Love Canal activist Lois Gibbs to speak at UB School of Management

Lois Gibbs, the nationally recognized environmental activist who exposed and pushed for changes at the Love Canal toxic waste site, will speak at the University at Buffalo School of Management Nov. 21.

Gibbs, founder and executive director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, will present "Environmental Justice and Community Health: Lessons Learned from Love Canal" at 10 a.m. in Jacobs 110 on UB's North Campus.

Laura Mangan, coordinator of the UB Civic Engagement and Public Policy Research Initiative, will lead an audience Q&A following the presentation.

The event, sponsored by the School of Management's master of science in management information systems program, is free and open to the public. To register, visit mgt.buffalo.edu/lovecanal1.

Gibbs was thrust into environmental activism in 1978 when she learned her neighborhood was located atop a 20,000-ton toxic waste dump - the now-infamous Love Canal. She rallied the community and helped convince President Jimmy Carter to issue an emergency declaration and evacuate more than 800 families from the area. Her efforts led to the creation of Superfund, a federal program designed to cleanup hazardous waste sites.

Today, Gibbs continues to speak nationwide about toxic chemicals and children's vulnerability to harmful environmental exposures. She has been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize and an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York.

For more information, contact Raj Sharman, associate professor of management science and systems, at [email protected].