Policy Catalyst

Preceding her keynote address at the next day’s Environmental Risk Conference, Kimberly Thompson, Sc.D., will be joining us from the Harvard School of Public Health to present her work on system dynamics and polio research. Thompson’s research focuses on developing and applying quantitative methods for risk assessment and management, and consideration of the public policy implications associated with including uncertainty and variability in risk characterization.

Government, scientists, industry, the media and society in general face increasingly complex challenges in assessing, managing and communicating potential environmental risks. We can now detect compounds at levels previously unimaginable, but scientific studies into the human health consequences of exposure to these compounds can remain uncertain. This conference will provide Minnesota’s policy makers, agency and industry practitioners, environmental and public health advocates, journalists and citizens the opportunity to shape new approaches to evaluating risks and providing meaningful communications about those risks.