Dr. Wray is the founding Director of CIRCLE and a transdisciplinary researcher, science communicator, and author of the bestselling book Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety. Dr Wray holds a PhD in Science Communication from the University of Copenhagen, and completed her postdoctoral training at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, Woods Institute for the Environment, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health. Her program of research and public engagement focuses on climate distress in youth and frontline communities. For this work, she has been recognized with international honors including the 2023 top prize for Excellence in Science Communication from the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and Schmidt Futures, and the Canadian Eco-Hero Award.
Kyle McKinley, MPH, Program Manager
Kyle Lane-McKinley is a program manager in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences where he oversees special initiatives of the Chair. Prior to this, Kyle was a non-senate faculty member of the Arts and Associate Director of the Social Practice Arts Research Center at UC Santa Cruz. His scholarly and creative work focuses on the collective design of futures for socio-economic equity and intersectional-feminist values. In psychiatry, his research interests include clinical ethics, social belonging, and the social determinants of mental health. He holds a Master’s in Public Health from San José State University and a Master’s in Fine Arts from the University of California Santa Cruz.
Debra L Safer, MD, Clinical Advisor, Founding Member
Dr. Safer is an Associate Professor in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. She obtained her MD from U.C. San Francisco and completed her psychiatry residency as well as a postdoctoral fellowship here at Stanford. An experienced clinical researcher, she has specialized in the field of eating disorders and obesity, publishing numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and books. Over recent years, she has broadened her clinical focus by leveraging her understanding of human behavior to address the intersection of climate change. She has co-authored climate mental health related papers, book chapters, and presented her work at conferences. She is an active member of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance (e.g., Education, Advocacy & Outreach) and Climate Health Now.
Raziya Wang, MD, Clinical Advisor
Dr. Wang is an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. She completed her medical degree at NYU School of Medicine and her residency at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Wang previously worked as a clinician at the Counseling and Psychological Services at Stanford’s Vaden Health Center. She is also a former psychiatry residency Program Director and an experienced educator with expertise in public psychiatry. Since leaving her role as Program Director, Dr. Wang was inspired by her younger daughter’s climate anxiety to shift her focus to the impact of climate change on mental health. Dr. Wang has published papers at the intersection of climate change and health, served as an expert reviewer for the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, created climate mental health curricula for medical students and residents, and speaks nationally on these topics.
Adrienne Heinz, Ph.D., Clinical Advisor
Adrienne Heinz, Ph.D. is a clinical research psychologist at the VA National Center for PTSD, Public Digital Health Innovation Program and Stanford University. Dr. Heinz’s family and community in Healdsburg, California, have been repeatedly impacted by wildfire disasters and she works to increase awareness of the intersections of climate change, disaster, and mental health. In her role, she creates free, science-based mental health apps to address posttraumatic stress and related struggles and her program of research on trauma and resilience has helped inform recovery efforts in other disaster-affected communities. Dr. Heinz also serves as a consultant advising on cultivation of public-private partnerships to expedite innovation and expand access to mental healthcare for trauma-impacted communities. Currently, Dr. Heinz, is a National Science Foundation GeoCafe Scholar which is a fellowship that connects health researchers with geological scientists to accelerate research and discovery on climate change and health.
