Director of CNT Energy at the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago.
Former Director of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at
the Chicago Department of Public Health, where she administered energy
efficiency, radon reduction and lead abatement programs with an annual
budget of $8 million. Prior to joining the Department of Health, Evens
worked on public health and community development efforts in Mozambique,
Mexico, and Nicaragua. She also worked with the Grass Roots Alliance for
a Solar Pennsylvania. Anne is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Public
Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University
of Illinois at Chicago. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from Cornell
and an M.S. in International Development from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Sandel is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University
School of Medicine. Her work has focused on asthma, lead, injuries, housing
and child health. Cited as a respected authority in her field, Dr. Sandel
often gives testimony to the connection between housing and child health
in the United States and its effects on children. She has served as a
principal investigator on grants from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development with the Boston Public Health Commission to study if housing
changes improved the health of children with asthma. She has a K award
from NIH on housing and stress in urban children, particularly how it
pertains to the development of asthma and wheezing. In 2007, Dr Sandel
was named the Medical Director of the National Center for Medical Legal
Partnership.
Founder and director of Citizens Lead Education and Poison Prevention
Organization and the Mothers’ Environmental Coalition of Alabama.
Representative to the African-American Environmental Justice Network and
advisory board member of the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic
Justice.
Deputy Director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC),
which is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that
assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable
and decent homes. NLIHC performs original research on housing affordability
in the United States, does public education to highlight the housing issues
facing the lowest income people, and advocates in the U.S. Congress for
federal solutions to these pressing issues. Linda has worked at NLIHC
since 1995 except for three years at the American Association of Homes
and Services for the Aging, where she worked on affordable housing for
low income seniors. Linda also has a background in state governmental
affairs, working for a private consulting firm and as a fellow in the
Connecticut General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Research. Linda
has a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Connecticut and
a B.A. from George Washington University.
Dr. Hamilton earned her graduate degrees from the University of Michigan,
Rice University, and the Harvard School of Public Health, the latter in
environmental health epidemiology. She is an assistant professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, with joint appointments in medicine and neurosurgery,
and is director of the Environmental Health Section of the Chronic Disease
Prevention and Control Research Center. She also holds a faculty appointment
at Rice University in the Center for the Study of Environment & Society.
Her primary research interests include "hot spot" analyses using
geospatial modeling and statistical methods, and community-based participatory
research. Dr. Hamilton has been program director of three regional pediatric
environmental health symposia and is co-founder of the Houston Medical
Center Recycling Collaborative. Dr. Hamilton has received numerous awards
including the 2008 EPA Children’s Environmental Health Champion
Award. She speaks regularly to various academic and community groups on
environmental health topics.
Currently Senior Legislative Representative at Earthjustice in Washington,
DC the nation’s largest environmental law firm. At Earthjustice,
she works primarily on protecting endangered species and wildlife and
defending and strengthening the Endangered Species Act. Before moving
to Washington, DC, in 2002, Holmes was the Senior Regional Representative
in charge of the Sierra Club’s New York City Office. Since the birth
of her daughter in 2004, she has became particularly interested in issues
affecting children’s health. While pregnant with her daughter, Holmes
discovered that the water in the house was contaminated with lead and
became active in the efforts reduce lead in the DC water supply. In 2005,
she moved into a house contaminated with lead from old paint. After addressing
her own daughter’s exposure to lead dust, Holmes became committed
to helping others deal with lead hazards and to working toward better
policies to control lead and educate the public.
Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
at Duke University and faculty member in the Integrated Toxicology Program.
Miranda also directs the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative,
managing environmental research projects on health hazards in housing
and children’s exposure to air and water toxics.
Dr. Nolan holds a faculty appointment as an Adjunct Clinical Associate
Professor in the Department of Community Health at the Warren Alpert Medical
School at Brown University and is co-director of the Community Health
Clerkship. In addition, Dr. Nolan serves as the executive director of
the Rhode Island Public Health Institute and principal investigator for
a grant project funded through the National Network of Public Health Institutes
to re-invigorate RIHPI and improve its sustainability. Dr. Nolan retired
from her position as Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health
in 2005 after serving two five-year terms. She has previously held public
health leadership positions in Colorado, Arizona, and Illinois since beginning
her public health career in New York City in the 1970’s.
Executive Director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (Tejas),
Outreach Coordinator for Citizens League for Environmental Action Now
(CLEAN), Board Member of Galveston Houston Association for Smog Prevention
(GHASP), and Advisory Board Member of the Sierra Club National Environmental
Justice Committee. Former community organizer with the Thurgood Marshall
School of Law, Environmental Justice Clinic at Texas Southern University
in Houston. Extensive experience working with low-income communities and
immigrant and migrant workers on social justice campaigns.
Official with the Minneapolis Deparmtent of Health and Family Support.
Former Lead Project Manager for the Greater Minneapolis Daycare Association
(GMDCA), where he worked to ensure that in-home daycares are safe from
lead and other health hazards, such as asthma triggers. Petsche serves
as board chair for Project 504 in Minneapolis.
Vice President of Environment and Community Health Programs at Isles,
Inc. in Trenton, NJ. Pivnick has over 25 years of experience in community
outreach and planning in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She
has previous experience as the founding executive director of a community-based
organization, as project coordinator for the community development program
in the City of Philadelphia, and as project manager for a civil engineering
firm in Austin, Texas. While in Texas, she served on the city's Environmental
Commission for several years. Pivnick currently oversees an interdisciplinary
set of environment and community health programs including healthy homes,
healthy schools, community gardening, open space development, environmental
education, exercise, and nutrition. Pivnick received her Masters Degree
in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a board member
of the New Jersey Environmental Federation and the leader of the Trenton
Coalition for Healthy Schools.
Former Vice President of the Conservation Law Foundation and author of
Massachusetts' landmark lead poisoning prevention law.
Dr. Ponessa recently retired from Rutgers Cooperative Extension after
serving 25 years as the Housing, Indoor Environment and Health specialist.
In that position, he worked on curriculum development and outreach education,
serving both lay and professional audiences. Areas of specialization included
the indoor environment and its impact on health; management of building
moisture problems and building science/construction technology. Topics
receiving special attention include radon, lead poisoning prevention,
mold and moisture problems in buildings, and asthma trigger management,
particularly in schools and childcare facilities. Ponessa's curriculum
on asthma trigger management has been modified and adopted for use by
HUD as an instructor training tool in its Healthy Homes for Healthy Kids
program. He also helped develop the Healthy Indoor Air for America’s
Homes project, an EPA-sponsored curriculum now used in 37 states and two
territories. Ponessa has consulted for The Department of Housing and Urban
Development and the Centers for Disease Control on Housing-Environmental
Health issues. He currently teaches a course in Building Science / Moisture
Management Principles for New Jersey Building Code Officials and architects.
.
Dr. Ratnapradipa is an environmental public health educator and faculty
member at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Dr. Ratnapradipa previously
was a Principle Public Health Promotion Specialist on the Healthy Home
and Environment Team and he supervised the Health Promotion and Emerging
Risks Program (Formerly the Office of Environmental Health Risk Assessment),
Rhode Island Department of Health, where he and colleagues received EPA
Merit Awards for the Chemical Safe Schools and Mercury Reduction Programs.
While at the Rhode Island Dept. of Health, Dr. Ratnapradipa managed the
state’s contract with the Regional Center for Poison Control and
Prevention Serving Massachusetts and Rhode Island and served on its advisory
board. Dr. Ratnapradipa was also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Community
Health at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He has
an ongoing interest in environmental health research; he is a principle
and co-investigator of several studies including Biomonitoring: Cord-blood
study, Fish advisory among selected populations, Environmental health
awareness in the community, and Asthma plan in Southern Illinois.
Madeleine Shea is a champion of policies and programs to benefit economically
and socially vulnerable children and families. Her degrees include a BA
in Economics from Trinity College, an MA in Management from Johns Hopkins
University, and a Ph.D. in public policy from UMBC in 1997 where she researched
the politics and cost/benefits of European Union workplace supports for
low income families with young children. In 1997, Dr. Shea directed United
Way research to refocus on outcome-based approaches to community and family
strengthening. From 1998 – 2006 she directed a shift to evidence
based prevention programming and served as the Deputy Director of the
Maryland AIDS Administration. In 2006, Dr. Shea joined the Baltimore City
Health Department as the nation’s first Assistant Commissioner for
Healthy Homes. She and her Division have built partnerships, strategies,
programs and policies to prevent childhood lead poisoning, asthma, and
home injuries. She is a Commissioner on the Mayor’s Sustainability
Planning Commission and is a Trustee of the Baltimore Medical System,
Inc. Dr. Shea serves on numerous public health workgroups and advisory
boards and has consulted and testified widely on children’s health,
community development, urban health and evaluation topics.
Associate Director and Professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine
at Howard University Cancer Center and a prominent public health educator
and administrator. Past Dean of the College of Public Health at the University
of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, former Commissioner of Public Health
for the State of Massachusetts, and former health director for the State
of Michigan.
Has over two decades of experience in occupational and environmental health
as an educator, consultant, trainer, administrator, and advocate. In 1994,
she co-founded and currently serves as the Executive Director of Detroiters
Working for Environmental Justice, a nonprofit organization addressing
urban environmental issues in the City of Detroit. Wilkins is an appointee
of the Detroit City Council to the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority,
Member of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Environmental
Advisory Committee, Co-Chair of the National Black Environmental Justice
Network, and Board President for the Colin Powell Public School Academy.
She has served as a special member to the Pollution Prevention Subcommittee
of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and many other
committees and forums.
Asthma Director for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Former
Executive Director of the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, an advocacy organization
that focuses on improving asthma control in Boston. Zotter co-founded
the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition while working at Boston Medical Center’s
Family Advocacy Program as an attorney. Zotter worked with the Family
Advocacy Program for 6 years and served as the Director for her last two
years.
(Honorary)
Director of ADS Ventures, a government relations firm specializing in
environmental technologies. Former Member of Congress, with service on
Appropriations, Budget, Foreign Affairs, and Ethics Committees. Former
member of the Massachusetts House and Senate, and chair of the Senate
Ways and Means Committee. Author of Getting Elected. (Honorary)
One of the foremost advocates on children's health and environmental issues.
Trustee of Environmental Defense, national committee member of "Mothers
and Others," Chairman of the National Council for Families and Television,
and co-founder of Congressional Spouses Human Rights Forum. (Honorary)
Former Member of Congress. Currently Senior Counsel at Squire, Sanders
and Dempsey, L.L.P, a Washington-based worldwide law firm, and Senior
Visiting Scholar at the Mandel School of Applied Sciences Member at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland. | 
