Every person, group, or organization can make a difference. But the positive outcomes are magnified when we share information and work together. To be successful means seeing and defining the concept of “community” more broadly and more inclusively. Meet the community champions.
Dr. Kathleen Vandiver
One of Dr. Vandiver’s many talents is building solid relationships, which is a critical foundation for a meaningful engagement leading to tangible results. She knows that to create change, a “community” must not be narrowly defined as just the residents or a geographic location. They include clusters of strategic partners and complimentors, such as other departments in academia, Federal, State, and local regulators, teachers, healthcare providers, and civic action groups.
Dr. Vandiver is known for her innovations in developing interactive teaching models. Patented by MIT and used worldwide, these hands-on educational tools enable students to easily conceptualize and understand complex subjects, such as how DNA, RNA, and proteins work together. Drawing from her background as an educator and as an instructor, Dr. Vandiver tailored the learning experiences based on the target audience so that they will have the greatest impact and lasting effect. In addition to these engagement activities, Dr. Vandiver also collaborates and teaches with Dr. Amanda Mayer at MIT and partners with Dr. Christa Wright (Key CEC Core Person) of the Research Institute of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. on broader diversity outreach projects.
To advance the work in protecting public health from hazardous substances, we collaborate with many partners, our stakeholders. These stakeholders include university researchers, community members, governmental agencies, and consultants. Moreover, to maximize societal impact, we recognize the importance of and continue to build strong relationships with teachers and healthcare providers along with city planners for climate change mitigation.
Above all, an active dialogue is key in facilitating change. As such, we collaborate with and exchange information regularly through our External Advisory Committee and our Engagement and Translation Advisory Committee. To make the sharing of environmental knowledge tangible and relevant, we also design interactive programs with our community members to communicate and educate the public.
A.E. Hodsdon is an environmental engineering that provides services to clients in Maine and New Hampshire. A.E. Hodsdon provides water engineering services for the Native American tribes of Maine.
Beyond Benign develops and disseminates green chemistry and sustainable science educational resources that empower educators, students and the community at large to practice sustainability through chemistry.
Chemical Insights Research Institute researchs environmental health threats posed by chemicals are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the products we interact with every day. Its mission is to provide objective research and resulting knowledge for improved practices, innovative product design, and changes that enable safer products and healthier environments.
The mission of Community Action Works is to work side-by-side with communities, empowering you with the skills and resources needed to prevent or clean up pollution at the local level. Since 1987, Community Action Works has worked with more than 1,000 communities and trained more than 20,000 individuals to confront polluters and seed solutions across the Northeast.
The Friends of the Malden River is a citizens group committed to drawing the Malden River back to vibrant, civic life. The group was initiated by community organizations Tri-City Community Action Program (Tri-CAP), the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), environmental and urban justice advocates, and Tufts University’s interdisciplinary graduate program in Water: Systems, Science & Society (WSSS) in 2012. The group meets monthly to hear from local city planners, waterfront developers, and water quality experts, and develop a vision for the river’s future. The Friends of the Malden River has four working groups which focus on water quality, public access, outreach, and youth involvement.
The objective of the Malden River Works project is to bring together a new coalition of community leaders of color, environmental advocates, and government stakeholders in action to achieve a common goal: to create a climate resilient waterfront park for all on the Malden River.
The Massachusetts DPH promotes the health and well-being of all residents by ensuring access to high-quality, public health and healthcare services focused on prevention and wellness, and health equity for all.
The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was founded in 1972 with a mission to protect and restore the Mystic River, its tributaries and watershed lands for the benefit of present and future generations and to celebrate the value, importance and great beauty of these natural resources.
The mission of the NTP is to partner to build knowledge and advance toxicological sciences to protect and promote human health. In carrying out its mission, the federal NTP partners develop and apply new approaches, technologies, and research methods, necessary to achieve the vision of innovative and trusted toxicological science that protects human health.
Founded in 1994, Silent Spring Institute is the leading scientific research organization dedicated to uncovering the links between chemicals in our everyday environment and women’s health, with a focus on breast cancer prevention.
In June of 2020 the tribes in Maine (Mi’kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation) formed the Wabanaki Alliance. The Wabanaki Alliance was formed to educate people of Maine about the need for securing sovereignty of the tribes in Maine.
The mission of the EPA is to protect human healht and the environment through developing and enforcing of regulations, giving grants for environmental and educational programs, sudying environmental issues, sponsoring partnerships, educating people about the environment, and publishing information.
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.
A Facebook community page dedicated to communications about the Olin Superfund Site in Wilmington, MA.
