Heather J. Aaron, a 2024 graduate of the EdD in Educational & Professional Practice program, has written and published a dissertation titled Lead Poisoning in Children: A Preventable Disease.
A major cause of childhood lead poisoning is the ingestion of peeling paint, and according to the CDC, lead poisoning disease causes irreversible neurological damage. Lead paint was banned in 1978 and Aaron’s study identifies barriers, social justice parameters, and solutions for the eradication of childhood lead poisoning in Connecticut.
Through a qualitative interview design with a cross-section of professionals working in Connecticut, Aaron found that there was a lack of education surrounding childhood lead poisoning as well as a lack of federal enforcement to property owners. The purpose of the data is to allow for advocacy, accountability, and transparency in the delivery of services for children who are being poisoned in environments they can’t control.
Aaron is currently the CEO of Whitman-Walker Health System, where she oversees the Whitman-Walker Foundation, Whitman-Walker Institute, and Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings. Whitman-Walker Health System’s mission expands the capacities of some of the organization’s most critical functions, including research, policy and advocacy, thought leadership, education, and fundraising.
Aaron has spent her career in healthcare, making a difference for the communities where she has served as a Health Care Executive and Educator for more than thirty-five years. She has worked tirelessly to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion in all her work. Aaron’s focus continues to be on the social drivers that affect the delivery of quality care and the steps necessary to continue to improve the standards of care for all.
Read and download Aaron’s dissertation, Lead Poisoning in Children: A Preventable Disease.
