Women’s Health Awareness and Wellness Conference

Aducational seminars, health screenings, and health resources.

The ninth annual conference will be held at North Carolina Central University on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This free and popular wellness conference has already helped more than 5,000 women and their families in North Carolina and across the United States. The conference, supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), will offer educational seminars, health screenings, and health resources. Free mammograms will also be offered to qualifying women. For more information and to determine eligibility, call (984) 287-4414 or email [email protected].

To register for the conference visit www.niehs.nih.gov/womenshealthawareness. The conference is free, but preregistration is required to reserve a space for lunch. Onsite registration will be available the day of the event.

Focusing on Important Women’s Issues

This year’s event features health experts presenting up-to-date information on topics of interest to women from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Sessions will include presentations on chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and dementia.

Speakers also will address societal and environmental issues including Black maternal mortality, substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental health, as well as offering coping skills through mindfulness for stress reduction and caregiving.

To promote community and health resiliency for Latinx and Hispanic communities, Spanish-language resources and bilingual sessions will be provided.

Theme and Speakers

One of this year’s conference themes is “Environmental Justice: Reducing Environmental, Economic, and Racial Disparities.” Dr. Robert Bullard, called the “Father of Environmental Justice,” will serve as this year’s keynote speaker. Dr. Bullard is an award-winning author and Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy and Director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University; he was named to President Biden’s White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) in 2021.

Another participant will be environmental justice leader Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Senior Director for Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Dr. Newsome provides leadership for the Justice40 Initiative, a plan to direct 40% of certain federal investments to marginalized communities overburdened by pollution.

Additionally, six-time Grammy-nominated jazz singer and creator of the WUNC award-winning Great Grief podcast, Nnenna Freelon, will lead a session titled “Great Grief Live!” Freelon will provide insight on how grief impacts us and healthy ways to cope with the universal and personal experience of loss.

Collaboration for Satellite Site Attendance

Satellite sites in Granville and Haywood counties will enable the conference to reach rural communities with limited health access.

“We are honored to partner with our esteemed co-sponsors to host the 9th annual Women’s Health Awareness, Women’s Wellness conference,” said Joan Packenham, PhD, director of the Office of Human Research and Community Engagement, and the WHA program. “After three years of being virtual, we are excited to be in person on the campus of North Carolina Central University. We will also be offering some sessions virtually to serve women across our great state and beyond.”

“We have an impressive program lined up with renowned local and national speakers. This conference affords us the opportunity to achieve our goal of reducing environmental health disparities by empowering women with health education, environmental health literacy, resources, screenings, and services, thus providing health access, equity, and building health resiliency so women can live healthier and longer lives,” Packenham said.

The Office of Human Research and Community Engagement of NIEHS is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is the lead sponsor of this event. Cosponsors include Durham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Durham Alumnae Delta House, Inc., and the Department of Public Health at NC Central University.

The event will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at NCCU’s Mary Townes Science Building, 1900 Concord Street in Durham, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodation to participate should contact the Office of Human Research and Community Engagement at (919) 541-3852 or [email protected]. TTY users should contact the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Requests should be made at least five business days in advance of the event.

For more information, please visit www.niehs.nih.gov/womenshealthawareness.