Dr. Margaret Reams and Betsy Paille

The goal of the Community Engagement Core is to work with residents of selected communities close to Superfund sites to learn more about their informational needs and concerns, and to create a structure for communication between community stakeholders and researchers with the LSU Superfund Center. The team will work with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), a public-interest organization with over 100 affiliated groups, to reach leaders and members of grassroots environmental organizations. The efforts of the first two years will focus on the industrialized North Baton Rouge community. The team will identify residents' concerns and risk perceptions and will promote regular communication between the community and researchers within the Center.