Children’s Environmental Health Summit
In 2016, ACAT hosted a Children's Environmental Health Summit in Anchorage, Alaska. The summit brought together scientists, Alaska Native Tribal and community leaders, health care professionals, policy makers, parents, students, teachers, and children’s advocates to discuss the latest science and develop recommendations to protect the health of children at the top of the world.
Community and national experts presented cutting edge scientific research, environmental health policy initiatives, and case studies, including:
· Rosemary Ahtuangaruak - Inupiaq Tribal Leader
· Ruth Etzel, MD, PhD - Director, Office of Children's Health Protection, EPA
· Symma Finn, PhD - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
· Allison Kelliher, MD - Southcentral Foundation
· Maureen Swanson, MPA - Learning Disabilities Association of America and Co-Coordinator of Targeting Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks (Project TENDR)
· Lisa Wade - Council Member, Director of Health, Education, & Social Services, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council
Health care professionals, policy makers, parents, students, and community members discussed opportunities for improving the health of current and future generations of Alaskan children and created recommendations for change in the areas of education, policy reform, research and prevention. These findings were published in a 2017 report entitled State of the Science: Children’s Environmental Health in Alaska and the Circumpolar North and presented on a CHE-Alaska webinar.
State of the Science: Children’s Environmental Health in Alaska and the Circumpolar North - Click here for a PDF of the report.
Recordings of the entire two days of presentations and discussion.
2016 Children's Environmental Health Summit - Opening Remarks
Lee Stephan, First Chief, Native Village of Eklutna
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, Anchorage, and
Pamela Miller, Executive Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
First Plenary: Our Children, Our Future - Health Disparities Among Alaska's Children
Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Inupiaq Tribal Leader, Former Village Health Aide Allison Kelliher, Tribal Doctor MD, Family and Integrative Medicine, Southcentral Foundation
Vi Waghiyi, Native Village of Savoonga and Environmental Health and Justice Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Lisa Wade, Council Member/Director of Health, Education, & Social Services, Nay'dini'aa Na'
Second Plenary: Opportunities and Initiatives to Protect the Health and Environment of Children - Collaboration in Research and Policy
0:00 - Ruth Etzel, MD, PhD, Director, Office of Children’s Health Protection, Environmental Protection Agency
19:05 - Nica Louie, National Center for Environmental Research, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
33:07 - Kimberly Gray, PhD, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (remote presentation)
47:35 - Maureen Swanson, MPA, Learning Disabilities Association of America and Co-Director of Targeting Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks (Project TENDR)
1:00:52 - Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, Executive Director, Children’s Environmental Health Network
Respiratory Health Crisis - A Case Study from Fairbanks
Patrice Lee, Citizens for Clean Air, Fairbanks, Alaska
Third Plenary: Science to Action - Creating a Broad-Based Movement for the Protection of Future Generations
Charlotte Brody, RN, National Coordinator, Healthy Babies Bright Futures and Vice President of Health Initiatives, BlueGreen Alliance
Fourth Plenary: State of the Science - Endocrine Disruption and Birth Defects
02:12 - Carol Kwiatkowski, PhD, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange
22:07 - David Carpenter, MD, Director, Institute for Health and the Environment University at Albany
41:40 - Vi Waghiyi, Native Village of Savoonga and Environmental Health and Justice Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
53:40 - Panel Discussion / Q&A
Fifth Plenary: State of the Science – Childhood Cancer
01:10 - Richard Clapp, DSc, MPH, Boston University
23:09 - Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Inupiaq Tribal Leader, Former Village Health Aide
36:45 - Panel Discussion / Q&A
Sixth Plenary: Tools for Environmental Health Investigations
02:12 - Madeleine Scammell, PhD, Boston University
First Plenary (Day 2): State of the Science – Neurodevelopment
Philippe Grandjean, MD, Harvard School of Public Health (remote presentation)
Donna Erickson, Mother and Tribal Member from Unalakleet
Second Plenary (Day 2): Engaging Healthcare Professionals in Policy Actions to Protect Children’s Health
Katie Huffling, RN, CNM, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environment
Third Plenary (Day 2): Protecting Future Generations -The Need to Address Historical Trauma
Lisa Ellanna, Director, Kawerak Katirvik Cultural Center, Nome
Kathy Sanchez, Environmental Health and Justice Program Manager, TEWA Women United
Creating Consensus for the Protection of Children’s Environmental Health
Elise Miller, MEd, Director, Collaborative on Health and the Environment Vi Waghiyi, Native Village of Savoonga Tribal Member and Environmental Health and Justice Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Reports from Working Groups, Final Recommendations, and Closing Remarks