NYSCHECK Summer Academy 2026

Overview

The NYSCHECK Summer Academy is a free, 8-week, part-time virtual training program designed for blended levels of students to engage in creative and critical thinking to BE the CHANGE in children’s environmental health and justice. This course is an opportunity for high school, college, graduate, and medical school students to develop the necessary skillset to become the next generation of environmental health leaders.

This Summer Academy allows students to develop a strong foundation in the health implications of climate change and other environmental exposures through an innovative curriculum unique to this program. Students will collaborate in teams across sites and educational backgrounds on advocacy projects tied to clinical pathways of environmental exposures.

Join us to learn about environmental health and work with a team to develop your own advocacy skills and BE the CHANGE for the future.

Using the pedagogy of self-directed learning and a team-based approach, students will:

• Learn about the fundamentals of environmental and public health.
• Learn how to use publicly available data to advocate for better protections for environmental justice and other vulnerable communities.
• Learn best practices to communicate complex environmental health topics and risks to diverse stakeholders (e.g. legislators, patients, youth, frontline communities, clinicians etc).
• Work in teams to design innovative advocacy projects with a focus on climate change and health.
• Learn how to apply environmental health advocacy to the generation of scholarly products.
• Understand the importance of interprofessional teamwork and academic-community partnerships.
• Explore potential career paths in environmental and public health through engagement with health professionals and community advocates from across New York State.

Program Requirements

The 2026 Summer Academy will be held June 1 – July 22, 2026.

Students will: 

• Attend two interactive Zoom sessions per week consisting of: 
  • Interactive discussion of key topics in environmental health
  • Small-group climate and health advocacy project updates
  • Team-building exercises. 
• Participate in weekly small group virtual sessions (Monday and Wednesday) and independent work focused on advocacy projects related to climate change and health. 
• Complete weekly self-guided, self-assessed reading and assignments designed to supplement didactic training and increase engagement and interaction between students and faculty.

Summer Academy Course Directors: