Katrina Smith Korfmacher, Ph.D.

Community Engagement Core

The CEC maintains multidirectional links between environmental health research and the information needs of the community. My primary focus is addressing environmental health information and policy needs of the communities in and around Rochester. I participate in many local partnerships relating to environmental health including the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning, the Rochester Healthy Homes Partnership, the Water Education Collaborative and the Pollution Prevention Institute.

As a policy scientist, most of my research has addressed the role of science in the policy process. I focus on the role of community groups in the policy process, and particularly on how these groups generate, access, and use information.

My outreach work translates environmental health research into relevant policy at the local, state, and federal levels. For example, childhood lead poisoning remains one of the most significant childhood environmental health risks in the Rochester area. I have been an active member of the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning since 2001, serving on its Governmental Relations Subcommittee and Executive Committee. Through the Rochester Healthy Homes Partnership, I help to develop and promote programs aimed at reducing home environmental hazards. Other environmental health outreach projects address risks from consuming Lake Ontario fish, concerns about air quality, the environmental contributors to obesity, and water quality.

Many of the articles, reports, and materials listed below are based on my community environmental health work. My recent book, Bridging Silos: Collaborating for Environmental Health and Justice in Urban Communities, describes how communities can collaborate across systems and sectors to address environmental health disparities; with case studies from Rochester, New York; Duluth, Minnesota; and Southern California.”