NEHA Podcast: Recent Episodes
National Environmental Health Association
Project Firstline covers a wide range of important infection control areas, including:
A. The Basic science of viruses
B. How Respiratory Droplets Spread COVID-19
C. How COVID-19 Spreads: A Review
D. Source Control
E. PPE, the basics
F. Hand Hygiene
G. Environmental Cleaning & Disinfection
H. Ventilation
Project Firstline Resources:
- Project FirstLine Homepage
- Watch CDC’s Inside Infection Control Videos.
- Review the Project Firstline Facilitator Toolkit Guide and participant resources.
Speaker Bios:
Ajay Persaud
Ajay is a Program Associate within the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery program. He supports key programmatic work in EPRR projects including Project Firstline, an-infection prevention and control initiative, and the Coaching for Enhanced Disease Intervention Skills program, and other environmental health projects.
Ajay’s passion for public health began in high school when he joined his local volunteer EMS agency and discovered emergency preparedness and response. His goal to protect families and communities alike from natural and man-made disasters has guided him to advocate for improved climate change adaptation and mitigation research and projects.
Ajay holds his master’s degree in public health with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His graduate thesis focused assessing the impact that wildfire smoke may have on climate change and its implications. Prior to joining NNPHI, Ajay was an Emergency Medical Technician and telecommunications operator at the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine.
Madelyn Gustafson
Maddie is a Project Coordinator in the Program and Partnership Development Department at the National Environmental Health Association. She has experience in climate and health, vector control, informatics, and infection prevention and control.
Gina Bare, RN
Gina Bare is the Associate Director of Program and Partnership Development for the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). She has been a registered nurse for 25 years and is also an environmental health specialist. She has a strong background in infection control, food safety, and emergency preparedness.
Therese Pilonetti
Therese is a unit manager in the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability within the Colorado Department of Public & Health Environment and has 25 years of experience in public and environmental health. She has overseen several statewide inspection programs in Colorado and has spent her career protecting vulnerable populations. She is currently leading a team of subject matter experts responsible for developing and revising guidance for educational settings during the state’s COVID-19 response.
Deyonne Sandoval long served as the coordinator and communications lead for the NM EPHT where she was instrumental in initiating the state’s private well epidemiology program at the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) and in website and digital media development. In her role, she implemented many environmental health and climate and health campaigns. Sandoval has served in NMDOH in multiple disciplines including environmental and epidemiology applying her backgrounds in health, evaluation, and communications to lead initiatives and implement projects. She currently serves as the Director of Diabetes and Heart Health Section. Prior to serving in NMDOH, Sandoval worked in community-based health programs and in the media in various roles including journalism.
Brittany Saltsman Bell is currently the program manager and an epidemiologist for the Environmental Public Health Tracking Program at the Kentucky Department for Public Health. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Socio-cultural Anthropology at the University of Louisville before earning an MPH degree in Epidemiology at the University of Louisville. Prior to joining the Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, she worked as an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Bullitt County Health Department for five years. Her professional interests include data-driven decision-making and policy development, infectious disease, and the geographic distribution of chronic and infectious diseases.
Jill Maras is the program manager for the Michigan Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (MiTracking), funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She received her MPH from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and has been working for MiTracking since its inception in 2014. Although she loves her home state of Michigan, she can ramble on for hours about the joys of her years spent in her favorite city of New Orleans.
Matthew Montesano is a public health professional with 10 years of experience communicating public health data to make data easier to access, understand, and use. Matthew has worked at the city, state, and federal agencies to create visualizations, stories, and systems to share public health data – incorporating and synthesizing practices from health communications, data visualization, user experience design, and plain language to make informative, engaging, exciting, and successful data communication products. At the NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, Matthew leads user research and content development for the Environment & Health Data Portal and leads public-facing visualization and development of COVID-19 data.