On November 9^th, the Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition (InJAC) celebrated 20 years of helping to reduce the burden of asthma in Indiana. This hybrid event was hosted by the Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition at the Purdue Extension Hamilton County office and via zoom. Participants heard from Janet McCabe, Deputy Administrator with the EPA and former In JAC coalition member, in addition to a presentation from Dr. Nicole Fabricant, author of “Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, And the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore” who spoke about citizen science, environmental justice, and youth activism. Carlos Sanchez-Rodriquez, an environmental justice organizer for the South Baltimore Community Land Trust and a colleague of Dr. Fabricants shared his work in housing justice and anti-incineration.

Nineteen coalition members, past and present showed up in person to help us celebrate. We had eight participants join us via zoom. Astra Zeneca sponsored the event and provided lunch for in person attendees.

A brief survey was given to participants. New information was learned by fifty percent of participants and the other fifty percent learned some new information. Seventy-five percent of respondents reported that they planned to share/use the information they received within the next 0-3 months. Dr. Fabricant was rated highly for both her content and preparedness for the presentation. One participant commented that the presentation “made me really think about the historical implications.”

Coalition members received a copy of “Fighting to Breathe” and were invited to join a post event book club led by Dr. Fabricant who will translate lessons about the environment, justice, and air quality to coalition members.

Thank you to our coalition members for helping us get to 20 years and for your efforts in reducing the burden of asthma in our state.

Access the recording of the event.