Be Heard Seminar Series

About Us

Be Heard: An Environmental Health and Climate Science Communication Series hosted by USC will demystify the process of writing, speaking about, and communicating scientific findings. The goal of the series is to empower individuals and communities to be louder, reach a larger audience, and communicate responsibly, inspiring better public policy, individual action, and promoting a greater understanding of science that can improve public health. The series is focused on children’s environmental health research.

The series features panels of specialists from the world of public health, journalism, public policy, science communication, advocacy, the law, and academia. Each panel includes a keynote speaker, USC moderator, and community perspective. The audience for the seminar series is students, graduate trainees, university faculty, and community members and advocates.

Previous Topics

Our Speakers

Past Webinars

BE HEARD: Unveiling Health Communication for Social Media

Thursday, March 19, 2026  9.00AM PDT

  • The webinar focuses on strategies for effectively communicating environmental health science through social media and public-facing platforms. Bruce Lanphear, MD highlights the Little Things Matter initiative, which uses videos and animations to simplify complex research while maintaining scientific accuracy and credibility.
  • Rafael Buralli, PhD and Marcela Tamayo-Ortiz, ScD provide practical guidance on tailoring content to specific audiences, choosing appropriate platforms, and crafting engaging, actionable messages. Participants apply these principles in a breakout activity on pesticide exposure, generating content ideas on topics such as ultra-processed foods, take-home exposures, and policy solutions, followed by discussion of dissemination challenges and reaching audiences beyond academia.
Recording

BE HEARD: East Palestine, Ohio: Best Practices for Academic-Community Collaboration

Friday, February 20, 2026  9.00AM PDT
Moderated by Jill Johnston, PhD

  • The discussion centers on a collaborative research response to the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, highlighting rapid mobilization, community engagement, and public health tracking efforts.
  • Erin Haynes, DrPH, and Misti Allison, MPH, describe establishing a community health tracking study and advisory boards to monitor symptoms, conduct environmental testing, and address broader community health concerns. Emphasis is placed on transparent communication, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and securing diverse funding sources to support sustained research efforts.
Recording

BE HEARD: Writing a Commentary for and Academic Journal

Wednesday, October 30, 2024  11.00AM PDT
Moderated by Rob McConnell, MD

  • The discussion covers writing commentaries for academic journals, emphasizing perspectives, policy implications, and collaborative efforts in crafting impactful narratives.

  • Commentaries allow authors to offer their viewpoints and interpretations on research, helping to shape discourse within the field. Well-crafted commentaries have the potential to influence policy and public opinion. Authors should strive for originality and relevance to maximize their impact on the field and society.
Recording

BE HEARD: What to Do if Your Research Makes Vested Interests Mad

Friday, June 14, 2024  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Anna Wu, PhD

  • The seminar discusses strategies for researchers facing backlash from vested interests, emphasizing communication, resilience, and collaboration.

  • Researchers may face pushback from industries when their findings challenge established interests, making it essential to build resilience and prepare for potential backlash. The session provides strategies for effective responses in such situations. Clear communication of research findings is crucial for influencing public policy and practice, particularly in controversial areas. Citizen science can be a powerful tool for gathering data and advocating for public health, but transparency about funding sources is vital for maintaining credibility.
Recording

BE HEARD: Using Social Media

Friday, May 10, 2024  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Julie Posselt, PhD

  • The seminar discusses using social media effectively for research and advocacy work.

  • Susan Lamontagne, a media consultant, shares insights on leveraging various social media platforms, optimizing content through visuals, hashtags, and messaging, and building an engaged community. She emphasizes understanding audience goals, curating relevant content, and utilizing public opinion research for effective messaging. Professor Max Aung also participates in the discussion, offering his perspective as an environmental health researcher.

Recording

BE HEARD: Working with lawyers- Torts

Friday, April 12, 2024  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Sofia Gruskin, JD, MIA

  • In this webinar, the discussion covers the importance of lawyers and experts in toxic tort cases, using an example of asbestos exposure resulting in illness. 
  •  Dr. Markowitz discusses the importance of clarity and definitiveness in scientific conclusions, particularly in tort litigation. He emphasizes the role of experts in explaining complex scientific concepts to the jury and touches upon the limitations and issues with relying on peer-reviewed articles for risk assessment. They argue for the need for better communication and collaboration between lawyers, public health professionals, and medical experts. 
Recording

BE HEARD: Writing a White Paper

Friday, Feb 9, 2024  10.00AM PST
Moderated by John Balmes, MD

  • Experts Meghan Rebuli and Vince Tedjasaputra explore the importance of writing white papers to increase the impact of scientific research and provide useful insights. They share that  collaborating on white papers can create networking opportunities and lead to future collaborations among researchers.
  • They express that translating research into accessible formats and being a cultural translator is essential for scientists to be heard and make a societal impact.
Recording

BE HEARD: Writing a Commentary

Friday, Dec 15, 2023  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Carly Hyland, PhD, MS

  • Experts Dr. David Gonzalez and Dr. Bavna Shamasunder discuss their work in Environmental Health and Justice, focusing on topics such as oil and gas development and consumer product exposures in communities of color. They emphasize the importance of translating research for broader understanding and engaging with communities through various forms of public communication.

  • Both experts emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in their work. By collaborating with researchers from various disciplines and community organizations, they are able to tackle complex environmental issues and find holistic solutions.
Recording

BE HEARD: Creating an Op-Ed

Friday, Dec 8, 2023  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Gabriel Kahn

  • In this webinar, moderated by Gabe Kahn, Manuel Pastor from the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI) and Bill Gallegos from the Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy (CEED) discuss the collaboration and trust between academia and frontline communities are essential for successful op-ed writing and research translation.

  • Op-eds are a powerful tool for researchers to make their work accessible to a wider audience and influence policy change.
Recording

BE HEARD: Working With Policy Makers

Friday, Aug 4, 2023  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Colin Maclay

  • In this webinar, moderated by Colin Maclay, Ellu Nasser from the Climate and Health Environmental Defense Fund and Adrian Martinez from Earth Justice discuss the significance of ports as decarbonization hubs and air, noise, and light pollution sources.

  • Nasser and Martinez also talk about strategies that communities can advocate for where to allocate funds to serve the public and push for sustainability. The pair highlights the way communities and advocates have given ports the resources to drive sustainable changes and how they can continue to hold ports accountable for their impact on community health and wellbeing. 

Recording

BE HEARD: Working With Communities

Friday, Apr 28, 2023  10.00AM PST
Moderated by Sylvia Betancourt

  • In a conversation moderated by Sylvia Betancourt, Mark Lopez and Nse Witherspoon discuss how researchers and community groups have built strong, trusting partnerships over time.
  • Through examples of their work at East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and the Children’s Environmental Health Network, Lopez and Witherspoon share about the importance of representation in teams working with marginalized communities, making decisions based on the lived experience of those impacted, giving communities equitable leadership and credit in research, communicating with the media, and patience and trust when enacting change.
Recording

Resources

Moving Forward Network Organization

Mentioned in: Working with Policy Makers
Website

Trade, Health, and Environment (THE) Impact

Mentioned in: Working with Policy Makers

Website

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Mentioned in: Working with Communities

Website

Children’s Environmental Health Network

Mentioned in: Working with Communities
Website

National Center for Healthy Housing

Mentioned in: Working with Communities

Website

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units

Mentioned in: Working with Communities

Website

Southern California Center for Children's Environmental Health Research Translation

Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine
1845 North Soto Street, Los Angeles, CA 90032

Supported by NIH Grant: 5P2CES033433