NYSCC Environmental Carcinogen Action Team Quarterly Member Meeting Series

Tuesday Mar 12, 2024

11:00AM - 12:30PM

The Consortium in Action: A Presentation from The Environmental Carcinogen Action Team

Join us for the NYSCC Quarterly Meeting hosted by the New York State Environmental Carcinogens Action Team. This event brings together a coalition of experts dedicated to cancer risk reduction and environmental health. The team will provide an overview of the latest evidence on environmental carcinogens, activities of the action team and future directions followed by a panel discussion on environmental health equity.

Register Here

About the Speakers

Desirée A.H. Walker | Survivor Extraordinaire! Two-Time Breast Cancer Victor, Health Educator, Cancer Patient Advocate and Support Group Facilitator 

At the age of 38, Desirée was diagnosed with breast cancer, which recurred at age 47. For many who have had to fight breast cancer, Desirée serves as an advocate for patients by openly speaking about her diagnoses to audiences nationally and internationally. The core of her message is to encourage patients to truly know their body and feel empowered to steward self, mind, body and soul. Through SHARE’s Side by Side Program, Desirée trains medical students and doctors on how to deliver disappointing news and vehemently supports the importance of patient/doctor communication. 

Ginger Champain, Senior Contract Coordinator, New York State Department of Health

Ginger is a Senior Contract Coordinator with the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Cancer Prevention and Control. Ginger is the point of contact for the Cancer Prevention in Action programs across the state supporting local cancer prevention education and interventions through policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes to the environment. These changes enable healthy options to be the default choice, regardless of education, income, or other societal factors. Ginger specializes in PSE interventions and has history in assisting organizations to adopt and implement evidence-based strategies including Paid Time Off for Cancer Screenings to detect cancers early when they are most successful to treat and Sun Safety policies to prevent skin cancer.

Janet Gray, PhD, Professor Emerita, Psychology/Neuroscience and Program in Science, Technology, and Society, (STS), Vassar College

Janet Gray is Professor Emerita in Psychology/Neuroscience and Science, Technology, & Society (STS) at Vassar College.  As a lab scientist, for 25 years she studied the effects of estrogens and estrogen-disrupting compounds – including major breast cancer drugs – on brain cellular activity and behavior.  For the past 20 years, she has focused her non-teaching work on the relationships between environmental toxicants and risk for developing breast cancer.  For 10 years, she served on the national board of directors for Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and was a founding member of its Science Advisory Panel.  She is the lead author on several editions of The State of the Evidence: The Connection between Breast Cancer and the Environment, a comprehensive examination of the scientific literature addressing the relationships between environmental toxicants and health outcomes. Janet currently serves on the board of Clean+Healthy.

Sarah Evans, PhD, Assistant Professor Environmental Medicine & Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Sarah F. Evans, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health and a member of the Institute for Exposomic Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Evans’ research is focused on the impacts of early life environmental exposures on nervous system development and child behavior. She is a trusted voice on the health effects of toxic chemicals and what individuals can do to protect their own health as well as how to advocate for healthier policies in their local communities. 

Dr. Evans leads a multi-disciplinary team working to improve the process of reporting back individual environmental exposure results to participants in research studies. Dr. Evans and her team aim to empower individuals to make more informed, health-centered choices and activate community-level change to reduce environmental exposures more widely.