What PEHSU Does

Boy flying kite in field

Healthy Environments for All Children

The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) was created in 1998 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and has had longstanding support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Public Health Institute serves as the PEHSU National Program Office (NPO) with advisory support from the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC).  

How Does PEHSU Work to Address Environmental Health?

The PEHSU work together to address any reproductive and children’s environmental health issue that affects families and communities including safer disinfectant use; exposures to wildfire smoke, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), lead, pesticides, and mold; and many more. To better address these issues, PEHSU work with health professionals, parents, schools, community groups, federal, state, and local government agencies, and others.

What Services Does PEHSU Provide?

PEHSU provides education for health professionals, outreach to and education for communities, consultations on environmental exposures, referrals for evaluation and necessary services, and development of partnerships that promote and support the PEHSU mission. These services are essential to reduce risk of environmental exposures to children and families and mitigate potential health effects before they happen.

Which PEHSU Should I Contact?

Visit our Regions page to find your PEHSU by phone or by email. Note: PEHSUs do not provide clinical services. To contact the PEHSU National Program Office, email pehsunpo@phi.org.  

Our PEHSU National Program Office Team

The Public Health Institute serves as the PEHSU National Program Office (NPO) with advisory support from the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics. The PEHSU NPO supports a network of ten regional PEHSUs across the nation, whose vision is to create healthy environments for all children. 

Christine Caraballo

Christine Caraballo

PEHSU National Program Office Deputy Director

Kathy Fagan, MD

Kathy Fagan, MD

PEHSU National Program Office Co-Director

Catherine Marquez

Catherine Marquez

PEHSU National Program Office Finance Manager

Mike Sage, MPH

Mike Sage, MPH

PEHSU National Program Office Co-Director

Whitney Sterten-Hall

Whitney Sterten-Hall

PEHSU National Program Office Communications Lead

Christine Caraballo

Christine Caraballo

PEHSU National Program Office Deputy Director

Deputy Director for the PEHSU National Program Office. With over 20 years of experience at PHI, Christine Caraballo is a seasoned professional supporting non-profit, federally funded health programs. Combining a knack for systems thinking and process improvement, she has a track record for managing efficient, high-performance teams. Christine spent the past six years managing the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program, building out a staff team, supporting over 200 fellows in the field, and building relationships with CDC mentors. Prior to the fellowship, Christine worked on a USAID funded program for global health fellows. She is skilled in work planning, project management, vendor management, recruitment, outreach, and collaborative problem solving. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from San Diego State University. 

Kathy Fagan, MD

Kathy Fagan, MD

PEHSU National Program Office Co-Director

Program Co-Director for the PEHSU National Program Office.  Dr. Fagan is a Board Certified Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) physician with over 40 years of practice in OEM. She was in clinical practice for over 25 years in Cleveland, Ohio, and then joined the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as a medical officer in 2009. She retired from OSHA in 2019 and is now on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Department of Bioethics. She is active in the Environmental Health section of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and on the Board of the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), where she is presently Board President. Her passion for the health and safety of workers has led her to a broader focus on the health of our planet and all that it contains. As Robin Wall Kimmerer said, “The moral covenant of reciprocity calls us to honor our responsibilities for all we have been given, for all we have taken…in return for the privilege of breath.” (Braiding Sweetgrass, 2013) 

Catherine Marquez

Catherine Marquez

PEHSU National Program Office Finance Manager

Finance Manager for the PEHSU National Program Office. Catherine brings over two decades of experience at PHI. Catherine’s expertise includes managing post-award financial oversight for various USAID cooperative agreement programs with PHI, managing budget development, financial reporting, forecasting, and preparing detailed financial reports across multiple budget components, ensuring clarity and understanding across the organization. 

Mike Sage, MPH

Mike Sage, MPH

PEHSU National Program Office Co-Director

Program Co-Director for the PEHSU National Program Office. Mike serves as the primary point of contact for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the strategic impact of the project and is responsible for maintaining technical success while also ensuring compliance with funder requirements. Previously, Mike was Program Director for the Region 9 Emergency Preparedness Workplan and the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program. Mike currently holds an appointment as Guest Researcher at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and serves as a senior consultant to the Public Health Institute (PHI). The American Thoracic Society also appointed Mike as the Executive Director of Stop TB USA, the US Partner to the Global Stop TB Partnership. Prior to retirement from CDC he served as Senior Advisor for Global Environmental Health, National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), with responsibilities that included managing CDC efforts to support clean and safe Cookstoves programs. He has extensive experience in public health policy/program development, implementation, and evaluation. He has served in numerous leadership positions at CDC including; Director, Public Health Portfolio Management Program, Office of the Director, CDC; Director of Global Business Services; Deputy Director of the Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response; and Associate Director for Policy, Evaluation, and Planning, NCEH. 

Whitney Sterten-Hall

Whitney Sterten-Hall

PEHSU National Program Office Communications Lead

Communications Lead for the PEHSU National Program Office. Whitney is a Communications Professional with over 5 years of experience at PHI on CDC funded programs. She helps organizations showcase their successes through various media that includes writing, podcast, graphics and video creation. Since 2014, Whitney has helped launch and grow global communications efforts in both non-profit and for-profit industries in education, travel and public health. She is passionate about celebrating perspectives across cultures, and empowering audiences by making information more accessible and easier to understand. Previously, Whitney spent four years supporting the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program and one year supporting the Region 9 Emergency Preparedness Workplan. A highlight of her time on the fellowship was creating and producing the PHI/CDC Global Health Podcast, along with improving internal communications and streamlining complex processes. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from New York University, an MSW from Columbia University, and a Certificate in Strategic Communications & Public Relations from Portland State University.