Posted on September 28, 2026
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Check out the 2026 168-Page Conference Program
On behalf of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), we extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us for our 21st Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference, including our attendees, speakers, honorees, performers, volunteers, sponsors, and steadfast supporters.
Held September 25–26 in Arlington, Virginia, this year’s conference, themed “Asbestos: Awareness, Prevention, and the Law,” brought together more than 30 leading voices in medicine, science, public health, occupational safety, law, labor, advocacy, and the asbestos-affected community.
For more than two decades, ADAO’s conference has provided a unique forum where experts and individuals with lived experience come together to share knowledge, advance prevention, strengthen public policy, support patients and families, and work toward eliminating asbestos-caused diseases.
An Evening Under the Stars
The conference began Friday evening with “An Evening Under the Stars,” uniting our community together through music, friendship, remembrance, and hope.
We were honored to welcome Jordan Zevon, Matt Cartsonis, and Jordan Summers for an unforgettable evening of music, with longtime mesothelioma survivor and advocate Julie Gundlach serving as Master of Ceremonies.
The evening reflected something that has always made the ADAO conference special: science, advocacy, and policy are essential, but community remains at the heart of everything we do. We are honored to grow that community each year and provide this space for in person connection.
Mesothelioma Awareness Day: Science, Prevention, Policy, and the Law
Saturday’s academic conference was held on Mesothelioma Awareness Day, giving added significance to a full day dedicated to education, prevention, treatment, advocacy, and justice.
Our four academic sessions examined the progress we have made, the challenges that remain, and the work ahead:
Session I — Two Decades of Advocacy: Progress, Challenges, and the Path Forward
This session reflected on more than 20 years of asbestos advocacy and examined how science, survivor voices, public health leadership, litigation, regulation, and legislation have changed the national asbestos conversation. Speakers also addressed the lessons learned from decades of advocacy and the importance of continued collaboration across sectors.
Session II — Asbestos Prevention and Health Impacts: Risks, Diagnosis, and Advances in Treatment
This session focused on preventing exposure, understanding asbestos-related health risks, improving diagnosis and treatment, and recognizing the continuing health consequences of toxic exposures.
The conference also examined the lasting health consequences of the World Trade Center disaster twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, and the importance of continued medical monitoring, research, education, and outreach for people who were exposed.
We were honored to feature Dan Whu, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer of the International Association of Fire Fighters, whose keynote address, “On the Frontlines: 25 Years After 9/11,” brought an important occupational and public health perspective to this anniversary. His keynote speech is available to watch online on YouTube.
Session III — From Awareness to Action: Policy, Advocacy, and Strategic Communications
This session explored how information becomes action. Presenters examined public policy, prevention, occupational safety, legacy asbestos, strategic communications, digital advocacy, and the importance of providing accurate and accessible public health information across generations and communities.
The discussion reinforced one of ADAO’s fundamental principles: awareness is only meaningful when it leads to prevention.
Session IV — Asbestos and the Law: Litigation, Regulation, and Legislative Action
Our final academic session examined the critical intersection of law and public health, including litigation, regulatory action, transparency, accountability, and federal legislation.
The discussion underscored how courtroom evidence, scientific research, regulatory action, and legislation can work together to prevent exposure and protect public health.
Honoring Extraordinary Leadership
Our Awards and Recognition Dinner and Candle Lighting Ceremony provided an opportunity to recognize extraordinary individuals and organizations whose work has advanced science, prevention, advocacy, public health, and justice.
The Dr. Irving Selikoff Award was presented to Michael A. Crane, MD, MPH, and John M. Dement, PhD, honoring their outstanding contributions to occupational and environmental health research and the prevention of asbestos-related disease.
Jordan Summers received the Warren Zevon “Keep Me in Your Heart” Award, recognizing his contributions through music, compassion, and community.
Peg Seminario of the 9/11 Health Watch received the Tribute of Inspiration Award for turning persistence into protection and ensuring that 9/11 responders, survivors and families are never left to carry this burden alone.
Liz Darlison of Mesothelioma UK received the Tribute of Hope Award, honoring their compassionate public service and policy work, clinical leadership, international cooperation, and steadfast belief of a future free from asbestos.
Libby Brow and Penny Jo Major received the Alan Reinstein Award, recognizing their courage, leadership, and dedication to the asbestos community.
Miles for Meso received the Tribute of Unity Award, honoring years of extraordinary community engagement and support for asbestos education, advocacy, and prevention.
Each honoree represents an essential part of our collective work and reminds us that meaningful progress is built through science, courage, collaboration, persistence, and community.
Remembering September 11th, 25 Years Later
This year’s conference carried special meaning as we marked the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001.
For ADAO, remembrance must also include prevention.
The health consequences of exposure at and around the World Trade Center continue to affect responders, workers, survivors, residents, students, and families. Asbestos-caused diseases can appear anywhere between 10 to 60 years after exposure. Our conference brought renewed attention to the importance of understanding toxic exposures, recognizing long-latency diseases, maintaining access to specialized health programs, and ensuring that those who may have been exposed know where to find reliable information and resources.
The lessons of September 11th also reinforce a broader public health truth: we cannot change an exposure after it has happened. Prevention must come first, because it remains the only cure.
From Awareness to Action
The conference took place during an important period for federal asbestos policy.
On August 4, 2026, Senators Jeff Merkley and John Curtis introduced the bipartisan Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2026 (S. 5235), which would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, and distribution in commerce of commercial asbestos and asbestos-containing mixtures and articles, subject to provisions contained in the legislation.
The conference provided an important opportunity to discuss how legislation, regulation, litigation, science, occupational health, industry experience, and survivor advocacy intersect in the continuing effort to prevent asbestos exposure.
These conversations demonstrated the growing importance of bringing stakeholders to the table and turning decades of scientific knowledge into effective prevention policy.
168 Pages of Knowledge, Experience, and Community
Our comprehensive 168-page 2026 conference program documents the remarkable breadth of expertise and experience represented at this year’s event.
It brings together speaker biographies, session information, honoree profiles, educational resources, advocacy milestones, community stories, and information reflecting more than two decades of ADAO’s work.
The program is available online so that this information can reach far beyond those who were able to join us in person.
ADAO remains committed to making conference education available globally at no cost. Access to credible, life-saving public health information should not depend on geography or financial resources. There should be no barriers when it comes to accessing life-saving information.
We will also be editing and sharing conference presentations through ADAO’s YouTube channel, extending the reach and educational impact of this year’s program.
Nearly 30 Experts, One Shared Goal
This year, over 30 distinguished speakers and presenters brought expertise from medicine, science, occupational health, labor, environmental health, law, communications, advocacy, and the asbestos-affected community.
Their presentations demonstrated both how far we have come and how much work remains.
From advances in treatment and our expanding understanding of occupational and environmental exposure to legacy asbestos, 9/11 health issues, litigation, regulatory action, legislation, and new ways of communicating public health information, every session returned to the same fundamental goal: prevent exposure and eliminate asbestos-caused diseases.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
ADAO is deeply grateful to our 2026 Conference Sponsors, whose generous support made this educational, advocacy, and community initiative possible.
Platinum Sponsors:
Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP
Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP
Gold Sponsors:
The Gori Law Firm
Motley Rice LLC
Silver Sponsor:
Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Meisenkothen
Their partnership enables ADAO to convene experts, amplify survivor voices, provide educational resources, expand global access to conference information, and continue our work to prevent asbestos exposure and disease.
Moving Forward Together
Twenty-one conferences have taught us that progress does not come from one person, profession, organization, lawsuit, regulation, or piece of legislation.
It comes when patients and families, physicians and researchers, labor and occupational health professionals, attorneys, policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders come to the table together.
We leave this year’s conference grateful, energized, and more determined than ever.
To every speaker who shared expertise, every survivor and family member who shared a story, every honoree who demonstrated extraordinary leadership, every volunteer who worked behind the scenes, every sponsor who made the conference possible, and every attendee who joined us: thank you.
Together, we will continue turning awareness into action, advancing prevention, and working toward a world where no one is exposed to asbestos and no family has to endure an asbestos-caused disease.
Prevention remains the cure. Hear Asbestos. Think Prevention.™
With gratitude,
Linda Reinstein, BCPA
President and Cofounder
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization