Igniting Hope Conference 2024

Hanaa A. Hamdi, Ph.D., is a system entrepreneur working to improve the health of people and communities. With more than two decades of research, practice and policy making, Dr. Hamdi has dedicated her career to advancing health equity among Black, Indigenous and other people of color, with a particular focus on women and children.

Most recently, Dr. Hamdi directed NJ Community Capital’s (NJCC) Health Impact Investment & Partnership Strategies Initiative, where she developed NJCC’s emerging community health investment and development strategies with regional and national health-focused partners, supporting the organization’s holistic approach to neighborhood revitalization. Hanaa is a board member of Children and Nature Network and investment committee member of Potlikker Capital Fund, a charitable loan fund dedicated to investing and advocating for BIPOC farmers.

Hanaa holds a joint Ph.D. in Public Health and Environmental Design from Rutgers University and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Areas of Interest: Food Systems, Public Health, and Community Development Finance.

Area of Engagement/Research: To examine strategies that can leverage blended financing (bank CRA, healthcare Community Benefit, and anchor strategies) to build economic resilience among

Center for Enviornmental Health (CEH) announced a new Chief Executive Officer, Kizzy Charles-Guzman, who has taken the helm at the national nonprofit organization. CEH protects people from toxic chemicals by working with communities, consumers, workers, government, and the private sector to demand and support business practices that are safe for public health and the environment.

Charles-Guzman has over 18 years of career service in policy and program development work at the intersection of environmental health, sustainability, and racial equity. She led the New York City (NYC) Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice and developed the country’s first strategy to mitigate the public health impacts of rising temperatures and heat waves.

A proud Brooklynite since immigrating to NYC as a young teen, Charles-Guzman started her career at WEACT for Environmental Justice, under the mentorship of Peggy Shepard, Cecil Corbin-Mark, and Dr. Bunyan Bryant. Charles-Guzman has advised three New York City Mayors in her career to make the city healthier and more resilient, successfully securing over $5 billion in investments to uplift historically redlined and underserved neighborhoods, and most recently releasing New York City’s Sustainability strategy–PlaNYC.