In coordination with South Bend’s Near Northwest Neighborhood and the St. Joseph County Health Department, the Eck Institute for Global Health is hosting two experts from Green & Healthy Homes Initiative in the field of lead abatment and healthy housing. Join the discussion and learn what our community can do to address living with lead right here at home.

Ruth Ann Norton

Ruth Ann Norton, President and CEO of the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, is an expert on health-based housing program design.  Ms. Norton leads GHHI’s ground breaking work in over 30 US cities that uses housing as a platform for improved health, economic and social outcomes. The architect of Maryland’s 98% reduction in childhood lead poisoning, she has led the development of numerous action plans including GHHI’s 5 year national Strategic Plan to End Lead Poisoning – A Blueprint for Action (2016) and a lead elimination plan for New Jersey (2017). She has authored 35 pieces of healthy housing legislation, served as a contributor to similar strategic plans for Pew Charitable Trust and the Center for Healthy Housing. Ms. Norton has crafted numerous policy initiatives with a focus on advancing the role of the Medicaid, energy efficiency, education and philanthropic sectors as investors in healthy housing. An economist by training, Ms. Norton led GHHI to establish its cost benefit analysis practice to demonstrate the business case for scaling interventions that create healthy, safe and energy efficient housing.  Honored by the Maryland AAP with its advocacy award, Ms. Norton served as a liaison for the CDC Advisory Committee on Lead Poisoning Prevention and was selected a Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader and Weinberg Foundation Fellow.

Hannah Burke

Hannah Burke, as Director of Initiatives at the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), drives CEO-level priorities, projects and partnerships to improve health, economic and social outcomes through housing. Prior to joining GHHI, Ms. Burke ran electoral campaigns across the country at all levels of government, managing everything from community outreach to fundraising and communications. A native of London, England, Ms. Burke is GHHI’s point person on the soon-to-be-launched Campaign to End Lead Poisoning by 2022.

Originally published at globalhealth.nd.edu.