Agents of Change
@agentschangeej
Fostering diverse and inclusive leaders in environmental health. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (Director: Dr. Ami Zota) + Environmental Health News (Media Partner).
From studying the correlation between air quality and affordable housing to the relationship between gestational diabetes and heavy metal exposure, she hopes to tackle the “Why” of environmental health issues.
MyDzung is a fellow in residence with Agents of Change, where we support early-career researchers whose lived experience and community ties bring new questions, and new solutions, to the field.
Meet MyDzung Chu, an environmental health researcher and professor studying the health burdens faced by Asian American communities. 📊Her community-based research aims to turn numbers and data points into change.
And what does water justice mean to you? Let us know in the comments! 👇
📄Make sure to check out her essay on our Substack, We need a new water morality for the “Cloud Era!”
She believes that water justice isn’t just limited to addressing drought or ensuring pipelines and infrastructure.
From Gallup, New Mexico and of the Diné (Navajo) people, hauling water and relying on bottled water wasn’t unusual for many people around Valerisa.
⭐️Next up in our AoC Fellows in Residence spotlight is Valerisa Gaddy:
Respondents were more than twice as likely to lose their home to flooding and nearly four times more likely to get sick from extreme heat compared to cisgender men. The research also raises important questions about how disaster response systems are built, who they protect, and who they leave out.
His team surveyed 882 LGBTQIA+ Ohioans about their experiences with flooding and extreme heat. The findings point to stark disparities — particularly for transgender respondents.
Brandon Rothrock @brandonrothrock.bsky.social, a geographer at Ohio State University, led one of the first quantitative studies on how queer communities in the Midwest experience climate disasters.
This Pride Month, we're spotlighting research that fills a gap that has been ignored for too long. 🏳️🌈
The future of the Colorado River depends on more than infrastructure and legal agreements. It’s time to ensure that Indigenous tribes have a meaningful voice in decisions about the river’s future. 📢‼️
The webinar featured Agents of Change fellows in residence Valerisa Gaddy and Kevin Patterson, as well as speakers Andrew Atencia and Cora Tso.
🎙️This Tuesday, June 16th, the Watershed Management Group hosted the webinar “Sacred Water Speaks,” addressing water access and justice in the Colorado River Basin.
🏞️The Colorado River Basin supplies water to millions of people across the Southwest. Yet, many indigenous communities continue to face barriers to reliable water access.
It’s time for us to listen to the river, Indigenous knowledge, and questions of justice. 🔗 Register through this link: lnkd.in/eMHg9zYF
🌡 Due to a 26 year-long drought and unprecedented levels of heat, the Colorado River System is drying out. This jeopardizes nearly 40 million residents in the Southwest who depend on the river for daily water supply, agriculture, and hydroelectric power. 💧
🏞️ The Colorado River is shrinking. Join us next Tuesday, June 16th, from 2 PM to 3PM EST for a webinar exploring the critical state of the Colorado River, organized by Watershed Management Group. Presenters include AoC fellows in residence Valerisa Joe-Gaddy and Kevin Patterson.
Public restroom access is a public health issue, as it concerns accessibility and dignity. However, there are several solutions to this issue, from installing temporary toilets and investing in permanent public facilities.
As Atlanta prepares to host hundreds of thousands of visitors for the World Cup, AoC fellow in resident April Ballard points to an often overlooked problem in her recently published op-ed: A lack of truly public restrooms. 🚻
⚽🏆 The World Cup is starting this week. But people might not be paying attention to an important aspect of It: Toilets. 🚽