Meet Kutemwa Ogbu: Leading Climate and Health Conversations in South Texas
To start, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Kutemwa Ogbu, and I am a health researcher and advocate based in Corpus Christi, Texas. My dedication to public health is shaped by my lived experience as an immunocompromised Black woman, aspiring health professional, and my firsthand observation of global health inequity. I have served at the eco-feminist non-profit Hedonisa Hawaii, Future Healers of the Coastal Bend, a community organization I lead alongside my sister, Chidinma Ogbu, to bring STEM education to students in South Texas, and as of 2024, the Veterans Memorial Red Cross Club, the first of its kind in the Coastal Bend region. My time leading our Red Cross Club has led me to explore the environmental factors and their health outcomes. I became interested in educating my community and others about the relationship between climate and health. As a Climate for Health Ambassador, my passion for exploring the community health impacts of climate change has only grown. The more I learn, the more driven I am to educate my community and work to mitigate those impacts.
Can you walk us through the action you led?
I introduced the Veterans Memorial Red Cross Club to Climate for Health at our February meeting. With resources from the ecoAmerica network, I adapted a presentation on the health impacts of climate change in our Corpus Christi community, including how marginalized groups are disproportionately harmed. To close, we invited our club of 90 students to become Climate for Health Ambassadors. Students also created Heat Response Plans in groups which we plan to implement campus-wide with support from administration.
What stood out to you about the students’ reactions and participation?
While many students understood the causes of climate change, they were surprised by the healthcare industry’s emissions. I myself was surprised to find that in saving lives without sustainability in mind, we create more health issues in our communities. I think for a large proportion of our students who plan to enter healthcare, there was definitely a switch going off that signaled, “This is something imminent.” When we continued our activity to create our heat response, students kept these thoughts in mind and it allowed them to be creative in building a sustainable heat response plan.
How are you continuing to engage this group of students on climate and health after the initial presentation?
After our heat response plan is ratified we will continue our learning about how to deal with extreme heat, an issue particularly relevant due to our location (Texas summers, whew). To do this we will administer the extreme heat training to our students at our next meeting.
Looking ahead, do you see opportunities to expand this work?
We will continue to recruit students to become Climate for Health Ambassadors and aim to expand learning beyond our club. I would also like to connect with other community members, teachers especially, to see how the learning of climate’s health impacts can be included in curricular learning. Additionally, outside of our organization, I am applying my computer science background to engineer approaches to water conservation in my community and LDCs (Least Developed Countries).
For someone who feels concerned about climate change but is unsure where to begin, what advice would you offer?
I think a lot of people will tell you to start small but my advice is to start big. Whatever climate issue you feel your skills or experience are most equipped to, address it in your own way and create momentum so your impact lasts. A great start would be becoming a Climate for Health Ambassador, seeing where your passions take you. There’s no limit to what you can do when you’re intentional.
About the Author
Kutemwa Ogbu, Climate for Health Ambassador and Health Researcher
Additional Resources
Register to Watch: American Climate Leadership Awards 2026
Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report 2023