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Category Archives: Recent News
Register for the NW Environmental Health Conference, Feb. 10th!
January 25, 2012
EPA Awards $50K in Environmental Justice Grants & Recognizes Oregon Environmental Justice Task Force
January 5, 2012
EPA awarded $25,000 grants to the Josiah Hill III Clinic (JHC) for its “Healthy Homes, Healthy Congregations: Green Steward Project” and Beyond Toxics for “The Families and Air Pollution Project”. The former is a partnership with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). Three churches and a mosque in Portland have been selected for the pilot project. The grants will assist these two community-based organizations as part of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grant Program, to conduct outreach and empower local communities to address environmental and public health issues.
At the event which took place December 16, 2011 at the State Capitol, the Oregon Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF) was also recognized for effective implementation of the State environmental legislation, as well as the Task Force’s initiatives that incorporate environmental justice consideration into State agencies’ programs. EPA Regional Administrator Dennis McLerran presented the awards. Speakers included Curtis Robinhold, Governor’s Chief of Staff; Ben Duncan, Chair, Oregon EJTF and Robert Collin, Oregon EJTF/Willamette University.
L to R: Dennis J. McLerran, EPA Region 10 Administrator; Sheryl Stohs, PhD., EJ Community Liasion; Charles McGee II, Executive Director, JHC; & Jenny Holmes, Environmental Ministries Director, EMO.
HUD offers $114 in Grants to Clean Up Lead in Housing!!
December 6, 2011
Volunteer of the Quarter: Jesse Wagner
December 5, 2011
Congratulations Jesse on being our Exceptional Volunteer of the Quarter! Jesse recently moved to Portland from Connecticut with his new wife. He is a Research Associate at OHSU studying liver and lung cancers. Jesse has a Master of Arts in Applied Medical Anthropology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Connecticut. While in the process of studying for his MPH, he had a paper published on health hazards from occupational chemicals, highlighting the need for safer alternatives to reduce the use of highly toxic chemicals in the workplace. Jesse loves brewing beer, riding bikes, and kayaking and is excited to kayak every river in the Northwest!
The “Green Steward Project”
December 5, 2011
Josiah Hill III Clinic and the Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns have partnered with the EPA to create the “Healthy Homes, Healthy Congregations: The Green Steward” project. JHC and INEC staff met recently with Sheryl M. Stohs PhD, the Environmental Justice Community Liason for EPA Region 10 to discuss the launching of the project. In attendance at this meeting were JHC Board Member Bruce Watts, Jenny Holmes and Alison Warren of EMO-INEC and Charles McGee, II of JHC. Next steps for the Green Steward Project will be: selection of participating congregations, hosting a series of presentations/discussions around environmental health and justice, and familiarizing the Green Steward Ambassadors with their project work.
Outreach Extraordinaire!
November 7, 2011
Rachel is our spectacular, shiny and new Outreach Specialist. She is an AmeriCorps volunteer placed with Josiah Hill through Confluence Environmental Center. A graduate from Adam’s State College in southern Colorado, she has a Bachelors in both Biology and Fine Art. Through her work with local organizations like Hands On Greater Portland, Catholic Charities, and Creative Cares she has honed her skills in outreach and volunteer management. She adds these skills to an already extensive background in environmental education and conservation. After spending a large part of her academic and post colligate career focusing on how “We” effect the environment Rachel was drawn to Josiah Hill III Clinic for two reasons; the first being the opportunity to apply her skill set to build capacity in a organization poised to effect real change in the health and well being of those communities least served in Portland, and, second, to explore how our environment effects “Us” as much as “We” effect our environment.