An environmental lawyer and toxicologist by training, Dr. Hollis applies her skills to fight environmental injustices, including climate injustices. This week we talked to Dr. Hollis about the syndemic and the additive effects on health outcomes.
“Communities are not vulnerable, it’s the conditions that people have put them in that have made their situation vulnerable to adverse effects. That’s important because these are resilient, strong communities.”
A syndemic exists when 2 or more health disparities affect the same population at the same time. And the effects are additive. Right now we are seeing the following challenges overlap: structural racism + climate change + environmental justice + economic oppression. In our conversation with Dr. Hollis, we learned about her journey from associate professor to law student to the environmental justice advocate she is today. Spoiler alert: her childhood experience with poor water quality led her down this path!
While she may not have received the advice she followed by someone else, she shares just what she did to get to where she is today. And that was by charting her own path. She advises listing to your inner voice and creating what you need to satisfy your soul. And, something she does herself is being interested in learning.
Check out the recording to hear directly from Dr. Hollis - we sure enjoyed every second of it!
Comments