Leo Goldsmith
Ph.D. Student, School of the Environment
Curriculum Vitae
MEM School of Environment, Yale University, 2020
B.A., Oberlin College, 2016
Leo is a doctoral student at the Yale School of the Environment where they study factors leading or contributing to disproportionate impacts of climate-related events on the health of LGBTQIA+ communities. Their academic background and practice in climate science, environmental justice, and LGBTQ+ health lays the foundation for conducting queer climate and health research.
Prior to joining the Bell research group in Fall 2023, Leo coordinated an interagency working group on climate and health, three chapters of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), and the Belmont Forum Climate, Environment, and Health Collaborative Research Action Round II. He is a sexual and gender minority health technical contributor for the Health chapter of NCA5. They have also previously worked with various environmental justice communities and organizations on environmental health disparities.
Outside of research, Leo collaborates with community organizations and federal agencies to communicate impacts of climate change on sexual and gender minority communities and volunteers as a Board member of OUT for Sustainability.
Selected Awards
1. Health Policy Research Scholar
2. 2023 Grist 50 Fixer
3. ICF Annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award
4. Environmental Justice and Health Initiative Student Research Fellow
5. Environmental Fellow
Select Publications
Goldsmith, L., & Bell, M. L. (2022). Queering Environmental Justice: Unequal Environmental Health Burden on the LGBTQ+ Community. American Journal of Public Health, 112(1), 79–87 https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306406
Goldsmith, L., Raditz, V., & Méndez, M. (2022). Queer and present danger: Understanding the disparate impacts of disasters on LGBTQ+ communities. Disasters, 46(4), 946–973. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12509