Rooting for Change: Science & Justice Panel

Rooting for Change: The Economics, Society, and Politics of Food
Fri, March 24 at 11:30am, Michigan League, Koessler Room (Third Floor)

Students, faculty, and community members will share their perspectives on food justice and sustainability. A zero-waste meal will be provided by MDining.

Featured panelists:
Kiley Adams is from Puyallup, Washington, and is currently pursuing a dual degree in medicine and sustainability and development at the University of Michigan. She is interested in the intersection between human and non-human health and like thinking about how food systems, air and water quality, and accessibility to safe outdoor nature areas all collide to influence human health.
Nayethzi Hernandez is a graduate student at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). Her passions include food sovereignty, environmental justice, transformative food systems, reducing barriers to education, indigenous sovereignty, and climate justice.
Alexandra Talty is a writer and multi-media journalist covering water ways, food production and the environment – or any combination of the above. She is a 3rd generation surfer and volunteer ocean lifeguard and also runs a hobby oyster farm.

Registration link

Design Jam: Preventing Youth Firearm Injuries

As of 2019, firearm-related injuries became the leading cause of death for youth in the United States. Are you interested in coming up with creative solutions to address youth firearm violence? Public Health IDEAS for Preventing Firearm Injuries is making space for engineering students to collaborate with public health students to address firearm violence in the form of a Design Jam.

At this Design Jam you will apply design thinking principles to devise solutions for a persistent public health challenge: How might we utilize public health expertise and principles to lower youth firearm injuries in Michigan communities?

Facilitated by the Center for Socially Engaged Design, you will team up with public health students and representatives from public health departments, community organizing, and those with lived experience to problem-solve and learn together. To be considered for this opportunity, apply by March 21. Space is limited!

Selected applicants will receive an email with more details. Please note that this opportunity is for engineering students.

Application link

Health Equity Leadership Series

Join us as we welcome Dr. Beth Marks for the Health Equity Leadership Series, hosted by the Office of Health Equity and Inclusion at the University of Michigan School of Nursing.

The goal of the Health Equity Leadership Series is to bring together members of the UM community to engage in critical thinking, learning, and dialogue about topics in health equity. Each month we welcome scholars and organizational leaders who are looking seriously at questions around health equity within Nursing and healthcare to share their expertise. Following the speaker’s presentation, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions for our speakers.

On March 16th, we will be welcoming Dr. Beth Marks of the University of Illinois Chicago. She will be sharing about her research programs related to the empowerment and advancement of people with disabilities through health promotion initiatives and primary health care.

All UM students, faculty, staff, and alumni are welcome. Please register (see right) to access the Zoom link and passcode.

Registration link

Nailed It Film Screening and Panel Discussion

Event Poster showing panel, Nailed It film poster, date, time and location

Description: Join the EHS department for a screening of the documentary, ‘Nailed It’ and panel discussion focused on occupational health and environmental justice as it relates to the beauty industry. Join in-person (at the University of Michigan School of Public Health) or virtually. Details on location and ways to access the movie prior to this event will be shared via email with all registrants.

Panel includes:
Dr. Aurora Le, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at UM SPH
Dr. Tran Huynh, Assistant Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health, Drexel University
Minthu Le, Environmental Assistant, San Francisco Environment Department, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
Brianna Siracuse, Presidential Management Fellow, US EPA and UM EHS Alumna
Moderated by Khang Huynh, MPH student in EHS at UM

Rooting For Change

A day of student speakers, educational activities, and more as we confront topics of food justice in our communities and learn how U-M students are growing a future of community resilience around food systems! Festivities of the day will include food, student-led learnshops, and wellbeing breaks – all by and for students.
Student organizer contact information: umsfp.core@umich.edu
Audience: students

Registration coming soon!

Tackling Industrial Contamination: The Role of Science, Policy, and Activism

28th Annual Environmental Health Sciences Symposium flyer

We are excited to announce the 2023 Annual Environmental Health Sciences Symposium, The symposium will feature talks from Bill Suk, the founding director of the Superfund Research Program; members of the Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane, a local partnership organization focused on mitigating groundwater contamination from 1,4-Dioxane in Washtenaw County; and Robert Bilott, an environmental attorney renowned for his legal victories on PFAS contamination. In addition, there will be student poster presentations. Students from any department with related work are encouraged to submit an abstract. Registration is free and open to the public. Further information can be found at the link above.

Registration link

DEI Reading Circle – Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want (Virtual)

Dr. Ruha Benjamin will be at the University of Michigan on March 14, 2023 to discuss her newest book, Viral Justice. Ahead of her visit, the SPH DEI Office will be distributing copies of her new book, on a first come/first serve basis, and will host two reading circles (one virtual, the other in-person) for the SPH Community. We invite all members of the community (students in all programs, post-docs, staff, & faculty) to take part in these collective reading and discussion opportunities. Learn more about book distribution. This one hour event is open to any and all SPH community members. We invite you to join a conversation with SPH colleagues about Dr. Ruha Benjamin’s newest book Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want. These reading circles will be broad and open-ended conversations and do not require you to have read all of or any specific portion of the book. You are welcome to come with specific passages or questions to discuss or to come to hear what your colleagues are thinking about the book and Dr. Benjamin’s arguments in it. This session is designed to offer you an opportunity to:

reflect on the portions of Viral Justice you may have already read
be in conversation with colleagues across SPH around themes discussed in Viral Justice

In addition to the reading circles, you are encouraged to use this official reading guide from Princeton University Press to help support your reading of the text.

Registration link

Advancing Environmental Health and Justice: A Call for Assessment and Oversight of Health Care Waste

Residents and Researchers: Health Care Waste flyer

Featuring Panelists: Vincent Martin (V Martin Environmental Justice LLC, Detroit), Omega Wilson (West End Revitalization Assoc., NC) and Denise Patel (NYC human rights and environmental activist). Moderated by Natalie Sampson (University of Michigan, Dearborn). View recordings of previous webinars in the series.

Registration link

The Present Illness: American Health Care and Its Afflictions

Presenter Martin F. Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Public Health, UCLA Why has it been so difficult to solve the problems of American health care? In exploring this question, Dr. Martin Shapiro draws on research and theory in the social sciences, humanities, health services and education as well as his own experiences. He explores this issue by examining the roles of patients and the public, clinicians and their professional organizations, medical schools and their faculty, clinical corporations, scientists and the NIH, manufacturers, insurers and investors, and of government in perpetuating the current system. He identifies commodification of health care and of life, the “consciousness” of the various actors (their values, perceived needs, interests, expectations, and capacities) and the communication and toxic relationships among these groups as phenomena that interact to undermine progress. He concludes that, while many things can be done to achieve some improvement, broader societal change will be needed to create a health system that is humane, effective, and just. This event includes a presentation, followed by discussion moderated by Drs. Rodney Hayward and Eve Kerr.

Registration link

Rooting For Change

Registration coming soon!