Each month, we highlight a new Supermom of the Month, a volunteer who has gone above and beyond to advocate for clean air and children’s health.
This month, we are celebrating Christy Haas-Howard. Christy was nominated by Colorado field organizer Shaina Oliver. Christy is a dedicated volunteer in Colorado who has helped staff Moms Clean Air Force tables at community events and shared her public health expertise in presentations for community workshops on asthma.
We asked Christy a few questions about her motivation and activism:
Why did you join Moms?
I started volunteering with Moms Clean Air Force while working on an Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship with the Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment. As a mom of three children with asthma and a nurse, I wanted to help other moms understand how poor air quality can negatively impact their children’s health. Moms Clean Air Force has a history of being a strong voice for the health of children across the country, especially highlighting the challenge of communities disproportionately impacted by poor air quality.
How did you first become interested in environmental and air quality issues?
As a child growing up in some of the worst air quality in the nation in the Central San Joaquin Valley, I had a sense of how air quality can impact people. Moving to Colorado as an adult, I came to understand that the Front Range has exceeded the EPA ozone pollution standard year after year. As a school nurse and mom of three children with asthma, I gained firsthand knowledge of the impact of poor air quality on the health of the children in my life. These experiences led me to become interested in air quality issues.
How do you see the connection between air quality and public health?
I have been a certified asthma educator and school nurse for over 15 years. As I worked with students with asthma and their families, I saw that children who had more exposure to poor air quality often experienced worse asthma symptoms. Schools that were located in neighborhoods near industry or highways tended to have higher asthma prevalence among their students than schools farther from these pollution sources. This made me look closer at the health impacts of poor air quality.
TELL PRESIDENT BIDEN & EPA: MOVE QUICKLY TO FINALIZE STRONG POLLUTION PROTECTIONS