About Us
The EarthRose Institute was established with a desire to bring knowledge and awareness of environmental health to the communities and individuals it impacts. In today’s world that is all of us. This is because it affects everything we consume, and everything we rely on to maintain environmental balance and harmony. From the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink, to the everyday products we use in our homes, we are all impacted by countless environmental factors and influences every day.
The detrimental environmental exposures are in our homes, they’re affecting our neighborhoods and communities. And they’re disrupting the health of the planetary ecosystem. The effort it takes to maintain an awareness of these factors, and the actions needed to improve their impact on our families and communities can feel daunting. The EarthRose Institute is a home where we can gain awareness of environmental health issues in our everyday lives, learn how to play an active role in improving our personal and community exposures, and take part in advocating in local and global causes most meaningful to us.
Mission
The mission of the EarthRose Institute is to inform diverse communities about environmental health impacts and their power to influence them, provide connections to a network of individuals and organizations with similar missions, and support local initiatives in their environmental advocacy efforts.
What does EarthRose mean?
The EarthRose Institute is dedicated to two spirited women named Rose. Each one was the mother of one of our founders. Each Rose was diagnosed with breast cancer with suspected environmental links. Their memory continues to inspire us to dedicate our efforts in the hope of creating an environmentally safer and healthier world.
Susan Luck, RN, BS, MA, CCN, HWNC-BC (Judy's Version)
Co-Founder of the EarthRose Institute
Susan Luck, RN, BS, MA, CCN, HWNC-BC was a true global citizen and visionary. She had an acute and innovative vision for possibilities in Healthcare.
She was the founder and Education Director of the Earthrose Institute, a not-for- profit organization dedicated to environmental health education and advocacy, the Co-Founder of the International Nurse Coach Association. Susan has taught and developed coaching programs, online and on-site, nationally and internationally, individually and through the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy. She was a frequent presenter at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in NYC.
For the past 20 years, Susan has been the Nurse Coach and Nutrition consultant for Special Immunology Services at Mercy Hospital in Miami as well as the Director of Nurse Coaching at Rezilir Health in Hollywood, Florida.
Susan authored the chapter on “Environmental Health” in the textbook Dossey & Keegan’s Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice, 8th edition (2022).
She also had a private practice as an Integrative Nurse Coach with a focus on nutrition and the environment.
Susan was a community activist for environmental advocacy in her current community as well as in the past. As far back as 1977, Susan volunteered at a Health Clinic addressing health and environmental issues in the Northern Highlands of Guatemala and maintained contact with some of the villagers and activists for many years. Susan Luck was the epitome of “think globally, act locally” and continues to be an inspiration for many.
Susan Luck, RN, BS, MA, CCN, HWNC-BC (Jason's Version #1)
Co-Founder of the EarthRose Institute
As the founder of the EarthRose Institute, Susan Luck, RN, BS, MA, CCN, HWNC-BC, created this non-profit platform to support environmental health, education and advocacy. She was a true global citizen and visionary, and had an acute and innovative vision for possibilities in Healthcare. Susan was a pioneer in the fields of integrative health, holistic nursing, nurse coaching, nutrition and environmental health, and left a significant mark in each of those fields.
Susan Co-Founded the International Nurse Coach Association, and the International Nurse Coach Academy. She taught and developed coaching programs, online and on-site, nationally and internationally, individually and through the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy. And she was a frequent presenter at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in NYC.
Susan, authored, “Nurse Coaching; Integrative Approaches for Health and Well-Being” (ANA Gold Seal 2015). She authored Chapter 34, “Integrative Nursing and the Environment”, in Integrative Nursing, part of the Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library. She authored the chapter on “Environmental Health” in the textbook Dossey & Keegan’s Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice, 8th edition (2022). She co-authored “The Art and Science of Nurse Coaching; the Provider’s Guide to Coaching Scope and Competencies” And, she authored, “An Environmental Guide for Nurses”, among many other published articles and essays.
For the 20 years leading up to her passing, Susan was the Nurse Coach and Nutrition consultant for Special Immunology Services at Mercy Hospital in Miami, Florida, as well as the Director of Nurse Coaching at Rezilir Health in Hollywood, Florida. She also had a private practice as an Integrative Nurse Coach with a focus on nutrition and the environment.
For most of her life, wherever she lived, Susan was a community activist for environmental advocacy. As far back as 1977, Susan volunteered at a Health Clinic addressing health and environmental issues in the Northern Highlands of Guatemala and maintained contact with some of the villagers and activists for many years. Susan Luck was the epitome of “think globally, act locally” and through her writings, teachings, and the memories of those lucky enough to spend time with her, Susan continues to be an inspiration for many.
Susan Luck, RN, BS, MA, CCN, HWNC-BC
Co-Founder of the EarthRose Institute
As the founder of the EarthRose Institute, Susan Luck, RN, BS, MA, CCN, HWNC-BC, created this non-profit platform to support environmental health, education and advocacy. She was a true global citizen and visionary, and had an acute and innovative vision for possibilities in Healthcare. Susan was a pioneer in the fields of integrative health, holistic nursing, nurse coaching, nutrition and environmental health, and left a significant mark in each of those fields.
Susan Co-Founded the International Nurse Coach Association, and the International Nurse Coach Academy. She taught and developed coaching programs, online and on-site, nationally and internationally, individually and through the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy. And she was a frequent presenter at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in NYC.
Susan, authored, “Nurse Coaching; Integrative Approaches for Health and Well-Being” (ANA Gold Seal 2015). She authored Chapter 34, “Integrative Nursing and the Environment”, in Integrative Nursing, part of the Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library. She authored the chapter on “Environmental Health” in the textbook Dossey & Keegan’s Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice, 8th edition (2022). She co-authored “The Art and Science of Nurse Coaching; the Provider’s Guide to Coaching Scope and Competencies” And, she authored, “An Environmental Guide for Nurses”, among many other published articles and essays.
For the 20 years leading up to her passing, Susan was the Nurse Coach and Nutrition consultant for Special Immunology Services at Mercy Hospital in Miami, Florida, as well as the Director of Nurse Coaching at Rezilir Health in Hollywood, Florida. She also had a private practice as an Integrative Nurse Coach with a focus on nutrition and the environment.
For most of her life, wherever she lived, Susan was a community activist for environmental advocacy. As far back as 1977, Susan volunteered at a Health Clinic addressing health and environmental issues in the Northern Highlands of Guatemala and maintained contact with some of the villagers and activists for many years. Susan Luck was the epitome of “think globally, act locally” and through her writings, teachings, and the memories of those lucky enough to spend time with her, Susan continues to be an inspiration for many.
Susan was always interested in people, and was a natural caregiver and nurturer. Nursing was a perfect fit for her. But it wasn’t long into her nursing career that she realized there was more to health and healing than the bedside. She became heavily involved in community health in New York City and became intimately aware of multicultural perspectives in health and healing. Her experiences in Public Health and Community health with people from every culture inspired her to volunteer at a field hospital addressing health and environmental issues in the Highlands of Guatemala. She maintained contact with some of the villagers and activists for many years. It was there, and through many of those relationships, that she saw cultural dimensions of health and healing that were different from her traditional medical orientation. That led to curiosity for Susan, and in the spirit of a seeker, she went back to school to study anthropology and medical anthropology.
It was at that time that Susan really embraced the questions, “what is health?”, and “what is healing?”. Inspired, Susan’s graduate school thesis was around how we personalize and internalize experiences. And how that forms our beliefs and our ensuing world view. And how those beliefs, as well as the beliefs of others, impact our health, and our ability to get well.
It was a long and winding road through her education and career. Her own health issues predated her nursing career, and nutrition was directly connected to some of her health issues. Growing up on the standard American diet (Susan loved to call that the “SAD” diet), she decided to explore the shortcomings in her own diet and the diet of our culture. She went on to become a certified clinical nutritionist.
Her education and life experiences resulted in a unique view of health and wellness. Nursing, nutrition, anthropology, medical anthropology, public health, community health, the study of cultural customs and traditions, field work in the third world and the inner city, and a focus on environmental health, all woven into the field of nurse coaching, and integrated into the nurse coach perspective and process. Susan possessed knowledge and experience that gave her a point of view and a depth of insight that few have had in the fields of wellness and environmental health. And as a detective at heart, she made it her mission to pinpoint why people had any particular health issue, and always looked to the environment as a starting point.
The EarthRose Institute is only part of Susan’s Legacy. She was the epitome of “think globally, act locally” and through her writings, teachings, and the memories of those lucky enough to spend time with her, Susan continues to be an inspiration for many. Her dream was for each of us to connect with the everyday choices we can make to improve our lives. And as importantly, she held the vision that each of those choices compound within our own lives, and the world, leading to a better life for us all.
Board of Directors
Tom Valente
For more than 25 years, Tom Valente has been at the forefront of transformative and holistic education. He is a premier developer of innovative educational programs including Omega Institute, NY Open Center, and the International Nurse Coach Association.
Judy Lane, RN, NP
Nurse Practitioner, Women’s Health, Preventive Medical Center, Marin County.
Ronald Kanka
Ronald Kanka is the Executive Director of Business Operations for the International Nurse Coach Association | Integrative Nurse Coach™ Academy.
He previously served as the Program Coordinator of the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Integrative Medicine Division, where he coordinated large conferences (and cruises) on topics such as Clinical Nutrition, Acupuncture, and other complementary therapies.
In 2012, Ron met INCA Co-Founder, Susan Luck, at a Clinical Nutrition conference. Soon after, he began consulting for INCA as a Program Manager, and was essential in the growth of INCA’s global presence and helped to propel INCA to the forefront of the Nurse Coach movement. When Susan Luck and Barbara Dossey decided to convert the onsite Integrative Nurse Coach™ Certificate Program to an online format, they asked Ron and Karen Avino to join them as partners to assist in this large undertaking.
