Meet our keynote speakers
Dr Chantelle Rizan:
Dr Rizan was appointed as Clinical Lecturer in Sustainable Healthcare at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in 2022, following her PhD evaluating ways to mitigate the carbon footprint of products used in the operating theatre.
Dr Rizan seeks to translate her research into practice and policy, and is an academic advisor for a national report on Greener Surgery in collaboration with UK Health and Climate Change Alliance. Key achievements include receiving the Hillary International Health and Care Leadership Award (2022), and the Adam Weiler Doctoral Impact Award (2021) for outstanding academic impact.
Dr Teddie Potter:
Dr Potter is deeply committed to climate change education including co-founding Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, membership in the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and membership on the American Academy of Nursing Environment and Public Health Expert Panel. She is a member of the Coordinating Committee of Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education and a Fellow in the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. She chairs Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Planetary Health Alliance at Harvard.
At the University of Minnesota, Dr Potter designed and co-teaches an interdisciplinary course titled “The Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change”. In addition, she co-leads a Health Sciences initiative titled, “Climate Change and Health: An Interprofessional Response”. In 2019, Dr Potter was appointed the first Director of Planetary Health for the School of Nursing.
In addition, Dr Potter is Executive Editor for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies; a peer-reviewed, open-access, online journal promoting interdisciplinary collaboration as a solution for solving society’s grand challenges.
Dr Rengaraj Venkatesh:
Dr Venkatesh began his career as Medical officer in General Ophthalmology department at Aravind eye hospital, Madurai and later moved to Glaucoma department. At present he is the Chief Medical Officer of Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry.
Dr Venkatesh graduated in medicine with a gold medal in Ophthalmology from Annamalai University and DO & D.N.B from Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai. In 2000, he completed Basic and clinical science assessment from International council of Ophthalmology.
Dr Venkatesh’s video on High-Volume, High-Quality, Cost-Effective Cataract Surgery for the Developing World: Sutureless ECCE bagged the Best of Show Award in the AAO, 2004 at New Orleans. He has also been awarded the ASCRS Research Grant in the year 2006. Twelve of his presentations have won awards at prestigious forums, including the conference of American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS).