1. Improving Communications for More Effective Public Meetings Charlotte Bethoney and Lani Rafferty New York State Department of Health Northeast Regional Public Health Leadership Institute Alumni, Class of 2007

2. Staff Team Members: n NYSDOH Center for Environmental Health, Education and Outreach n NYSDOH Bureau of Environmental Health Exposure Investigation n NYSDOH Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology n NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

3. Love Canal

4. Hudson River

5. Sensitive Populations School Site River

7. What prompted this project?

8. Objectives: n Improve effectiveness to communicate information to the public n Enhance the public’s understanding of environmental information n Increase public participation and support for exposure mitigation efforts

12. Results

13. Northeast Regional Public Health Leadership Institute Dwight C. Williams, Director

14. Questions: Lani Rafferty - New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Office of Research, Extramural Programs (518) 473-5217, ldr01@health.state.ny.us or Charlotte Bethoney - New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation (518) 402-7860, cmb18@health.state.ny.us