Dr. Jessica (Jex) Huang

Dr. Jessica (Jex) Huang is currently working as a consultant with the Health, Climate, Environment, and Disasters (HCED) program at the World Bank, as well as a public health curricula developer and educator with learning institutions across Southeast Asia and the United States. Their area of focus is on the health impacts of climate change (including climate-sensitive diseases, such as vector-borne and water-borne illness), particularly in humanitarian contexts. Previously, Jex served as an instructor on sustainable development with D-Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and also co-founded a social enterprise called Zimba Water, which provided affordable water treatment systems to thousands of households in rural communities, informal urban settlements, and refugee settlements. Trained as an environmental engineer specializing in water and sanitation, they obtained a Doctor of Public Health degree at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University as well as a Master’s degree in Learning, Design and Technology with the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Jex has run educational programs for many diverse institutions, ranging from UNICEF Innovation to the Rhode Island School of Design, and likes to spend their free time volunteering with non-profit organizations, including Rosie’s Place (first women’s shelter in the United States), Partners for Youth with Disabilities, Climate Reality Leadership Corps, Refugee Health Alliance, and Refugee Council USA.