John Wesley Wiggins

John Wesley Wiggins serves as a Graduate Assistant for the Global Public Health Scholars Program. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health. Wiggins completed his undergraduate education at Princeton University in 2021 with a degree in Geosciences and a minor in Environmental Studies.

Wiggins is passionate about climate change, environmental justice, and community adaptation and resilience. Before starting his doctoral program, he worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an ORISE Fellow in the Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water. In that role, he worked on assisting drinking water and wastewater utilities with adapting to climate change concerns. He also worked to integrate environmental justice practices into his division’s work and developed climate hazard story maps for water utilities. Wiggins has also worked with the nonprofit, Young, Gifted & Green, to facilitate climate preparedness training for Washington, DC residents.

Wiggins’ doctoral studies focus on the impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation on health outcomes in South American countries. Outside of his studies, Wiggins enjoys soccer, video games, and spending time with family.