Rachel (she/her) joined Earthworks in January of 2022 as Energy Program Director to lead and support our efforts to expose the impacts of energy extraction and infrastructure through work informed by frontline community experience and sound science. Dr. Kerr has a background in oncology nursing and holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in Health Innovation and Leadership from the University of Minnesota, where her scholarly focus was engaging health professionals around climate justice issues.
Rachel began her career providing nursing care to people experiencing serious health impacts of community exposure to pollution from petrochemical and fossil fuel industry along the Gulf Coast. Galvanized by this experience, along with her own encounter with health impacts of climate change, Rachel transformed her career to care for people by caring for the Earth. She aims to address the harms caused by extractive industry and climate change while building a healthier, more sustainable, and more just future. “
Prior to her employment at Earthworks, Dr. Kerr managed nation-wide programming focused on environmental health, environmental justice, health equity, and anti-racism with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. Outside the professional sphere, Rachel is a parent, a dancer, and a lover of the outdoors and the creatures of the Earth (except centipedes).
Contact:
Email: rkerr@earthworks.org
Phone: 202-887-1872 x 158
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, on Dakota lands