After the Fires: Choosing HHD Professions in Response and Recovery

This item is part of a series: After the Fires by the College of Health and Human Development. Further info below.

The Hughes, Eaton, Palisades, and Kenneth fires of January 2025 in Southern California have called for a tremendous amount of response and recovery. In the College of Health and Human Development, we know that compassion is strengthened by action. If you are considering a majoring in an area where you can help people, look to the climate crisis and you will find that professionals in all aspects of Health and Human Development fields play vital roles in response and recovery.

With a career based on any of the academic programs offered through our departments in HHD, you can build a life that becomes more rewarding every year as you become a greater part of the solution. From initial medical interventions, to long-term recovery, to assessing environmental impacts, to the outlook for travel and tourism, HHD professionals are working to enhance, enrich, and empower the human experience.

We’ve listed a few general categories where HHD professionals are involved to give you an idea of areas you might want to pursue.

Is your interest business, economic, or community minded? Studies in Family and Consumer Sciences/Consumer Affairs, Health Administration, Public Health, Recreation and Tourism Management may be avenues to explore. HHD professionals in those fields help with:

• Evaluation of priorities
• Food, shelter, housing, tenants’ rights
• Hospitality and hotels management
• Consumer information advocacy
• Helping navigate recovering lost documents, policies
• Rebuilding community
• Help for workers and small businesses
• Consumer safety from scammers and financial predators
• Mortgage relief programs
• Tourism alternatives and marketing
• Travel advising

Is your interest in public health and personal and community wellbeing? You will find aspects of what you’re looking for in all of our departments and programs in HHD. A few examples:

• Health Advocacy
• Food delivery
• Food safety
• Is my home safe to live in?
• Psychological trauma
• Public safety
• Fire prevention
• Prescription medicine issues

Perhaps you’re interested in addressing the immediate environmental effects of natural disasters. Environmental and Occupational Health has what you’re looking for.

• Toxic waste clean up and hazardous waste removal
• Vector control
• Septic systems
• Swimming pool safety
• Air and water safety
• Debris removal
• Smoke damage assessment and response
• Safety inspections

A recent EOH Technical Symposium brought wildfire experts to students:

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, a new reality we are grappling with that is anticipated to magnify with climate change. A fear years ago, in 2022, the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health dedicated its annual Technical Symposium to the topic of wildfires.

In a one-day virtual event (pandemic guidelines were still in play), the department brought together scientists, industry professionals, and policy experts to discuss issues related to the field. Participants learned about efforts to characterize and control worker and community exposures to wildfire smoke, gain insights into the environmental impacts from wildfires, and learn ways to improve our collective response to fires.

Speakers included researchers and agency officials who presented their work on health effects, post-fire contamination, fire impact, and preparedness efforts. CSUN EOH’s own Katherine McNamara, Ph.D., C.I.H. presented the results of work done with a student whose research project examined the feasibility of shelter-in-place recommendations during wildfires.

See the compiled PowerPoints from the 2022 EOH Tech Symposium Wildfire Presentation.

At the EOH symposium on wildfires, guest speakers included:

• Marisol Cira, M.S., Ph.D. candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA who spoke on Coastal water quality following the Woolsey Fire;

• Shelley DuTeaux, Ph.D., MPH, Chief, Human Health Assessment, California Department of Pesticide Regulation who covered the controlling of worker and community exposures during Camp Fire debris removal;

• Scott Hauswirth, Ph.D.. Assistant Professor, CSUN Department of Geological Sciences discussed the effects of the Woolsey Fire on water quality in the Malibu Creek watershed.

• Michael Kleinman, Ph.D., and Adjunct Professor at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) UC Irvine School of Medicine who talked about wildfire smoke composition and health effects;

• Tim Reinhardt, C.I.H., a Senior Associate Scientist at Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. who presented on about Occupational exposures among wildland firefighters;

• The topic of Interpreting the Air Quality Index and AQMD health advisories during wildfires was covered by Nico Schulte, Ph.D., Air Quality Specialist, South Coast AQMD;

• And, Derek Urwin, Ph.D. from Los Angeles County Fire, presented on the Firefighter Cancer Cohort – Wildland urban interface exposure study.

Sp2025
Jean O’Sullivan, HHD