CPR Initiative Board Secretary
General & Forensic Psychiatrist
Dr. Lise Van Susteren is a practicing general and forensic psychiatrist in Washington, DC, and an expert on the physical and mental health effects of climate disruption. Lise has served on the Advisory Board of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and is co-founder of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance.
Lise is a frequent contributor on television, radio and in the print media. In 2006 she sought the Democratic nomination for the US Senate from Maryland. She is currently on the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Earth Day Network, and is co-founder of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, a professional group dedicated to promoting awareness and action on climate from a mental health perspective.
In 2009 she co-convened the first gathering of experts on climate disruption and national security, communication and messaging, animal and plant extinction, community organizing, and disaster psychiatry to discuss the unfolding crisis and its future impacts on the mental health of the public. In 2011 she co-authored The Psychological Effects of Climate Warming on the U.S. – Why the US Mental Health System Is Not Prepared. Lise’s book, Emotional Inflammation, co-authored with science writer Stacy Colino, was released in April 2020. Lise lives in Bethesda, Maryland.