2019

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

Founder and Director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s public health initiative is a model program to mitigate the impact on the children of Flint, Michigan in the wake of the Flint Water Crisis.

The 2019 Roger E. Joseph Prize was be presented to Dr. Hanna-Attisha at the Ordination Ceremonies of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York at Fifth Avenue at 65th Street, New York City. The Joseph Prize was be accepted by Dr. Hanna-Attisha.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

Dr. Hanna-Attisha, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Human Development at Michigan State University, is the founder and director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, a model program to mitigate the impact of the Flint Water Crisis so that all Flint children grow up healthy and strong. Through community and clinical programs, childhood health policy and advocacy, and robust evaluation, the Pediatric Public Health Initiative works with many partners, including Flint's heroic parents and kids, as a center of excellence, with the primary goal of mitigating the impact of the Flint Water Crisis and serving as a national resource for best practices.

Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the author of What the Eyes Don't See, a powerful first-hand account of the Flint Water Crisis, the signature environmental disaster of our time, and a riveting narrative of personal advocacy. Dr. Hanna-Attisha used science to prove that Flint kids were exposed to lead, and courageously went public with her research and faced a brutal backlash. The book explores the horrific reality of how misguided austerity policies and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk.

What the Eyes Don’t See

“By the crusading pediatrician who brought the fight for justice in Flint to the national spotlight, What the Eyes Don’t See is a powerful first-hand account of the Flint water crisis, the signature environmental disaster of our time, and a riveting narrative of personal advocacy. Here is the dramatic story of how Dr. Mona used science to prove Flint kids were exposed to lead, and how she courageously went public with her research and faced a brutal backlash. With persistence and single-minded sense of mission, she spoke truth to power. The book explores the horrific reality of how misguided austerity policies and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. A medical and scientific thriller, the book grapples with our country’s history of environmental injustice while telling the inspiring personal story of Dr. Mona—an immigrant, a doctor, and a scientist—whose family roots in social justice activism helped her turn the Flint crisis around.” (text taken from Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s website)

To learn more about Dr. Hanna-Attisha please visit her website: www.monahannaattisha.com