educational  material created by the CAFE team. 

The Hub was developed through collaboration between our Data Management and Capacity Building teams, with a focus on accessibility and practical utility.

Available Resource Categories

Resource Types:

• Books and reference texts on climate-health topics
• Code repositories with analysis and visualization tools
• Online courses covering technical and professional skills
• Step-by-step tutorials for data analysis methods
• Recorded webinars and instructional videos

Skill Areas Covered:

• Data analysis, visualization, and statistical methods
• Cloud computing and computational tools
• Geospatial analysis and mapping
• API integration and data access
• Grant writing and professional development
• Science communication and writing

Contributing to the Hub

The Hub's strength lies in its community contributions. If you've found or developed resources that have been particularly useful in your work, consider adding them to the collection.

To submit a resource, use the submission form at the bottom of the Hub's main page. We will review submissions for relevance and appropriateness, though users should evaluate resources based on their own needs and verify attribution requirements.

For those with datasets to share, we recommend using Harvard Dataverse, as the Hub only aggregates links to external content rather than hosting files.

Important Considerations

• The Hub links to external content only; no files are hosted locally.
• Resource quality is not verified by CAFÉ. Users should review individual resource terms and attribution requirements
• The collection expands continuously through community contributions; check back regularly for new materials.

Getting Started

The CAFÉ Educational Resource Hub is available now and currently hosts 129 resources. Whether you're looking for specific technical training or want to contribute resources you've found valuable, the platform is designed to make professional development more efficient for our community.

We’ve redesigned our website to make it easier for you to find and access resources, opportunities, and connections to advance your climate and health research. 

Take a tour: 

Access Data Resources: Learn how to access and contribute to the CAFE Dataverse, an open-source repository where you can find or share data central to environmental health research. 

Explore Resources: Visit our searchable community-sourced Educational Resource Hub. You can browse and share resources including data analysis, geospatial, science communication, and grant writing resources, and more. 

Expand your network with CAFE connections: If you are looking for a collaborator, a mentor, data, or expertise in a specific area, check out our Matchmaking Tool.

Attend CAFE Events: Stay informed on event updates including workshops, webinars, and training opportunities. From GIS mapping workshops to state-of-the-science webinars, we're committed to building capacity across our community.

Explore Funding Opportunities: Get updates on all of our funding opportunities, including our pilot project programs, grant announcements, the GeoCAFE Scholars program, and other funding resources. 

Our Commitment to Action

We redesigned this site to spark collaboration and drive research and practice in the field of climate and health. We hope we’ve made it easier for you to connect, collaborate, and create impact. You can help this effort grow by:

• Submitting a dataset to the CAFE Dataverse 
• Adding resources to our Educational Resource Hub‍
• Letting us know about your new publications and upcoming events

Thank you for being part of our community, we hope you enjoy our site!

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