Welcoming Remarks by Jane P. Bowers, Ph.D. 
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs of John Jay College

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 Panel 1, the Science Panel will be the foundation for everything that follows.
 
Dr. Frederica Perera, Professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of molecular epidemiology, will present on: “The Multiple Impacts of Fossil Fuel Pollutants on Children's Health.”
 
Dr. David O. Carpenter, a public health physician, Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences within the School of Public Health at the University at Albany, has studied human health effects of several metals and organic chemicals as well as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, will present on: “Health Effects from Inhalation of Volatile Organic Compounds & Reduced Cognitive Function in Children.”  
  
Dr. Sheila Bushkin-Bedient, MD, MPH, a member of The Institute of Health and the Environment at the State University at Albany, The New York State Medical Society and Concerned Health Professionals of New York, whose current work revolves around environmental health issues, chronic diseases, and health concerns of older adults,will discuss,  "How Metabolic Disease is Linked to Early Life Exposures to Chemical Toxin.”
 
Panel 2, The Mothers, is introduced through a video by Theo Colborn, Ph.D., founder of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, a non-profit committed to researching environmental problems caused by chemicals that interfere with development.  She is considered a leading expert in her field having received numerous awards including Environmental Chemistry's Rachel Carson Award and Time Magazine's Environmental Heroes Award.
  
Pramilla Mallick, community organizer, journalist, anthropologist and mother of 4 is the founder of two grassroots community groups, Stop The Minisink Compressor Station and Protect Orange County, formed to fight fracking-related gas infrastructure In New York State. She will discuss: “The adverse impacts and burdens placed upon communities targeted by the gas industry, from the perspective of parents; both successes and failures.”
 
Cherri Foytlin, co-founder of The Life Support Project, is a Native American, journalist, activist and mother of six, who is raising her children in Southern Louisiana and will focus her talk on: “The Gulf Coast - an American Sacrifice Zone.”  
 
Panel 3, Policies of Change, will present hope, including newly proposed and practical solutions to the crisis we face.
  
Thomas Linzey, President, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). Mr. Linzey will speak on, “Harnessing our Municipal Governments – Creating a Constitutional Right to Climate.” CELDF has assisted US municipalities to ban hydrocarbon extraction putting in place new laws that establish the rights of nature, placing the highest societal value on these natural systems. Mr. Linzey will participate by Skype
 
Samara Swanston, Legislative Attorney, Counsel to the Environmental Protection Committee of the New York City Council and Adjunct Professor at the Pratt Institute Graduate School for Urban Planning and the Environment. Ms. Swanston will speak on: “Protecting Children by Fossil Fuel-Free Legislative Initiatives.”  
 
Linda B. Rosenthal, member New York State Assembly, District 67.  Assemblywoman Rosenthal recently sponsored Assembly bill A.6863-B, which would require monitoring, compliance assurance and reporting of elevated radon found in new sources of natural gas. “Current Legislative Efforts to Protect Residents, at the State Level, from Damages inherent in Further Expansion of Fossil Fuel Extraction and Use.”

Osprey Orielle Lake, Co-Founder and Executive Direction, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Ms. Lake will speak on: “Women Leading the Way,” showcasing women working nationally and internationally to promote resilient communities and foster a post-carbon energy future. Ms. Lake will focus on the importance of women in climate action and the opportunities and ways in which women are coming together to create and demand change  
 
The Moderator for the forum is filmmaker, Penelope Jagessar Chaffer, creator of "Toxic Baby,” a film that explores environmental toxins through interviews and surreal imagery. Her work brings to light the issue of environmental chemical pollution and its effect on babies and children. She has been inspired to begin her research on Toxic Baby by Dr. Theo Colborn