career connection
environmental science
A Breath of
Fresh Air
DO YOU:
• Have a passion for the environment?
• Have an interest on how environmental issues
affect public health?
• Want to know how to work in a field that enables
you to make a positive difference in the world?
As a public health fellow at the EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency) in Washington, D.C., Elise Tolbert works to address
challenging environmental health issues facing the public. In the
Office of Air and Radiation, a department that ensures the na-
tion’s air is safe and healthy to breathe, Elise focuses on programs
which improve indoor air quality. She says, “One of the projects
that I have a particular focus on relates to examining the impact
of extreme indoor heat on vulnerable populations.”
Elise first developed an interest in Environmental Public Health
after attending the Annual Minority Health Professions Sympo-
sium (AMHPS) during her senior year of high school. She says,
“At the conference, I attended a session in which the speaker
shared a story about a toxic chemical release which resulted in
high cancer rates in a low-income, mostly black community
in Louisiana.” Elise learned that the lack of resources left the
vulnerable community with few options for help. “It was at this
very moment that I realized my unique and distinctive purpose,”
Elise says. Citing her passion for service to her community as
“an innate part of my composition,” her desire to be a voice for
underrepresented communities enduring environmental injus-
tices was born. “I realized that the field of environmental justice
provided an avenue for me to improve lives by protecting our
environment.”
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Spring 2018
Once Elise discovered her purpose, she chose to attend Tuskegee
University, where she received a B.S. in Environmental Science.
She says, “As a high school student I had a hard time choosing a
college. I really liked Tuskegee University and knew the academ-
ics were great. I ultimately chose to attend Tuskegee University
because of the excellent academic programs, the great campus
life, the potential job opportunities after graduation, because it
was a Historically Black College, and because I knew that staying
in my hometown would allow me to use my existing connections
to provide some benefit to the Tuskegee community.” Elise then
went on to receive her Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Envi-
ronmental Health from the University of Michigan.
Elise’s passion for her job is apparent. “I love that my work can
have a real and positive impact of a large number on lives,”
she says. “If research is done to provide evidence of a problem
and diverse partners work together to develop solutions, a real
impact can be made.” Elise explains, “The office that I work in
currently addresses issues where there is great opportunity to
improve health outcomes. For example, many reports and studies
indicate that low- income, minority, tribal and indigenous com-
munities may be disproportionately impacted by indoor asthma
triggers, secondhand smoke, mold, radon, and other indoor
pollutants. To address these impacts, my office provides guidance
and programs to build community capacity and improve indoor
air quality in buildings where people live, learn and work.”
Elise also addressed a common misconception about the field
of environmental sciences. “You may say, I’m not a tree hugger if
that is your perception of environmental science, but there are so
many sub-areas of environmental science that can capture your
interest, like areas related to agriculture, business, biotechnology,
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