About Us

Program Manager

Julia Ryder  2023 – Present
B.A, RN, BSN, MPH
Bozeman, Montana  |Julia.ryder@montanahphc.org
Julia is our Program Manager, having previously created educational materials
tailored for healthcare workers in Montana, and interning under us as part of her MPH from the University of Montana. She brings over 14 years of experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the Emergency Department at Bozeman Health. A happy mother to a young daughter, and an enthusiastic lover of horses and spending time in the mountains. She completed her Master of Public Health (MPH) at the
University of Montana, with a focus on integrating human health with the natural
environment. Julia also holds a Bachelor of Science from Southern Utah University and earned a certificate in Emergency Medicine and Environmental Health in 2015​.

Social Media

Livia Cole 2025-Present
BSN
Billings, Montana 
 Livia is the new Social Media Coordinator, with a background in nursing, environmental advocacy, and outdoor education. She grew up near Boston, where she observed climate change through rising tides, frequent coastal flooding, wildfire smoke on the East Coast, and trash on local beaches. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Montana State University. She holds positions as President of the Student Forum and Treasurer of the Montana Student Nurses Association. In the winter, she works as a ski instructor and participates in mountain biking and running during warmer months. Outside of her hospital work, she spends time in the mountains. Her professional interests include wilderness medicine, and she plans to incorporate it into her nursing career and environmental protection efforts.

Writing Intern

Haley Yarborough 2025-Present
B.A. Journalism, B.A. Biology, Environmental Studies Graduate Candidate, 
Society of Professional Journalism 
Missoula, Montana
Haley Yarborough is an environmental writer, journalist, and instructor based in Missoula, Montana. She is a graduate student in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, where she also teaches College Writing. Her work focuses on the intersections of ecology, public health, climate, and storytelling, with an emphasis on making complex environmental issues accessible to broad audiences. Haley has reported on climate and health issues across Montana and brings a background in journalism and biology to her writing and research. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and baking cookies. 

School Outreach

Madisan Chavez 2026- Present
B.S., M.S.
Box Elder, Montana  

​Madisan Chavez grew up on the Crow reservation. She is Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Lakota Sioux, and Mexican. She earned her bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from MSU-Billings with a minor in Earth Science. And recently got her Master of Science at MSU-Bozeman. Her master’s research focused on a culturally significant spring and its quality. She is committed to giving back to her community. Her interest is in water quality, and she looks forward to sharing information on the changing climate. She also competes collegiately in triathlons for the MSU-Bozeman triathlon club.
She works with teachers to accept our free book/curriculum program: Environmental Health in a Box.

Chair

Lori G Byron 2019- Present
MD, MS, FAAP
​Red Lodge, Montana l lori.byron@montanahphc.org  ​
 Lori G. Byron, MD, practiced pediatrics for 27 years on the Crow Indian Reservation. Now retired from the Indian Health Service, she continues to work as a Pediatric Hospitalist in a private hospital and works largely on environmental issues. She and her husband, Robert Byron, work through several organizations to advocate for climate action. She co-leads the Citizens’ Climate Lobby Health Team with Robert. She recently served on the EPA’s Children’s Health Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee of the Environmental Health Council at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). She organizes a group of pediatrician climate advocates representing every AAP Chapter.  She is an instructor on Climate and Health at Johns Hopkins.  She earned an MS in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins in 2020. She is an avid bicyclist, gardener, and cook.

Vice-Chair

Elizabeth Schenk​ 2019 – Present
PhD, MHI, RN-BC, FAAN
Missoula, Montana, l elizabeth.schenk@montanahphc.org
Beth Schenk serves as the Chief Environmental Stewardship Officer for Providence, one of the nation’s largest non-profit health systems.  Providence is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution, building resiliency in its facilities and the communities they serve, and using its voice in leadership, advocacy, and education to support efforts in the seven states Providence serves and across the nation. Beth is an assistant research professor at Washington State University College of Nursing. She led the development of CHANT: Climate and Health Tool, which measures health professionals’ awareness and engagement with climate change and health, now translated into a dozen languages and used in over 50 nations.  She is active at national, state, and local levels, serving on the American Academy of Nursing’s Expert Panel on Public and Environmental Health, the boards of Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, and Climate Smart Missoula. She hosts the Nurses for Healthy Environments Podcast, now in its eighth season. 
She is driven by her personal passion to conserve our natural world while building better health. She celebrates the joy of living in Montana with her family, friends, and pets – hiking, gardening, knitting, and playing music.

Vice Chair

Treasurer

Robert Byron​  2019 – Present
MD, MPH, FACP. 
​​Hardin, Montana l robert.byron@montanahphc.org
​Dr. Robert Byron is an internist who has practiced for over two decades on the Crow Indian Reservation. A founding member of the Bighorn Valley Health Center, a federally qualified health center in eastern Montana, he is also a former governor for the Montana Chapter of the American College of Physicians. Rob co-chairs the Citizens Climate Lobby Health Team and is on the executive committee of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. He is an instructor on Climate and Health at Johns Hopkins. He is a strong advocate for addressing climate change, with an emphasis on public health and environmental justice.

Anita Lowe Taylor 2022 – Present
​​MD 
Helena, Montana | anita.taylor@montanahphc.org
Anita Lowe Taylor, MD, is a dedicated full-time physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation based in Helena, MT. She actively contributes to the Public Policy Committee of the Association of Academic Physiatrists, where she focuses on integrating climate change considerations into policy advocacy for individuals with disabilities. Additionally, she is a member of the communications committee for the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. In her leisure time, Dr. Taylor enjoys hiking, backpacking, skiing, painting, and caring for her three rescue cats.

Allison Young 2022 – Present
MD, FAAP
​Missoula, Montana | allison.young@montanahphc.org
Allison Young, MD, is a primary care pediatrician with the Western Montana Clinic in Missoula, MT. She has been active in the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics since moving to Montana in 2010 and currently serves on the Executive Committee as a Member At Large and the Climate Subcommittee. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar from 2018 to 2021, focusing on collaborative uses of telemedicine to improve access to pediatric care in rural Montana. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a degree in Medical Anthropology in 2000, then returned to Harvard for medical school before moving West to complete her residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She is passionate about health equity and is shifting her focus toward understanding and addressing the health impacts of climate change.  In her free time, she enjoys playing in the mountains with her husband and daughter – on foot, by bike, or on skis.

Hayley Blackburn 2021 – Present
PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM
Missoula, Montana | hayley.blackburn@montanahphc.org
Dr. Hayley Blackburn is a clinical pharmacist and Assistant Professor at the University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy within the University of Montana College of Health. She instructs students in pharmacy and other health professions through interprofessional didactic coursework and experiential learning, including global health and planetary health experiences. She also directs a postgraduate fellowship program that trains early-career pharmacists in providing pharmacy care in rural Montana. Dr. Blackburn focuses on health professions education and multidisciplinary approaches to training and healthcare innovation, particularly at the intersection of climate change and human health in Montana. Additionally, she is a co-founder of Rx for Climate, an international web-based network that promotes climate-smart pharmacy practices. She contributes to international efforts to promote sustainability in pharmacy, collaborating with the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education.

Nyla Chandler,  2025 – Present
​MSN, FNP,  APRN
Bozeman, ,Montana l 
Nyla Chandler is working in Bozeman, Montana, as a nurse practitioner.  She has provided health care since 1986. Initially serving as an RN at St Patrick’s hospital, then Bozeman Deaconess hospital in acute care, then as a women’s health nurse practitioner for 22 years at a family planning clinic, she has been aware that climate issues affect vulnerable populations- and then all populations. Since 2014, after she became certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner, she has mostly been working in primary care and urgent care in the Gallatin Valley. 
Nyla was born and raised in Bozeman and grew up skiing and hiking.  She, her husband, and her dog enjoy the mountains and trails in the western United States and Canada. She is passionate about environmental health and the preservation of wildlife and human habitats. She also enjoys cooking, playing music, and reading.
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