Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Announces Global Experts to Present at the 2016 Conference

LOS ANGELES

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which combines education, advocacy, and community to help ensure justice for asbestos victims, today announced the speakers scheduled to present at the upcoming 12^th Annual Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference, “Where Knowledge and Action Unite”,April 8 – 10, 2016 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Washington, DC.

ADAO is the only U.S. nonprofit that organizes annual conferences dedicated to preventing and eliminating asbestos-caused diseases.

“Since 2005, ADAO conferences have recognized nearly 400 internationally renowned honorees, keynote speakers, and presenters whose voices and actions have been critically important to ending the man-made asbestos disaster,” stated ADAO Co-Founder and President Linda Reinstein. “As in the past, many on this year’s nearly 40 speakers also include courageous patients helping build a global community of support and hope.”

2016 Conference Keynote Speakers:

Saturday: Paul Brodeur, Awarding-winning Investigative Journalist and Author of Expendable Americans and Outrageous Misconduct: The Asbestos Industry on Trial

Sunday: Dr. Eudice Goldberg, Pediatrician in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and co-founder of the Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation (CMF)

The recently finalized conference list of speakers includes a highly esteemed group of research, advocacy, and medical experts from six countries:

• Marilyn Amento, ADAO Eastern Regional Director, US
• Emily Bankhead, Mesothelioma Widow and 2014 Honoree, US
• Dr. Brad Black, CEO and Medical Director at Center for Asbestos Related Disease; ADAO Science Advisory Board, US
• Paul Brodeur, Keynote Speaker, Investigative Journalist and Author of Expendable Americans and Outrageous Misconduct: The Asbestos Industry on Trial, US
• Jill Cagle, Mesothelioma Widow and Singer, US
• Barry Castleman, ScD, Author of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects; ADAO Science Advisory Board, US
• Dr. Keith A. Cengel, Associate Professor and Director of the Photodynamic Therapy Program in the Dept. of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania, US
• Ellen Costa, 2016 ADAO Conference Coordinator, Strategy Consultant at Wells Fargo, US
• Earl Dotter, Photojournalist, Author of The Quiet Sickness and Badges: A Memorial Tribute to Asbestos Workers, US
• Dr. Raja Flores, Chairman, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Mt. Sinai Health System; ADAO Science Advisory Board, US
• Dr. Arthur Frank, Professor of Public Health and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Drexel University School of Public Health; ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair, US
• Fernanda Giannasi, Associação Brasileira dos Expostos ao Amianto (ABREA), Brazil
• Dr. Eudice Goldberg, MD, Pediatrician in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and co-founder of the Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation (CMF), Canada
• Tanis Hernandez, LCSW, US
• Eric Jonckheer, Asbestos Belgium Victims Association (ABEVA), Belgium
• Brent Kynoch, President of Kynoch Environmental Management; ADAO Prevention Advisory Board Co-Chair, US
• Doug Larkin, ADAO Co-Founder; Director of Communications for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, US
• Agata Mazzeo, Journalist; PhD Candidate at Universiteit van Amsterdam, Italy
• Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, Professorial Lecturer, Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, US
• Paolo Monico, Filmmaker, The Mother, US
• John Newquist, Independent Safety Trainer, Author, and Consultant appearing on NPR, BNA, Safety + Health Magazine, and Mother Jones, US
• Mavis Nye, patient, United Kingdom
• Dr. Christine Oliver, President of Occupational Health Initiatives, Inc.; Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Associate Physician in the Dept. of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; ADAO Science Advisory Board, US
• Emily Reinstein, Mesothelioma Warrior, US
• Linda Reinstein, ADAO, President/CEO, US
• Tony Rich, Industrial Hygienist and Environmental Technician Specializing in Asbestos-related Work, US
• Ann Samuelson, ADAO Western Regional Director, US
• Carmine Tiano, Director of Occupational Health Services at Ontario Building Trades, Canada
• Ellen Tunkelrott, ADAO Board Member, US
• Heather Von St James, ADAO Midwestern Regional Director, Mesothelioma Warrior, US
• Lou Williams, Mesothelioma Patient, Australia
• Christine Winter, ADAO Prevention Advisory Board Co-Chair, United Kingdom
• Jordan Zevon, ADAO Spokesperson and Musician, US
• Paul Zygielbaum, Mesothelioma Patient, US

Exposure to asbestos, a human carcinogen, can cause mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers; as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 107,000 workers around the world will die every year of an asbestos-related disease, equaling 300 deaths per day.

About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO is the largest non-profit in the U.S. dedicated to providing asbestos victims and concerned citizens with a united voice through our education, advocacy, and community initiatives. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure, advocate for an asbestos ban, and protect asbestos victims’ civil rights. For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

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Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
Kim Cecchini
Media Relations
202-391-5205
Kim@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org