Free Training Call Audio
Below you can access audio recordings of our free training calls. Join our e-list by entering your e-mail at the bottom of this page to receive notices of upcoming training calls. Click “download mp3″ to listen, or right click and select “save link as” to download the audio.
June 20, 2017: Dealing with Trouble
This session looks at trouble shooting, problem solving, and sharing common problems with others. Our speaker for the call is David Beckwith, one of the founding members of CHEJ, who has worked as a community organizer, training, and consultant to community groups since 1971.
Download mp3 | CHEJ’s Dealing with Trouble Guidebook
May 16, 2017: Running for Office
Getting involved in community affairs has never been more important and some of you may be thinking about taking a major step and running for office. Deciding to become a candidate for local office can be an incredibly exciting moment in your life but the first steps and trying to figure out where to start can be daunting. This session will help you think through these first steps and help you identify what you need to get started. Questions that will be addressed include why run, what to consider before making a decision, and how do you get started.
Guest Speakers: Laurel Wales, Deputy Director of Movement Politics with People’s Action; Roxanne Groff, co-founder of Save Our Rural Environment
Download mp3 | Attachments (1) (2) (3) (4) | CHEJ’s Running for Office Guidebook
April 18, 2017: National Lessons from Maryland’s Fracking Ban
On March 27th, with game-changing support from Republican Governor Larry Hogan, the Maryland General Assembly gave final approval to a bill to ban fracking in Maryland forever. The move culminates years of protests against fracking from landowners, health leaders, and environmentalists. It also sets a significant national precedent, as other states grapple with the dangerous gas-drilling method. But how did it happen? What were the keys to success in Maryland? Why did Republicans support the ban? What are the implications for other fracking and pipeline fights across the country?
Guest Speaker: Teresa Mills, CHEJ Ohio Organizer; Brooke Harper, Maryland Field Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
March 21, 2017: Beyond Flint: Why Your Drinking Water May Be Worse
Learn about drinking water testing, particularly for lead, and why you may not be safe even if your water company meets federal guidelines and standards. Learn what you need to know about testing, what to look for including emerging contaminants, the limits of the testing and how testing should be done. We’ll also discuss the EPA’s revised procedures for sampling lead in drinking water and how these procedures influence the results.
Guest Speakers: Stephen Lester, CHEJ Science Director; Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech, and the founder of Parents for Nontoxic Alternatives
Download mp3 | Download PDF (1) | PDF (2)
February 21, 2017: Media: Effective Framing, Targeting and Messaging
Learn how to sharpen your skills in communicating with the media and the public. Build your skills to move messages that make a difference, inspire, galvanize, and give voice and power.
Guest Speaker: Lois Gibbs
January 26, 2017: Strategic Planning
Is your organization ready for this new year? Do you have a plan? Join Lois Gibbs to sharpen your skills on developing a plan to stay focused, be proactive and to allow you to figure out when you need to say “No” to others asking for support. Too often leaders are pulled in many different directions and as a result are not as effective as they could be. This training will help you to put together the framework to work proactively and stay focused.
Guest Speaker: Lois Gibbs
November 15, 2016: Social Media
Discussed were the benefits of social media platforms: FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter. Also described were suggestions on how to use each platform effectively for community outreach.
Guest Speakers: Lizzy Duncan, Britta Husen, Abigail Esplana, CHEJ Interns
October 18, 2016: Can Health Studies Help You?
Health studies are a complex subject, particularly when trying to relate them to your cause. This training call addresses the strengths and weaknesses of health studies in the context of what you can learn about the health problems in your community. It discusses the benefits and pitfalls of different types of studies, limitations of health study design, the difficulty in interpreting results and the importance of matching the study design to your community’s concerns.
Guest Speaker: Stephen Lester, CHEJ Science Director
September 20, 2016: Money, Money, Money!
There are two parts to gaining political power and winning the battles you are fighting on environmental justice. The first is people power – you can’t fight city hall on your own, you need people around who will raise their voice for justice with you! The second part of power is more difficult for most people: asking for the money you need to fund your work.
Guest Speakers: Laura Barrett, Marjorie Fine, Gordon Mayer, Jessica Wernli.
August 16, 2016: School Your Community on the ABCs of Shale Gas Risks
Protect Our Children, a Philadelphia-based coalition of local and regional organizations dedicated to protecting school children from the health risks of shale gas drilling and infrastructure, has a few back-to-school tips for us on how to organize and raise awareness about the potential harm to our kids of fracking.
Guest Speakers: Prarthana Gurung, Gillian Graber, Laura Barrett, Jordan Hoover, Lisa Graves-Marcucci.
July 19, 2016: Make Candidates Answer Your Questions
Join us for a training call that will show you how to get your issue to the top of a candidate’s agenda, whether they are running for local, regional or state office. If you are on your own, part of a volunteer group or even if you have a 501c3 or 501c4 organization, this call will help you create a civic engagement strategy that will work for you. We will also talk about what environmental justice groups like CHEJ are thinking about doing during the first 100 days of a new EPA administrator to get the focus shifted off corporate polluters and onto the grassroots people.
Guest Speaker: Drew Astolfi, Center for Community Change
June 21, 2016: Children’s Vulnerabilities to Toxic Chemicals
Why are children more vulnerable to chemical exposure than adults? Children are not little adults. Children are more susceptible to adverse health impacts from exposure because:
- Children’s uniqueness is in part due to the way they behave and their mannerisms; they behave like children, for example, and are more likely to place dirt in their mouths.
- Children also take in more food, drink and air per pound of body weight than adults.
The session will also discuss the link between chemical exposure and adverse health effects on children and talk about steps you can take to protect your children.
Guest Speaker: Stephen Lester, CHEJ Science Director
May 17, 2016: What You Need To Know About Contaminated Drinking Water: A Focus on Lead
Learn about water testing, particularly for lead, including what people need to know about testing, what to look for, who should do the testing, and how testing should be done. We will also discuss the EPA’s new procedures for sampling lead in drinking water and how these procedures (old and new) influence the results.
Guest Speaker Marc Edwards, engineering professor at Virginia Tech University and nationally renowned expert on water quality known for his recent work in Flint, MI.
