Mission & Vision
The mission of the Cancer and Environment Network of Southwestern Pennsylvania is to empower the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania with the scientific knowledge and collaborative tools needed to take action against environmental cancer risks and advance health equity.
Our vision is a future where people in Southwestern Pennsylvania are not exposed to toxic chemicals that contribute to cancer.
While our work is rooted in addressing cancer, we do not approach it as a single-disease initiative. Cancer is a powerful and personal lens through which communities, policymakers, and decision-makers recognize the need for safer, healthier environments. Nearly everyone has been impacted by cancer—making it a galvanizing issue that drives cross-sector commitment to reducing toxic exposures in our homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods.
In the next five years, our network will take bold, collective action to dramatically and equitably reduce environmental threats that contribute to cancer and advance safe and healthy alternatives for all. We continue to work toward this goal by building a cross-sector movement grounded in science, community action, and health equity. We serve as a hub for our 50+ member organizations, bridging the gap between scientific research and community-led solutions. We are committed to addressing the racial disparities in exposure to toxics and cancer rates. By facilitating collaborative partnerships and translating complex research into accessible resources, we empower communities disproportionately impacted by pollution to advocate for change, hold industries accountable, and build a safe and thriving local economy.
In June 2020, Network participants came together to develop this vision. Our Network underwent a strategic planning process in 2023 where we updated our vision to align with changes in environmental cancer prevention. For more about our motivations, commitments, and practices and principles for working together, see the Network’s Purpose and Principles.
Network Members
Network members are scientists and survivors. We are changemakers and caretakers. We are leaders in communities, in healthcare and business, philanthropy and advocacy, representing organizations across sectors. We are affected – and motivated – by the ravages of cancer in our region. We are grounded in science, rooted in the principles of healing and justice, committed to prevention, and focused on the reduction of chemicals in our air, water, food, homes, workplaces, and products.
Leadership
The Network is convened and stewarded by a diverse group of local and national leaders in the fields of environmental health and cancer prevention.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dani Wilson
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Andre Green
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
The following people currently serve as the Network’s Leadership Council.
Jason Beery, Director of Applied Research, UrbanKind
Stephanie Ciranni, Executive Director, Cancer Bridges
Lou Tierno, Director of Pennsylvania Sustainable Business Network, American Sustainable Business Network
Meghan Tipre, Biobehavioral Cancer Control Investigator, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Matt Mehalik, Executive Director, Breathe Project
Talor Musil, Field Manager, Environmental Health Project
Jess Friss, Director of Community Programs, Three Rivers Waterkeeper
Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, Executive Director, Women for a Healthy Environment
Lyn Robertson, Retired, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Olivia Benson, Chief Operating Officer, The Forbes Fund
SENIOR ADVISOR
Molly Jacobs, University of Massachusetts’ Lowell Center for Sustainable Production
Hubs & Action Pods
Our three Hubs are stable, permanent sources of expertise that provide ongoing strategic insights to the entire Network. Their purpose is to inspire and enable action. Hubs meet three time per year to share progress, expand learning, provide guidance, and collaborate on synergistic activities. These Hubs are Government; Science; Healing & Justice.
Interested in joining a Hub? Fill out our membership form and select a Hub that algins with your interests!
Government Hub
The Government Hub provides strategic policy guidance, tracks legislation, and advises on points of leverage. This Hub seeks to increase our region’s capacity to influence policy by uplifting existing initiatives of organizations participating in the Network. There is also a focus on all facets of government and ways in which we can influence them.
Science Hub
The Science Hub operates as the network’s knowledge base. Its role is to gather, analyze, and disseminate critical scientific information. This Hub also provides high-level research that has the potential to fill crucial gaps in knowledge needed to reduce environmental carcinogens, promote safer alternatives, and catalyze systemic change towards healthy environments.
Healing & Justice Hub
The Healing & Justice Hub provides a principled foundation for the Network to operate from. This Hub provides guidance on how to equitably integrate the principles of healing and justice into all outcome-based work in the Network, ensuring our work is grounded in equity, community voice, and a trauma-informed approach. This Hub also elevates ways we can collectively acknowledge and break down barriers of oppression and harm.
Action Pods — Where Meaningful Action Occurs
Our emergent Action Pods are temporary, self-organizing groups formed organically around a specific, time-limited goal (e.g., drafting a press release, organizing an event, or responding to a community crisis). They are the primary engine of network output and exist to allow the Network to react to sensitive community needs in real time.
Action Pods infuse collective action throughout the entire Network and are born through a collaborative process. Network members are encouraged to pitch new, innovative ideas in which the Network can organize around. After the initial pitch, a collective dialogue takes place and if there is energy among our members to work on the proposed project, it is officially adopted as a new Action Pod.
Become a member today to stay abreast on current Action Pods!
Participating Organizations
Individuals affiliated with the following organizations have participated in the Network, many as active members and some as participants at our All Member Meetings or other Network activities.
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- 412 Justice
- Allegheny County Clean Air Now
- Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office
- Allegheny County Health Department
- American Association of Radon Scientists and Technicians (PA Chapter)
- American Lung Association (Pennsylvania)
- Awaken Pittsburgh
- BlueLens
- Breathe Project
- Cancer Bridges
- Cancer Caring Center
- Cancer Free Economy Network
- Cancer Community Club
- Carnegie Mellon University CREATE Lab
- Chatham University, School of Health Sciences
- Children’s Environmental Health Network
- Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction (CR3)
- Clean Air Task Force
- Crytzer Communication
- Environmental Health News
- Environmental Health Project
- Environmental Integrity Project
- Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services
- The Forbes Funds
- Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Grassroots Town Halls Group
- Green Building Alliance
- Grounded Strategies
- Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP)
- Healthy Building Network
- The Heinz Endowments
- Homewood Children’s Village
- Institute for Conservation Leadership
- Institute for Sustainable Communities
- Leukemia Lymphoma Society
- Oncology Advocates United for Climate and Health
- PennEnvironment
- PennPIRG
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light
- Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) Pennsylvania
- The Pittsburgh Foundation
- Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory
- Protect PT
- Radon Detection and Control
- Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh
- Science Communication Network
- Silent Spring Institute
- Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh
- Sustainable Pittsburgh
- SWPA Municipal Project Hub
- SWPA Water Network
- Tree Pittsburgh
- University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Sustainable Production
- University Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
- University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Practice, Research, Law and Policy
- University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Center for Healthy Environments and Communities
- University of Pittsburgh, Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center (MAR-PHTC)
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- UrbanKind Institute
- Women for a Healthy Environment
- Young Adult Survivors United
Last updated: December 2025
History
In 2019, the Lowell Center convened a Symposium on Cancer and Environment at the Phipps Center that brought together 130 people from an array of sectors to share information and perspectives on the twin problems of elevated rates of cancer and high exposures to environmental chemicals in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Organizers and participants included national and regional leaders: cancer-focused researchers and organizations providing support to people with cancer; community-based organizations; public health experts; environmental scientists and advocates; funders and others. The meeting was a milestone in a process of building relationships among people who are not frequently at the same table, and it spurred interest by many participants in ongoing work together. The Cancer and Environment Network of Southwestern Pennsylvania was launched soon after the symposium to provide a structure for ongoing collaboration.
Today, the Network is thriving, with staff and volunteer leaders collaborating on a series of projects for the purpose of elevating attention to environmental contributors to cancer and advancing solutions. Inspiration for the place-based Network came from the national Cancer Free Economy Network; the two efforts benefit from one another with exchange of expertise, resources and learnings.