Abstract
Investments in Community-Based Development
Kimberly Thai
Low Income Investment Fund, San Francisco, CA
APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo
Kimberly Thai is a Program Manager at the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) in San Francisco overseeing the administration of the Child Care Facilities Fund (CCFF). San Francisco's CCFF provides funding, training, and technical assistance to early education providers in order to create and improve facilities (both family child care and center-based) for the children and adults who use them. LIIF and CCFF are leaders in early education, influencing decisions about high-quality early care and learning facilities. Building from this expertise, Kimberly brought San Francisco into the IAQ study in order to learn from and with environmental health experts to further strengthen the technical assistance to early education educators and business owners provided by LIIF nationwide. Kimberly leveraged decades of relationships and experience to enhance technical assistance on environmental health and indoor air quality within the existing San Francisco facilities fund work. In this panel, Ms. Thai will share the voices of the study participants through testimonials as well as share the impact of this partnership and project on our overall work including lessons learned and future impacts.
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Program planning
Abstract
IAQ Monitoring and Implementation
Blean Girma, MPH
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo
Blean Girma, MPH, is a PhD student and Graduate Research Assistant at the T.H.E. E.J. Lab at the University of Maryland. Her work focuses on community-based participatory action research to address complex environmental health challenges. She manages a network of over 100 low-cost air monitors across Maryland and leads community engagement efforts in Prince George’s County’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, building partnerships with local officials, schools, and community-based organizations. Ms. Girma's current research centers on evaluating and supporting community-driven environmental justice and climate adaptation strategies, particularly in early childhood settings. Through her collaboration in the Children’s Environmental Health Network’s Eco-Healthy Child Care® Indoor Air Quality Initiative, she helps equip child care providers with the knowledge and tools to improve indoor air quality. Her work contributes to the initiative’s broader goal of advancing equitable, community-centered environmental health solutions in child care environments.
Program planning Public health or related research
Abstract
Coordination and Child Care Provider Support
Elisabeth Repp, MHS
Children's Environmental Health Network, Washington DC, MI
APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo
Elisabeth Repp works extensively on Children’s Environmental Health Network’s Eco-Healthy Child Care® team developing resources, conducting training, and offering technical assistance directly to child care providers. Through this project, she has worked to coordinate the collective efforts of EHCC, a national program, the local environmental justice partners, and the data evaluator from the University of Maryland to implement this multi-location initiative.
Environmental health sciences Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Program planning Public health or related research
Abstract
Community Engagement with Child Care Providers
Donele Wilkins
Green Door Initiative, Detroit, MI
APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo
As founder of the Green Door Initiative in Detroit, MI, Ms. Wilkins is a visionary leader in environmental justice and community advocacy, bringing a citizen science approach to addressing air quality challenges in early childhood settings. Her work, particularly in child care environments, where poor air quality can exacerbate chronic health issues like asthma, has helped inform the implementation of the children’s environmental health initiative. Through her expertise in workforce development, technology, and environmental health, Ms. Wilkins contributes invaluable insights on how data-driven, community-led solutions can create healthier spaces for young children to learn and grow.
Advocacy for health and health education Environmental health sciences Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Program planning