GOALS
To play a consulting, leadership or advisory role in projects dedicated to
- Achieving high-quality inclusive schools and sustainable communities (clean water, clean air, clean energy and safe food).
- Promoting changes in education and health systems to prioritize public health and safety.
- Increasing citizen engagement, government accountability and corporate responsibility on behalf of children.
EXPERTISE
- Strategic advocacy at the local, state and national level on behalf of children and other vulnerable populations.
- Working in a variety of leadership and advisory roles in multi-disciplinary coalitions for institutional and legislative reforms in education and environmental health.
- Translating and integrating technical information from medical, scientific, environmental, educational and legal experts into print, multi-media materials and programs for parents, students, educators, health and legal professionals, advocates, citizen groups and policy makers.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Consultant/Contributing Expert to organizations and publications (ongoing). Credits include the Children's Television Workshop, the Food Allergy Network, WGBH-TV, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the Allergy and Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics, Inc., the Affiliated Children's Arthritis Treatment Centers of New England, the National Association of School Nurses, the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, Dr. Tom Plaut's Asthma Guide for People of All Ages, Understanding Handicaps/Newton and others.
Media Resource (ongoing). Frequently interviewed, consulted and quoted for public and professional audiences by print, TV news and feature producers for stories about children's environmental health, school indoor air quality, pesticides, advocacy, citizen engagement and education.
Health Educator, Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (mid 1980's). Created communication strategies and educational materials for the public, parents and professionals about lead poisoning prevention. Organized educational events, public outreach and legislative projects for the update of the Massachusetts Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention law. Targeted a diverse audience via the mainstream media and Museum of Science Newsletter, the Baystate Realtor, community health center and neighborhood newsletters and Massachusetts Department of Public Health publications.
PUBLIC ADVOCACY / COMMUNITY SERVICE
Producer and Director, BIG BUILDINGS, BIG MACHINES, BIG STORIES (12 minutes). Discover the glory of one of Boston's most significant historic buildings and its trio of magnificent engines. BIG BUILDINGS, BIG MACHINES, BIG STORIES celebrates the architects and engineers who built Boston's first public water system and the visionary grassroots group dedicated to preserving its legacy. I hope the film will excite interest in the Museum and start conversations about our government's role in both safeguarding the public health and enriching the quality and sustainability of our communities.
Creator, Lessons of the 1937 Texas School Explosion, a campaign to bring the story and the lessons of the 1937 Texas School Explosion to public attention and to raise awareness of the urgent need for responsible leadership to eliminate explosives and other chemical hazards in today's schools. Includes annual naming of "Healthy School Heroes," celebrating advocates whose efforts on behalf of children are a model of responsibility and leadership.
Expert Consultant, National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, Committee on Asthma in the School, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute/NIH, (11 years).
Current and/or long term board member of many health, education, and environmental advocacy organizations:
Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Governing council, legislative and administrative subcommittees. AHT is a statewide coalition of more than 140 public health, education, labor, environmental and community groups.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America/New England board member and education committee. (1988 - 1996).
Citizens for Public Schools, Former board member, a Massachusetts-wide coalition of more than 50 civic, civil rights, labor, religious and education organizations committed to strong, democratically accountable public schools.
Clean Water Action, Long-time Board Member.
Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Newton, MA, founding member, former board member, newsletter editor.
Green Decade Coalition/Newton, Advisory Board, Former Board Member, Co-Chair of GreenCAP, Committee for Alternatives to Pesticides (1994-2004). Obtained grants from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (University of Massachusetts/Lowell) and the New England Grassroots Environment Fund. Created Newton's annual Alternatives to Pesticides Month (started in March '97) including Mayor's proclamation, annual speaker program, exhibits, resources, and related events.
Laboratory Safety Institute, Former Board Member
Massachusetts Healthy Schools Initiative of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health.
Massachusetts PTA, VP Legislation, Former Board Member, Environmental Health Consultant, (9 years). Responsible for creating the Mass PTA Legislative and Advocacy Newsletter. Responsible for the legislative agenda and advocacy training to promote parent involvement and leadership to make children a high priority at the community, state and national levels. Spokesperson on PTA priority issues, providing testimony at legislative hearings and participating in statewide policy making groups:
MassPartners, a Massachusetts collaboration of the major educational, administrative, teacher, and parent associations, Massachusetts PTA representative, (2005, 2006).
The Massachusetts Department of Education Interdisciplinary Health Education and Human Services Advisory Council. (3 years)
National Healthy Schools Network, Inc., Advisory Board.
Newton At Home, Newsletter Editor.
Silent Spring Institute, Board Member
Special Needs Advocacy Network, Board member and newsletter editor.
Toxics Action Center/Massachusetts, Former board member.
Understanding Our Differences: A Disability Awareness Program, Newton Public Schools, Asthma Resource Person and parent volunteer, (1987 - 1999).
YMCA Sandy Island Family Camp, Former Member Camper Committee (That's Amore! campaign), Week 7 Representative, Greater Boston YMCA
EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM, OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Editor, Partners in Allergy Newsletter, New England Allergy Nurses and Associates, (1993 - 1994).
Author, a series of faculty and student textbooks and study guides for the 24-program WGBH-PBS telecourse Discovering Psychology, (1989). Print study guides for WGBH-Boston video programs including Degrassi Jr. High, Nova, etc.
Author, Experiencing Psychology (Introductory Psychology Textbook), Science Research Associates, Inc., with Robert Goodale, PhD, (1978).
Education writer, textbook editor, and language arts/social studies curriculum developer. Intentional Educations, Cambridge, MA. Specialized in student-centered curriculum, values clarification and performance assessment for publishers Science Research Associates, Inc., Laidlaw and Doubleday, (1974 - 1976).
Research/Author, Focus: Family Mobility, Adolescent Development and Welcoming Communities. Publications include "The Supportive Environment," Children's Environments Quarterly: Residential Mobility, Penn State Univ., Spring, (1985); "Relocation and the Family: A Crisis in Adolescent Development," Uprooting and Development, Coelho and Ahmed, Eds., Plenum., (1980).
Editor, Developmental Achievement in the Child with Spina Bifida, A Therapy Monograph, A. Johnson, DSW, Eterna Press,(1980).
AFFILIATIONS
The American Public Health Association - Environmental Section, Food and the Environment Working Group
The Massachusetts Public Health Association - Environmental Section
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Health Care Without Harm
Former member of Mass Health Council Task Force on Cultural and Linguistic Minorities; Massachusetts Consumer Health Educators Association; Co-Chair, Education Task Force, New England Consortium of Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
~ The Collaborative Action for Worker Justice Award, December 10, 2008 presented by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) to Ellie Goldberg, of The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, for outstanding efforts to promote safe jobs and healthy communities.
~ Recognized by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (1997) as one of six "unsung heroes" in Massachusetts for promoting alternatives to pesticides through community education and public policy initiatives.
~ Received the Green Decade Coalition's Environmental Leadership Award (2004) for GreenCAP's initiative that resulted in the City of Newton's adoption of a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management Policy to eventually eliminate pesticides in all city-owned buildings and grounds. The policy was the basis of the City of Newton's application for the US Conference of Mayors City Livability Award.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Teacher, Lincoln-Sudbury, MA (1972 - 1974) and Palfrey Street, Watertown, MA (1974-75). Developed and taught curriculum in Grade 9 - 12 language arts, writing, photography, media studies. Liaison and Administrative Services, Starting Tomorrow (Teacher Inservice Program), Ealing Corporation, (1969-70); Para-professional, 10th grade Emerson School, Concord, MA (1-6/71); Part-Time Admin, Transportation and Community Values Project, Urban Systems Lab, MIT, Cambridge, MA (1971-72); Substitute Teacher Boston Public Schools, (Fall 1970, 71); Substitute Teacher, Detroit Public Schools, (Summers 1967, 68, 69).
EDUCATION
M.Ed. Institute of Open Education (Antioch Graduate Center), now Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA (1974). B.A. English/Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (1969).
