CDC Participation

As the nation’s premiere health promotion, prevention, and preparedness agency and a global leader in public health, it seems only fitting that the NEHA 2009 AEC & Exhibition be held in Atlanta—the hometown of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NEHA has drawn upon CDC’s vast expertise to help explore and define the evolution of our profession. From the keynote speaker, Dr. Howard Frumkin, to numerous speakers to tours on the CDC campus— the involvement of CDC in the NEHA conference gives attendees the opportunity to learn and interact with an agency and group of experts that are helping to lead environmental health into the future. 

Track A – CDC’s Chamblee Campus Lab Tour on Wednesday, June 24 

8:30 – 10:30am for 20 people TOUR FULL. REGISTRATION CLOSED.

• Demonstration of CDC’s Geospatial Research and Analysis (9:00 – 9:30am) –CDC’s Geospatial Analysis and Research Program uses geographic information system (GIS) tools to identify potentially susceptible populations that live near hazardous substances waste sites or emergency events; characterize cases, affected populations, and contamination; and analyze relationships between geographic features. Participants will see a demonstration of CDC’s cutting-edge techniques applied to real-life public health issues and learn about how these tools can be used to protect the public’s health and safety. 
• CDC’s Pesticides and Metals Laboratories (10:00 – 10:30am) – Scientists working in CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratories have taken the guesswork out of estimating exposure to toxic chemicals by developing and deploying tools for measuring levels of chemicals that actually are in people's bodies. And they do so with precision, speed, and pinpoint accuracy, measuring many chemicals in a very small amount—often a teaspoon or less—of blood or urine. Participants will see two of CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratories—the pesticide laboratory and the metal laboratory. CDC’s pesticide laboratory develops analytical methods to measure herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides in people's urine, blood, serum, breast milk, and meconium. The metals laboratory conducts research, develops methods, and analyzes elemental metals such as mercury (total and organic), arsenic (total and speciated), cadmium, lead, cobalt, tungsten, uranium, molybdenum, antimony, and other trace, toxic, and essential metals. Both labs produce data on population-based exposure levels segmented by age, sex, and race or ethnicity and publish this information in CDC’s National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. 

Track B – CDC’s Emergency Operations Center and Public Health Odyssey Museum on Wednesday, June 24, 11am – 1pm for 20 people TOUR FULL. REGISTRATION CLOSED.

• CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (11:30am – 12:00pm) – When a disaster occurs, CDC must respond effectively to support international, national, state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector public health emergency response partners.  A critical component of CDC’s work during an event is to coordinate response activities and provide resources to state and local public health departments. Participants will see how the Emergency Operations Center allows CDC to maintain situational awareness of public health-related events at the international, national, state, and local levels, and how the agency develops a coordinated response to environmental public health disasters. 
• Global Healthy Odyssey - “Consequential Matters” (12:30 – 1:00pm) – Participants will spend time at CDC’s Global Healthy Odyssey with a curator’s tour of “Consequential Matters.” This exhibition is an investigation by four Atlanta-based artists of the consequences of urbanization, technology, consumption, indulgence, and globalization featuring the work of National Geographic Photographer Peter Essick, artist Mark Wentzel, and collaborators Carl DiSalvo and Jonathan Lukens. More information about this exhibit is at  http://www.cdc.gov/gcc/exhibit/exhibitions_changing.htm.   

Track C – Meet CDC's Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Health Odyssey on Wednesday, June 24, 1:30 – 3:30 pm for 15 people

• Meet Liz York, CDC Chief Sustainability Officer (2:00 – 2:30pm) – Ms. York came to CDC in 1999, and before that, as a member of the American Institute of Architects, she was involved in the Atlanta Regional/ Urban Design Assistance Team, which studied and made recommendations on transportation and development issues, as the region prepared for the 1996 Olympic Games. Throughout her career she has been a proponent of sustainable design and a champion for sustainability issues in her work for CDC. At CDC, her first assignment was in the Buildings and Facilities Office as a construction project manager.  York has since served CDC in a number of roles, including design architect and core team representative, as well as chair of the Architectural Interiors Committee, which developed the Interior Design and Construction Standards for CDC. She has worked with the Sustainable CDC Advisory Committee (formerly the Healthier Worksite Initiative Advisory Committee) on issues including promotion of stair use, the inclusion of showers in new buildings, the safety and convenience of pedestrian routes, and the development of a standard for lactation rooms. She holds a bachelor of science and a master of architecture, both from Georgia Tech. 
• Global Healthy Odyssey - “Consequential Matters” (2:30 – 3:00pm) – Participants will spend time at CDC’s Global Healthy Odyssey with a curator’s tour of “Consequential Matters.” This exhibition is an investigation by four Atlanta-based artists of the consequences of urbanization, technology, consumption, indulgence, and globalization featuring the work of National Geographic Photographer Peter Essick, artist Mark Wentzel, and collaborators Carl DiSalvo and Jonathan Lukens. More information about this exhibit is at  http://www.cdc.gov/gcc/exhibit/exhibitions_changing.htm.   

Registration is on a first come first serve basis. Contact Cindy Dimmit for registration information - 303-756-9090 x343.