Who We Are: Ana P.
ATSDR Role: Regional Representative
Years of Service: 13
“My work at ATSDR combines technical environmental health work and communications. I love interacting with the community at public meetings or at our soilSHOP screening events.”
— Ana P., Regional Representative
The ability to practice both environmental health work and communications led Ana to her job at the Philadelphia office of ATSDR. She holds master’s degrees in environmental health and epidemiology and has professional experience in risk communication and community engagement. As a regional representative, she works with federal and state environmental agencies to investigate contaminated sites and determine how the contamination may impact people’s health. Ana works with the agencies to communicate the findings and update community members at public meetings and health fairs and through written materials.
Site investigations may take months or years to complete, and Ana likes that ATSDR is thorough, making sure they get to the bottom of each case. She and other public health experts are available to address community questions and concerns throughout the site investigation process.
Ana also works with state partners and community organizations to plan and host ATSDR soilSHOP (screening health outreach and partnership) events. soilSHOP is a health education program that aims to raise awareness about the hazards of lead in soil. People bring soil samples from their yards, and ATSDR professionals screen the samples for lead. Then they review the findings of these free screenings with each person, educate them on lead poisoning, and send them home with concrete recommendations.
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