Save the Date for Stakeholder Roundtable Jan 16, 2014

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Dear Stakeholders:
Since 2006, the Site Assessment Section (SAS) of the California Department of Public Health has provided its stakeholders with the opportunity to dialogue about environmental public health in the context of a roundtable. We have brought together individuals from local, state and federal agencies, community-based organizations, and tribes to: increase their access to resources and experts that can assist them; provide a forum for cross-communication; and catalyze local efforts addressing environmental public health.
We would like to invite you to save the date for our seventh Stakeholders Roundtable, on January 16, 2014 in Los Angeles. Please know that this event is tentative and pending upon funding from our funding agency.
Our goal for these roundtables is twofold: 1) to facilitate communication, learning and sharing of environmental health concerns between community members, their representatives, public agencies and SAS staff, and 2) to provide a forum for feedback and direction to the SAS group from our stakeholders.
What can you expect to learn or discuss at the roundtable?
At our first roundtable in 2006, we asked the stakeholders to outline and prioritize the needs of communities at hazardous waste sites where cleanup is taking place. In the 2007 roundtable, the topic suggested by stakeholders was environmental health issues related to methamphetamine laboratories. We also discussed environmental health resources available to address contamination from air emission sites. Our 2008 and third roundtable, provided community and agency stakeholders with an opportunity to dialogue about the interconnected role of environmental public health and land use planning. Our fourth roundtable was held in 2010 and one the focuses of the day was on the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) process. Another topic covered during this roundtable was the long-term stewardship of hazardous waste sites. In 2011 the roundtable, we invited community health workers also known as promotores from across the state to learn about environmental and occupational health and to share about their work and contribution in the community. This past March 2013, we held our sixth roundtable and we had presentations on water quality from private and public sources, an overview of cancer in California, and disease clusters as a community concern. If you are interested in learning more about the topics we have covered, we would be happy to provide you with the proceedings.
For the Stakeholders Roundtable in 2014 the topic we are suggesting two topics:
“Indoor Air Quality: Overlooked Concerns”
and
“Property Values: Stigma vs. Environmental Assessment”
Please send us your topic suggestions keeping in mind the goals we mentioned above by COB on Friday, November 8.
We will select three topics for the 2014 Roundtable.
Please send your suggestions to Nancy Palate at Nancy.Palate@cdph.ca.gov
To get started on logistics, we will send you a form where you can confirm your attendance and your traveling or accommodation needs. We will have limited funds to accommodate attendees from Northern California and can provide limited transportation reimbursements for attendees from Southern California.
We are looking forward to meeting you on January 16, 2014 in Los Angeles!
On behalf of the Site Assessment Section,
Sincerely
Yours
Gabriele Windgasse


Gabriele Windgasse, DrPH
Chief, Site Assessment Section
Environmental Health Investigations Branch
California Department of Public Health
850 Marina Bay Parkway
Richmond, CA 94804
Tel: (510) 620 3610
gabriele.windgasse@cdph.ca.gov