Our Team

Dr. Shapley-Quinn is a family physician and a graduate of UNC’s medical school and family medicine residency. She has worked in primary care for a number of years and served as Medical Director of Alamance County Health Department for many years. Kathleen has been active in advocacy around food security for decades and served as board member for an agency providing advocacy and education for children of incarcerated parents. Her commitment to climate work grows out of both a sense of justice (cultivated early in her Detroit upbringing) as well as a passion for the beauty of our planet and the people who inhabit it. She currently serves as Executive Director for CACHE.

Dr. Jennifer Runkle is an Environmental Epidemiologist at the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. She has wide-ranging experience translating population-based science into action-based solutions. Her research interests include weather-related disasters, coastal community resilience, occupational health and safety, reproductive health, and mental health and well-being, with particular interest in localized impacts on vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and outdoor workers.
She was an editor and author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s 2016 report “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States”, and for the NOAA State Climate Summaries.
Dr. Runkle holds an MSPH and PhD in environmental epidemiology from the University of South Carolina and completed postdoctoral training at Emory University.

Dr. Whiteis is a pediatric hospitalist at Moses Cone. She received her medical degree from Texas A&M College of Medicine and her pediatric residency at UNC Health. While in residency, she served as an executive board member of UNC’s Climate Leadership and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), a medical student organization that advocates for health system sustainability and educates on the health impacts of climate change. Dr. Whiteis is passionate about educating clinicians and the public on the effects of climate change and advocating for health equity and climate action. Dr. Whiteis leads the CACHE Pediatric Resident Climate and Health education program.

Mike brings extensive experience as an environmental non-profit leader. A graduate of the General Management Program at Harvard Business School, he retired in 2022 from a 38-year career at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the world’s largest conservation organization. At TNC, Mike led programs at state and regional levels, founded the Conservancy’s Canada program, and served as Managing Director for Global Conservation and Chief Operating Officer. Before his leadership at TNC, Mike held positions in social work, and helped establish the Covington (KY) Family Health Center (now HealthPoint Family Care) and was its founding Executive Director from 1979 to 1983. He has served on the boards of the Kentucky Primary Care Association and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (Vice Chair). Mike was a founding director of Orange County (NC) Living Wage and currently serves as a director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation.

Suzie S. Wolf, DHSc, MPH, PA-C is an Associate Professor, and the founding director of the Department of Public Health at Wingate University, with more than 13 years of experience across the healthcare and education industries. Her prior clinical experiences include practicing as a physician assistant in the field of sports medicine and orthopedic surgery. She is an active champion of community health and advocacy efforts concentrating on the intersection between public policy and health outcomes. She is delighted to have the opportunity to serve with CACHE in its mission to advance climate solutions for a healthier future.

Dr. Jacobson Vann is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing. She also currently serves on the Carolina Sustainability Council, as the School of Nursing’s Sustainability Liaison, and as a member of the Southern Village Sustainability Committee. Dr. Jacobson Vann teaches courses focused on public health nursing, health care policy and leadership, health care financing, economics of health systems, human resource management, and evidence-based practice. She is passionate about health promotion and disease prevention, environmental health, and greening of health care. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Masters degree in Business with a focus on Health Care Management, and a PhD in Health Care Policy and Administration with a minor in Epidemiology. Dr. Jacobson Vann has 46 years of experience in health services that spans research and evaluation, academic teaching, health services and managed care administration, and delivery of public health and patient care services. Her primary research has focused on conducting Cochrane Collaboration systematic reviews of strategies aimed at increasing vaccination rates. She recently collaborated with a team of scientists in South Africa on a vaccination-related Cochrane Collaboration systematic literature review. She has worked extensively on evaluations of Medicaid chronic care management and health promotion initiatives and for a health policy research firm in Washington D.C., conducting evaluations of national demonstration programs and providing technical assistance to national programs.

David Singleton retired from Duke University after 33 years as Duke's in-house tax attorney on June 30, 2021. In anticipation of his retirement he joined the Eno River Association Board of Directors and continues today in that role. He served as the Eno's Treasurer until January 1, 2024 and now looks forward to that role for the CACHE board. David is married to Olivia Armour Singleton and they have three daughters. With Olivia, David operates two Airbnb units in Durham.

John Lohnes, PA-C, MHS, MEM (he/him) is a graduate of the Duke PA Program and holds a master's in environmental management from the Duke Nicholas School and a Certificate in Public Health from UNC-CH. Now retired from clinical practice in orthopedic surgery, he continues to serve at Duke as a part-time instructor in the PA program and on an advisory committee working to develop a decarbonization plan for the Duke Health System. He also coordinates the Duke REMEDY program, which recovers usable surplus medical supplies from the hospital for repurposing to global health projects. He is an active member of Carolina Advocates for Climate, Health & Equity (CACHE) and the Eno River Association and volunteers with the Duke State Medical Assistance Team to provide medical support for weather related and other disasters in NC.

Rachel (she/her) was born and raised in North Carolina and has recently returned after two quick decades away. During that time, Rachel served as Director of Bard College’s Globalization and International Affairs Program (BGIA) in New York City, and was an active community organizer in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Rachel spent many years in Barcelona, Spain, where she worked as an ESL teacher, translator, and managed a small business. She earned her master’s degree in International Relations from the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals during her time there. Rachel now resides in Durham with her spouse and their two young children, and she is passionately committed to promoting a more sustainable future for all.

Kelly is a public health professional who is passionate about advancing climate justice and health equity using community-based strategies. She has nearly a decade of work experience in sustainable infrastructure initiatives across both government and academic sectors and recently earned her Master's in Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In addition to serving as Grants Manager and Policy and Advocacy Co-Chair, she also works as a Research Assistant for the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. Kelly lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and loves to spend her free time outdoors going on hikes and bike rides, cooking new recipes, and hanging out with her fiancé and their dog, Rigby.