Climate change and health inspire transformative gift

Behind the Sandy-Hassmiller Climate & Health Initiative are Lewis G. Sandy, M.D. (1982) and Susan Hassmiller, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, whose decades of experience in leadership and public health inspired their investment in advancing knowledge in an area they are both passionate about. 

A shared sense of urgency

Hassmiller’s journey in climate and health began fifty years ago when she first joined the American Red Cross. Since then, she has assisted on the front lines of many national disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and witnessed the increasing frequency and impact of climate-related crises.

“I have seen with my own eyes and felt with my own heart the people who were devastated, displaced, and lost everything,” she says.

As her role with the Red Cross evolved, Hassmiller moved into policy and leadership positions and now serves as national chair of the Red Cross’s Community Adaptation Program, which helps communities become more resilient and better prepared for future storms.

As a physician and health systems leader, Sandy has seen the impact of climate change at the institutional level — including close to his North Carolina home, where Hurricane Helene caused power outages, blocked roads, and water system failures that brought chaos to local hospitals. 

“We have a challenging circumstance where it seems the impact of the changing climate on individuals, on health systems, and on communities is happening more quickly and at greater magnitude than even the climate researchers had forecast,” he says.

Building on a strong foundation

Sandy and Hassmiller’s partnership began over 30 years ago as colleagues at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. After both lost their first spouses, they reconnected, and three years ago they married. As they considered their shared philanthropic priorities, climate and health rose to the top.

“I think the genesis of wanting to do something in climate and health came from us exploring what was important in our lives,” says Sandy. “As we considered how our overall giving corresponded to what we care about, we realized we had a lot of passion and interest in this area but weren’t doing anything specific to climate and health. So we decided to close that gap.”

Hassmiller and Sandy already had strong ties to IHPI through their support of the Sandy-Hassmiller Early Career Health Services Research Awards, which help early-career faculty pursue new research addressing health care’s most pressing challenges. 

Eager to pursue a new climate and health initiative, Hassmiller and Sandy began discussions with John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., director of IHPI, and Hayley Wasser, associate director of development in Michigan Medicine’s Office of Development, late in 2024.

“We have a long history with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and we know how to develop programs,” says Hassmiller. “We started putting the pieces together. It had to be a nurse-doctor thing, it had to be a climate thing, it had to reach a lot of people, and it couldn’t just be the University of Michigan — we pushed for that. We wanted as much impact with this investment as possible.”

“Our IHPI team has been very impressed and motivated by the vision, passion, and commitment of Dr. Sandy and Dr. Hassmiller to develop this innovative partnership to catalyze and advance novel research and more effective policies focused on climate and health,” adds Ayanian. 

“From the beginning, it was very collaborative,” says Sandy. “We really appreciate the engagement and collaboration and the back-and-forth of bouncing ideas around.”

As a member of Michigan Medicine’s development team, Wasser made it a priority to align Sandy and Hassmiller’s goals and interests with the areas where they could make the greatest impact. 

“It’s incredibly inspiring to work alongside donors like Sue and Lew, whose vision is so deeply rooted in personal conviction and professional experience,” says Wasser. “Our role is to help bring their philanthropic goals to life, ensuring their generosity creates lasting impact in the climate and health space and meaningfully advances early-career researchers at Michigan and beyond.”

Building the future of climate and health research

In alignment with U-M’s Vision 2034 strategic focus on climate action, key components of the Sandy-Hassmiller Climate & Health Initiative include:

• Support for early-career researchers: A grant program, in partnership with the National Clinician Scholars Program, will support scholars at U-M and five other leading universities in this program: Duke University; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Francisco; the University of Pennsylvania; and Yale University. In addition to climate and health research funding, scholars will receive mentoring and training in communicating research findings and engaging with policymakers.
• U-M research funding: In partnership with the U-M Graham Sustainability Institute, IHPI will provide research grants to U-M faculty for projects that address climate and health challenges using action-oriented, interdisciplinary and partner-engaged approaches.
• Networking opportunities: IHPI participated in the inaugural U-M Climate Week to co-host a well-attended networking event on October 1st which connected sustainability and health researchers, and highlighted upcoming funding opportunities.

For Hassmiller and Sandy, supporting early-career researchers and helping them build professional connections — especially when the climate research funding landscape is challenging — is crucial.

“It’s not just about the research,” says Hassmiller. “It's about the hope and the inspiration and the resources and the connections. The connections are so important to us.”

“This is a pretty critical time for new investigators,” adds Sandy. “Early-career researchers need support and benefit from structure that helps them get solid footing and launch in a productive direction.”

By including scholars from leading institutions across the country, the Sandy-Hassmiller Climate & Health Initiative will help shape the next generation of climate and health leaders, ensuring they have the research and policy tools needed to better support people, communities, and health systems for decades to come.

To others interested in giving at the intersection of climate change and health care, Hassmiller and Sandy emphasize that all efforts, whether large or small, can make a meaningful impact. 

“There are so many facets to the issues of climate change and health,” says Sandy. “If you have a philanthropic interest, there are many opportunities to focus on at the local, regional, and national levels, including in population health. Pick the lane you are interested in and you will find an opportunity.” 

If you would like to learn how you can help IHPI address the most urgent challenges and exciting opportunities in health care today, please visit the IHPI giving page.

About the Look to Michigan campaign

This gift is part of the Look to Michigan fundraising campaign, which aims to create transformative answers to health care’s biggest challenges for the benefit of people in our state and beyond. Building on 175 years of leadership in medicine and as part of the University of Michigan’s Vision 2034 strategic framework for impact, we are breaking new ground in patient care, research, medical and graduate education, health equity, and health care facilities. Together, we can improve and save lives. For more information, visit michiganmedicine.org/giving/look-to-michigan.