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Stay engaged with the social and environmental justice dialogues started at the 2016 National Funding and Resources Training Summit to Revitalize Vulnerable Communities – http://www.survivingtothrivingsummit.org/ (Learn How HERE)  TOPICWorker Training and Workforce Development IN THIS EPISODE[02:05] Introduction of Sharon Beard. [02:22] Sharon describes the Worker Education and Training Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). [03:38] Sharon tells why there was a need for the Minority Worker Training Program at NIEHS. [06:56] Sharon identifies some of the most successful outcomes of the Minority Worker Training Program. [09:04] Sharon conveys the purpose of the 2016 National Training a Resources Summit to Revitalize Vulnerable Communities. [10:50] Sharon answers the question of why it was important for NIEHS to co-sponsor an event like the 2016 National Training a Resources Summit to Revitalize Vulnerable Communities. [11:43] Sharon gives her response to the criticism that federal dollars could be better spent elsewhere than in job training and workforce development. [14:37] Sharon explains if the target of the Environmental Career Worker Training Program is those who have been in the criminal justice system. [16:37] Sharon gives information about the hourly wage of those who come through the program. [18:26] Sharon tells if there are any people, of the thousands who have been helped, who stick out in her mind. [20:02] Sharon communicates her hopes of what is accomplished at the National Training a Resources Summit to Revitalize Vulnerable Communities and what the ongoing impact will be. [25:21] Sharon discusses one change that would lead to more effective, more dynamic, better-funded environmental worker training. [27:38] Sharon states the action listeners can take to help build a more equitable workforce. [29:12] Sharon gives information on how people can reach her program. [30:25] Sharon shares what federally supported environmental workforce development and employment opportunities look like 30 years from now. GUEST/ORGANIZATION Sharon Beard is an Industrial Hygienist in the Worker Education and Training Program of the Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institute of Health (NIH) in Research Triangle Park, NC. As an industrial hygienist, Sharon is responsible for coordinating, evaluating, and improving the nation-wide worker education and training program especially in the area of the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP) initiative. She uses her background in industrial hygiene to provide expert review, guidance, and leadership in managing a multi-million portfolio of worker training grants in the area of hazardous waste, emergency response, and nuclear weapons/radiation reaching communities all over the US. She has also worked within in DERT assisting with efforts to facilitate and coordinate translational research through the Partnership for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) Program. The PEPH program is an umbrella program that brings together scientists, community members, educators, health care providers, public health officials, and policy makers in the shared goal of advancing the impact of environmental public health research at local, regional, and national levels. Building on her environmental and occupational health experience acquired while working in the Environmental Restoration and Industrial Hygiene a Safety Departments at Westinghouse Savannah River Company in SC, she is currently a member of the NIEHS Science Advisory Committee, HHS Environmental Justice Working Group and the Brownfields Federal Partnership Interagency Working Group. She is also a member of the American Public Health Association and ACGIH. Beard holds a Master of Science in Environmental Science and Management from Tufts University, Medford, MA where she received...