Friday, March 25 | 10 AM - Noon ET | Virtual

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Join us for a virtual event featuring discussion on current EPA efforts to improve environmental and social justice and environmental health in Indiana.

Part 1: EPA, EJ and Region V

Alan Walts, Director, Tribal and Multi-media Programs Office at US EPA Region V, will provide a broad overview of current and upcoming work of EPA and how it works with communities in the spaces of environmental health and social justice.

Part 2: Current Projects in IN

Hear about current projects that improve the personal and environmental health of Hoosiers. Panel includes:

• Dr. Julie Peller (Valparaiso U)
• Rev. Curtis Whittaker (FAITH Farms, Gary IN)
• Denise Abdul-Rahman (NAACP, IN)
• Dr. Jason Kelly (IUPUI)

Part 3: Panel Discussion

Led by Dr. Ellen Wells (Purdue), all of the speakers will discuss ways forward and will respond to questions from audience members.

Speaker Bios

Denise Abdul-Rahman is a member of the national staff for The Chisholm Legacy Project as the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley Special Project Manager, and serves as the Environmental and Climate Justice Chair of the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP.  In this role, Abdul-Rahman led “Our Youth Scientist” in East Chicago Indiana and a delegation to US EPA Region V regarding the Clean Power Plan. Currently she leads the support for building equitable clean energy projects (Hammond, Evansville and Kokomo); models for PowerUp Clean Energy Jobs to infuse the Black Green Pipeline; and equitable clean energy policy and practices to spur minority and women business enterprises, fair chances, and geographic imperatives.  She also works on the Just Transportation and Equitable Goods Movement. She holds a BS in management, MBA in healthcare management, and a health informatics designation from Indiana University School of Informatics; she is a Black Women, Foreign War, Veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

Jason M. Kelly is the Director of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute and Chair and Professor of History in the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Dr. Kelly’s current research projects focus on the histories of the environment, sciences, and art and architecture and he is currently working with communities in Indianapolis to record oral histories as part of the Voices from the Waterways project. In the environmental justice space, he works with Dr. Gabe Filippelli (IUPUI) and an extensive team on a community-partnership project focused on communities in Indianapolis, Addressing Risks of Lead in Water and Soil

Julie Peller is a professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University and much of her research is associated with emerging contaminants in aqueous systems, with a current focus on microplastics. She works toward environmental justice through citizen science projects such as her current work in Gary, IN and along the Great Lakes shoreline. She works with both Rev. Whittaker and Dr. Wells as well with community groups in the East Chicago region. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Hoosier Environmental Council and is a long-time champion for environmental health and equitable access to clean water.

Alan Walts is the current Director of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in U.S. EPA Region 5, which serves Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and 35 tribes. This Office coordinates enforcement, and manages the Region’s Environmental Justice and National Environmental Policy Act programs. From 1996-2007, Alan was a staff attorney in Region 5’s Office of Regional Counsel. Alan is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Michigan Law School.

Ellen Wells, an Environmental Epidemiologist, is an Associate Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at Purdue University. Her research focuses on how environmental factors affect human health, with a focus on those with a higher exposure or susceptibility to environmental factors.  Much of her research focuses on neurological health impacts that are associated with exposures or multiple contaminants such as heavy metals. Through this interest, she has worked with communities in the East Chicago/Gary, Indiana region to help promote community health.

Rev. Curtis Whittaker, Sr. serves as Senior Pastor of Progressive Community Church of Gary, Indiana.  An alumnus of IU Bloomington, he is a licensed and ordained minister whose focus is pastoral care and counseling and community and economic development.  In terms of environmental justice, he works extensively with his community to help improve the health of others through initiatives such as FAITH (Families Anchored In Total Harmony), which runs Faith Farms, part of an active local foods movement.