Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH)
March 2, 2022, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
Last month in the Community Health Workers webinar, we heard from two projects on ensuring that community-engaged research is relevant to the needs of the people being served. A critical need in community engagement is access to information and access to research participation, both of which can be limited by language barriers. By communicating with community partners in their language, academic and training program partners can build trust, empower community members, and promote environmental and occupational public health.
Our presenters described why and how language should be considered in the context of racial and social justice. They also identified the challenges, benefits, and opportunities for community-engaged research projects and programs.
English to Spanish interpretation was provided for this webinar.
Experts
Presentation 1: How and Why We Build Language Justice (1MB)
Jessica Martinez serves as co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH). A nationally recognized movement leader, Martinez has been organizing public policy and education initiatives at National COSH for nine years. Martinez leads efforts around language justice ensuring accessibility and inclusivity of programs for diverse worker populations. She is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Under Martinez’s direction, National COSH has built ground-breaking coalitions that engage workers as leaders to win critical workplace health and safety improvements.
Presentation 2: Language Justice During COVID-19 (1MB)
BJ Cummings, M.S., manages community engagement for the University of Washington's Superfund Research Program and EDGE Center (Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment). She previously worked for community organizations on clean up and restoration of Seattle’s Duwamish River. She authored a book titled “The River That Made Seattle: A Natural and Human History of the Duwamish” (UW Press 2020).
Lisa Hayward, Ph.D., is a manager of communication in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Washington (UW). She manages research translation for the UW Superfund Research Program and co-manages community engagement for the UW Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment. Prior to joining UW, she was a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and managed communications for the Northwest Climate Science Center. She has a Ph.D. in biology from UW and a bachelor’s degree in biology and English from Carleton College.
Webinar Resources
Duwamish fishing videos – A series of nine videos from the University of Washington Superfund Research Program, in four languages (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Khmer [Cambodian]), deliver health messages about safe fishing on the Duwamish River.
We Want Your Feedback!
Send comments, questions, and suggestions for future webinar topics to peph@niehs.nih.gov.
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