
18th Annual Environmental & Occupational Health Technical Symposium: Risk Assessment, Communication, and Lessons Learned from the Los Angeles Fires
The 2025 LA Fires were unprecedented in their timing, intensity, and destructiveness. Massive losses of urban structures created complex exposures and lingering contamination that have significantly slowed recovery. Equally unprecedented, however, was the response. State and local health agencies, academic and professional communities, and affected residents mobilized in new ways. Communities self-organized to share resources, and local philanthropies stepped in to support recovery efforts.
Join experts from LA County Public Health, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, USC and UCLA engineering and earth science programs, industrial hygiene professionals, and community advocates as they share their lessons learned. Speakers will discuss how risks were assessed, hazards communicated, and what this disaster revealed about protecting public health during large-scale urban wildfires.
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m
Location: CSUN University Student Union, Northridge Conference Center
18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA 91330
Cost: Varies – See below for details
General Admission $175.00
Includes: Breakfast, lunch, snacks
Parking
0.8 Continuing Education Units *Must be present entire presentations
Close: 2/27/26
CSUN Alumni $160.00
Includes: Breakfast, lunch, snacks
Parking
0.8 Continuing Education Units *Must be present entire presentations
Close: 2/27/26
CSUN Faculty/Staff $50.00
Includes: Breakfast, lunch, snacks
Close: EOD 3/10/26
Students – Free
Includes: Breakfast, lunch, snacks
Close: EOD 3/10/26
Onsite/Late $200.00
Includes: Breakfast, lunch, snacks (no parking)
0.8 Continuing Education Units *Must be present entire presentations
Open: 2/28/26 Close: EOD 3/10/26
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Program Co-Sponsor – $500
Includes:
• 2 Breakfast, lunch, snacks
• 2 Parking passes
• Exhibit table at event
• Logo in digital program
• Onsite signage
Table Top Exhibit – $400
Includes:
• 2 Breakfast, lunch, snacks
• 2 Parking passes
• Exhibit table
• Logo in digital program
Food & Beverage Sponsor – $350
Includes:
• 2 Breakfast, lunch, snacks
• 2 Parking passes
• Logo in digital program
• Signage at food tables
Digital Program Ad – Half Page – $300
Includes:
• 1 Breakfast, lunch, snacks
• 1 Parking passes
• Half-page ad in digital program
Digital Program Ad – Quarter Page – $200
Includes:
• 1 Breakfast, lunch, snacks
• 1 Parking pass
• Quarter-page ad in digital program
Vendor Unable to Attend – $100
Includes:
• Logo in digital program
Contact Hannah Labra to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.
8:30 a.m Welcome and opening comments
9 a.m. Community Engagement and Science Translation: Early Lessons to Improve Health Communication among Vulnerable Groups: Savanna Carson, PhD, Director of Community Research, UCLA CTSI Community Engagement & Research Program and Katherine McNamara, PhD, CIH, Associate Professor, CSUN EOH Department
9:30 a.m. Protecting Vulnerable Workers: Alice Berliner, Director, LA County DPH Office of Worker Health and Safety; and Ivy Torres, UCLA Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program
10:30 a.m. Panel – Assessing the Indoor Environment: Michelle Rosales, MPH, CIH, Director of Environmental Services, Forensic Analytical (moderator), Patrick Moffatt, President, Blue Sky Environmental and the Building Restoration Institute, Stephen Long, Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, and Ana Raya, Esq., Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Public Health Wildfire Response: Nichole Quick, MD, Chief Science Officer, Janet Scully, MPH, Office of Environmental Justice and Climate Health, and Remy Landon, MPH, Senior Advisor, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
2:00 p.m. Agency Collaboration and Coordination: Kathryn Butler, MPH, Director, and Valerie Hanley, PhD, Senior Toxicologist, Department of Toxic Substances Control
3:00 p.m. Community Soil Testing and Hazard Mitigation: Sanjay Mohanty, PhD, Associate Professor, UCLA School of Engineering and CAP.LA, Max Teirstein, Project Adminstrator,USC CLEAN and Erika Garcia, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, USC Department of Population and Public Health Sciences
4:00 p.m. Key Lessons from the 2025 LA Fires, an Insurance Perspective: Paul Brady, ARM, CWMS, Wildfire Insights and Mitigation and ISA Certified Arborist, and Jim Jirsa, AI and Analytics, Green Shield Risk Solutions
4:45 p.m. Closing comments
We welcome those who require visual, auditory or mobility assistance to attend. Please contact Hannah Labra with any requests by March 6.
Sponsored in part by the University Student Union
