Elena Austin
PNASH Center Director and Associate Professor
Elena Austin has a background in exposure assessment and epidemiology and as well as strong statistical skills. One of her main research interests is developing methods and strategies for collecting and analyzing complex multipollutant exposure data. Her doctoral thesis focused on the development…
Marissa Baker
Associate Professor
Marissa Baker is passionate about improving health and safety for vulnerable and underrepresented workers. With a background in industrial hygiene, she brings hands-on expertise in workplace exposure assessment and a growing focus on worker stress and mental health. Marissa is dedicated to making…
Maria Blancas
Clinical Assistant Professor
Maria Blancas recently earned a PhD from the University of Washington in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and completed her MPH degree in the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice program. She received the prestigious Bullitt Environmental Prize for her dissertation work that…
Diana Ceballos
Assistant Professor
Diana Ceballos is passionate about closing the gap on health disparities. She works to uncover environmental factors — from emerging tech-related hazards to longstanding risks — that affect vulnerable communities, including workers in small businesses, minorities, and workers in developing…
Allen Chan
PhD Candidate, Graduate Research Assistant
Allen Chan's research focuses on improving health and safety in the commercial fishing industry by understanding the well-being needs and concerns of commercial fishermen and identifying solutions that may address them. Most recently, he helped with the banger bar study and contributed an…
Allison Clonch
PhD Candidate, Graduate Research Assistant
Ally Clonch is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. In 2019, she earned her Master of Public Health and Master of City Planning from the University North Carolina - Chapel Hill in 2019. While at UW, Allison became a…
Alan Davis
PNASH Scientific Advisor
Alan Davis, CSP, OEC, brings over three decades of experience in occupational safety and health across diverse industries, including manufacturing, maritime, healthcare, and higher education in addition to his experience in agriculture, forestry, and emergency services. Alan's commitment to safety…
Autumn Dennistoun
Clinical Instructor
Dr. Autumn Dennistoun, DNP, RN is a registered nurse whose work focuses on understanding how systemic and upstream factors shape health outcomes in working populations. Her interest in population health and health equity deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she witnessed persistent…
Dennise Drury
Outreach and Education Specialist
Dennise Drury is a bicultural and bilingual Latina from Texas. She has a background in environmental science and a passion for increasing the inclusivity and accessibility of science and research for Latino communities. In her current role, she works in collaboration with researchers, community…
Jody Early
Professor
Jody Early is passionate about understanding how social, cultural, and systemic factors shape health and drive disparities. Rooted in community-based participatory research, she partners with communities to design culturally responsive programs and has spent 30 years tackling a wide range of issues…
Richard Fenske
In Memoriam Co-founder of PNASH, Associate DEOHS Chair and Professor Emeritus
Richard Fenske, MPH, PhD, was no ordinary industrial hygienist. Neither was the focus of his career ordinary. His choice of scientific pursuits was grounded in his extensive background in philosophy, theology, and the spiritual humanitarianism that animated his life and work. He focused on how to…
Sarah Fish
Graphic Designer
Sarah Fish creates eye-catching visuals for PNASH Center communications. As an experienced graphic designer, illustrator, and photographer, Sarah enjoys developing different types of graphics for print and web. These include logos, brochures, fact sheets, posters, event materials, and photography.…
John Flunker
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Flunker is an environmental and occupational epidemiologist specializing in exposure assessment, exposure-outcome modeling, and working with vulnerable populations. In partnership with industry and community stakeholders and through collaborations with multi-disciplinary research teams, he has…
John Garland
Professor Emeritus, Affiliate Professor
John Garland is a trailblazer in timber harvesting and forestry safety. As Oregon State University’s Timber Harvesting Extension Specialist, he drove research, introduced new technologies, and created educational programs that shaped Oregon’s forestry industry. He continues that work today as a…
Marcy Harrington
Research Coordinator, Evaluation Lead
Marcy Harrington is a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) Center based at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Ms. Harrington holds a B.S. in Forestry and Masters in Public Affairs and brings her passion for forestry and rural…
Catherine Jennifer
Master of Science Student
Catherine Jennifer is looking into the differences between pesticide use in California and in Washington state, comparing rural vs. urban usage. They will map out each county's pesticide use estimates data using two different methods, via GIS. The hope is that the comparison…
Edward Kasner
Assistant Teaching Professor
Eddie Kasner is an exposure scientist with a focus on leveraging the tools of precision agriculture to prevent injury and illness among workers. See his DEOHS faculty profile for more details.
Robert Keefe
Associate Professor and Director
Robert Keefe is an Associate Professor of Forest Operations and Director of the University of Idaho Experimental Forest, where he’s passionate about pushing the boundaries of operational forestry through innovative research. He partners closely with students to manage and steward over 8,000 acres…
Laurel Kincl
Professor
Laurel Kincl is passionate about protecting workers from the occupational health and safety hazards they face every day. Her research focuses on understanding and reducing occupational exposures. She leads or co-leads several NIH and CDC-funded projects spanning some of the most demanding…
Judy Lysiak
Program Coordinator
Judy Lysiak brings over 35 years of office administration to her role supporting the PNASH Center. That background shaped her belief that workplace health and safety is fundamental to worker well-being — and drives her commitment to advancing research and resources that protect workers across the…
Makenzie Melby
Master of Science in Animal Science (2024)
Makenzie Melby's research looks at cow and human behavior to see whether a cow being unhealthy makes them more or less safe to handle; in other words, if interactions with unhealthy cows are more likely to lead to injury to the handler. The goal is to use results to help inform workers …
Paulina Osinska
PNASH Program Manager
Paulina Osinska is manager of the PNASH Center. Paulina has a background in public health and research in areas such as violence prevention, perinatal health, and patient safety. She most recently managed a national center on improving communication with patients after medical injury, collaborating…
Nede Ovbiebo
Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts (2024)
Nede Ovbiebo's research, focused on pesticide spray tech, involved survey and analysis of attitudes surrounding emerging tech. This research will aid in the future adoption of new tech making agricultural work safer for tree-fruit farm workers, plus contributing to long…
Pablo Palmández
Agricultural Research and Safety Extensionist
Pablo Palmández has been an Agricultural Research and Safety Extensionist with the PNASH Center since 2007. Mr. Palmández works within the farm community, linking farmers and farmworkers with PNASH’s expertise in agricultural research and safety. Mr. Palmández grew up in a rural…
Grace Price
Master of Science Student
Grace Price works with the Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program. She is focused on safety outreach and education for commercial fishing populations, encouraging use of personal floatation devices (PFD). Ms. Price believes a community-driven culture of safety helps normalize PFD…
Vickie Ramirez
Senior Research Coordinator & Center Manager UW Center for One Health Research
Vickie Ramirez is a medical anthropologist and Sr. Research Coordinator/Center Manager at the Center for One Health Research at the University of Washington. She participates in local and global research in zoonotic disease transmission and surveillance, including data collection in COVID-19…
Jorge Rivera-Gonzalez
PhD Candidate, Graduate Research Assistant
Mr. Rivera-Gonzalez's current work is focused on assessing the gut and nasal microbial communities of the Healthy Dairy Worker cohort, composed of individuals in the Yakima Valley. Although the work is ongoing, he will soon explore occupational exposures within the dairy…
Yoni Rodriguez
Research Scientist
Yoni Rodriguez is a research scientist in environmental public health with a B.S. in Biochemistry and an M.S. in Exposure Science. He specializes in protecting human health by translating environmental measurements into actionable risk assessments. His work sits at the intersection of Exposure…
Diane Rohlman, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Rural Safety and Health, Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa
Coralynn Sack
Associate Professor
Coralynn Sack joined the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the Department of Medicine in 2018. She is a physician-scientist with clinical and research expertise in environmental and occupational lung disease. She received her MD from the University of…
Christopher D. Simpson
PNASH Center Deputy Director and Professor
Chris Simpson research interests involve the application of analytical chemistry to the development of techniques for assessment of exposure to toxic chemicals, and the subsequent application of those techniques to investigate occupational and environmental exposures. He is particularly…
Maria Tchong-French
Research Scientist
Maria Tchong-French is a research scientist with the University of Washington since 2004. She has been involved in exposure assessment in multiple projects ranging from pesticide exposure in agriculture, solvent exposure in automotive shops, and air quality in schools. She feels strongly about…
Elizabeth Torres
Research Coordinator
Elizabeth is a public health professional based in the Yakima Valley with more than fifteen years’ experience working with the low income and farmworker communities. For the last nine years, she has been the Research Project Coordinator for El Proyecto Bienestar (EPB) and a member of the PNASH…
Eloise Zimbelman, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Eloise earned her PhD in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences at the University of Idaho. Her doctoral research now continues with PNASH on the use of emerging technologies to increase the safety and efficiency of forestry and natural resource professionals. Her…