Environmental Health News reporter Kristina Marusic is one of five people to receive a 2023 Child Health Advocate Award from the Children’s Environmental Health Network, a national nonprofit a dedicated to protecting children from environmental hazards.
The annual awards honor outstanding children’s environmental health advocates in policy, science, community organizing, youth leadership, and media for “leadership on behalf of children’s environmental health, equity, and climate action and justice.”
Marusic will receive the media award for her reporting on issues related to children’s environmental health, particularly through her book, “A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention,” which was published this May.
“Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of pollution,” Marusic said. “It’s an honor to have my work recognized by an organization that’s devoted to protecting our smallest, most vulnerable humans.”
The other awardees include Nathaniel Smith, founder and chief equity officer at the Partnership for Southern Equity; Brenda Eskenazi, professor emeritus at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health; Donele Wilkins, CEO of the Green Door Initiative; and Manu Onteeru, a student at Dartmouth College and the founder of Project Mislead.
The award winners will be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, October 12th, which is Children’s Environmental Health Day. They”ll also speak about their work and children’s health during a virtual panel discussion on October 2nd at 2:30pm EST.