hispanics

Mar 27, 2014

Women Leading the Way

Air, asthma, EPA Internship, hispanics, Human Health, Puerto Ricans 5 Comments

By Lina Younes

Recently, EPA hosted a group of students and professors from the University of Puerto Rico’s Graduate School of Public Health. The group was visiting EPA and other agencies in Washington, DC to explore internship and employment opportunities in the federal government. It was exciting to see this group of young well-prepared Latinas ready to join the workforce.

The visiting students and professors met with several Hispanic employees from different EPA program offices. They discussed the work they are currently doing to protect the environment and human health. The employees shared some valuable advice on the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace. Furthermore, they described how they joined the agency. While we had Hispanic scientists, engineers, and lawyers with different areas of expertise, they shared some common experiences. Many had joined the agency through EPA’s internship programs.

The highlight of the afternoon was when Administrator Gina McCarthy and OPM Director Katherine Archuleta met with the visiting group and the employees. Administrator McCarthy emphasized that public health is at the core of EPA’s mission. While describing the work the agency is doing to address health disparities among Hispanics and other minorities, she mentioned the research EPA is conducting on the high incidence of asthma among Puerto Ricans.

During the meeting, Administrator McCarthy stressed the need to have a high-performing workforce that “looked like America” to fulfill the agency’s mission. She encouraged the visiting students to keep their eyes open for future opportunities at the agency. Director Archuleta echoed her words and urged students to visit OPM’s website for internship and job opportunities throughout the federal government. She recommended that they start by registering in USAJOBS. As they left, I overheard several students saying “I’m going to USAJOBS tonight!”

Personally, I was happy to see many women in leadership positions at the agency as well as a new generation of young Latinas following in our footsteps. In sum, the future is bright for women at EPA.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and currently serves the Multilingual Communications Liaison for EPA. She manages EPA’s social media efforts in Spanish. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

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May 16, 2013

Asthma: Public Health Issue for Hispanics

Air, asthma, Asthma Awareness Month, Children' Health, hispanics, Human Health 1 Comment

Several links below exit EPA

By Fedora Cagnoli Braverman

Haga clic en la imagen para unirse a la conversación en nuestro blog en español… ¡No olvide de suscribirse!

May is not only the month when April flowers bloom, it’s also Asthma Awareness Month.

According to MedlinePlus en español, asthma is a disease that affects your airways. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. It is a condition that could go from being a nuisance to extremely serious. If you don’t suffer from it, you probably know somebody who does.

But, why is asthma a public health concern? There are several reasons. Among them, it’s a chronic disease that can worsen the quality of life for the sufferer. Unfortunately, more and more people are being diagnosed with this condition.

For Latinos, though, asthma is a problem that requires attention because statistics show Hispanics are more vulnerable to it. According to the Office of Minority Health, HHS, we are more likely to visit a hospital because of asthma than non-Hispanics. Asthma is also a big problem for our children. Hispanic children are nearly twice as likely to die from asthma than non-Hispanic children. Asthma is such an important public health issue that the National Library of Medicine published several pages on its bilingual magazine (where you can see the statistics stated before) about this condition.

As a mom of two, these numbers really caught my attention. Is it possible that genetics makes us such a high risk group? There could be other problems besides genes including access (or often, lack thereof) to health information.

But thanks to years of research, there is a growing awareness about detection and management of asthma. According to EPA, it’s important to know what could trigger asthma (allergies, tobacco smoke, pollution, chemicals, upper respiratory infections, etc.) and to avoid these triggers to prevent symptoms from flaring or worsening.

If you have a small child with asthma, it’s important that you learn how to recognize the symptoms and talk to your health care provider. Otherwise, you could experience what happened to me when my son came running to me saying that his chest hurt and he couldn’t breathe. We rushed to the emergency room only to discover that he gulped too many cheese crackers at once.

Be smart: Know the symptoms, know when to get medical attention in case of an attack and, above all, leave cheese crackers out of children’s reach.

About the author: Fedora Cagnoli Braverman is responsible for developing and maintaining MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español, the government web site for consumer health information in Spanish from the National Library of Medicine – NIH.

Sep 13, 2012

Nature, Motherhood and Mother Earth Celebrating Nature during Hispanic Heritage Month

hispanics, Latinos, Mother Earth, picnics 8 Comments

By Isabel Long

I remember with nostalgia the picnics with my family in my dear country of origin, Chile, in South America. The picnic lunch always began by making the sandwiches followed by boiling eggs which are a classic in Chilean’s picnic culture. My parents were not the outdoorsy type, but nonetheless we all enjoyed our time in nature, with the ever-present majestic Andes Mountains surrounding us. Now in the States, every time I bring my little son to the beautiful Washington & Old Dominion trail by our house memories of past picnics come to me when I see families, mostly Hispanic, picnicking next to the stream.
I think it’s not a cliché that we, Latinos, are attached to our families and that the meals we share are special events of communion among our loved ones. In this sense, picnics are an example that with the same love and passion for nature we are closer to the “social outdoors experience” than the “solitude hike” portrayed by the influential American conservationist, John Muir.
As Hispanics, many of us share an indigenous cultural heritage which values the connection to our origins in Mother Earth, la Pachamama, commonly depicted in indigenous Andean culture. This is a value that I want to pass on to my son. Mother Earth provides for us, therefore it is our responsibility to relate to her in sustainable ways. Nature gives us much more which is of importance for a healthy child, the value of simplicity, interconnectivity of environments, and overall, nature also provides us with beauty to our spirit. In a world bombarded with material “needs”, overrated individualism and overly produced “beauty,” I strongly believe that time in nature will be translated to positive emotions, fun memories and interesting knowledge that I can pass on to my dear son. It would be Pachamama’s heritage to him, passed through his mother to stay with him for years to come.

About the author: Isabel Long is native from Chile. She works for the Bureau of Land Management- Eastern States at the Department of the Interior. She is the co-founder of BLM-Eastern States Diverse Youth Outings Project in partnership with the Sierra Club, the National Coalition on Climate Change (NLCCC), The National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC), and the Cesar Chavez Charter School in Washington D.C.

Isabel lives in Arlington with her husband Jonathan and her son, Dante. She enjoys bicycling, hiking, walking, practicing yoga, and traveling.

Sep 23, 2011

Hispanic Heritage Month:Raul Soto

Environmental Careers Program, Hispanic Heritage Month, hispanics, Jobs and internships, Latinos, SCEP, Student Career Experience Program 5 Comments

By Raul Soto

Looking back at the last eighteen months since my appointment at EPA, I am struck by the incredible passion I have been exposed to during my interactions with both region and program offices alike. During this Hispanic Heritage month, I can honestly say that I have been privileged to work alongside individuals that wear the agency on their sleeves and open their hearts to the needs of the American public. Interfacing with dedicated professionals throughout the agency has solidified my appreciation for the deep resolve I see manifested when I gaze upon individuals seeking to assist communities in need.

When I consider the theme of Jobs & the Economy, I consider a personal hero – my dad. Here is a man that I can honestly say never groused about getting up and going to work. He loved his job and it showed. It might never have paid much, but it was enough to raise a family of six and allow for some discretionary spending like a bike or a football to while the time away on hot Saturday afternoons growing up in South Texas. His oft-quoted phrase to us was: “Your work ethic is a reflection of your personal character”. “Mijo”, he would tell me, “Con ganas, todo es possible”. With effort, anything is possible.
In the 1990’s, Hispanics were heavily reliant on employment as a main component to personal income. Close to 70% of adult Hispanics were in the labor force by necessity. In recent years, with the great recession in full swing, many Hispanics/Latinos struggle to maintain and preserve their households. Still, they remain resilient.

Education continues to be a major contributor to economic fortunes for Latinos. Its positive effects were in evidence during a summer EPA-sponsored interns networking event. During the course of the morning I came across a young man and woman from Texas A&M- Kingsville. The young man declared he was going to take his younger brother under his wing and educate him about the mission he had been a part of. The young lady was so thoroughly committed to the role of Latinos in environmental justice, she is considering the possibility of a graduate degree. Their unbridled enthusiasm and appreciative demeanor so motivated me, that I feel rejuvenated and resolved to keep mentoring those who strive to be good role models and stewards of our environment. Con ganas, si se puede!

About the author: Raul Soto is the Associated Assistant Administrator for Office of Diversity, Outreach and Collaboration

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.