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For Immediate Release: February 18, 2015

ADAO Announces Global Experts to Present at the 2015 Conference


Nearly 40 Speakers from Across the Globe Join Together to Raise Asbestos and Mesothelioma Awareness

Los Angeles — February 18, 2015The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which combines education, advocacy, and community to help ensure justice for asbestos victims, today announced the speakers scheduled to present at the upcoming 11th Annual Asbestos Awareness Conference, “Where Knowledge and Action Unite” , April 17-19 2015 at the Crystal Gateway Marriot in Washington, DC. ADAO also will be celebrating its 11th year of asbestos awareness success since the organization’s inception in 2004. ADAO is the only U.S. nonprofit that organizes annual conferences dedicated to preventing and eliminating asbestos-caused diseases.

Nearly 40 renowned experts and asbestos victims from ten countries will present the latest advancements in disease prevention, global advocacy, and treatment for mesothelioma and other asbestos-caused diseases. The April 18, 2015, conference includes four powerful, cutting–edge sessions:

  • Progress and Challenges from the Frontline
  • Medical Advancements: Diagnosing and Treating Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Diseases
  • Prevention: What Is It? Where Is It? What Do I Do?
  • Advocacy: Global Ban Asbestos Action

The conference underscores ADAO’s new “Hear Asbestos. Think Prevention.™” campaign, which is focused on continual global efforts aimed at preventing asbestos exposure to help end the tragedy of asbestos disease. ADAO began as a grassroots advocacy, spurred by Alan Reinstein’s mesothelioma diagnosis, beloved husband of the organization’s President, Linda Reinstein.

“I look at where ADAO has come since I began this journey as the confused and angry wife of an innocent asbestos victim and it has made me realize even more how we are all connected by a strong thread of hope that weaves itself across continents and lives,” stated Ms. Reinstein. “As we celebrate the 11th year anniversary of ADAO and welcome our global supporters and speakers to this year’s conference, I’m reminded more than ever that there is strength in numbers.”

Collaborating with organizations around the world for a global asbestos ban since its inception in 2004, ADAO has become a leader in social media advocacy and community outreach for asbestos victims, their families, and loved ones to share support, resources, and provide hope. ADAO has shifted education and awareness activities into high gear – with an unparalleled effort to educate the public and medical community about asbestos-related diseases and preventing exposure. Responsible for three Surgeon General asbestos warnings and ten Senate Resolutions designating April as Asbestos Awareness Week each year, ADAO is recognized as one of the largest organizations fighting for justice on behalf of asbestos victims in the US and abroad.

 

The recently finalized conference list of speakers includes a highly esteemed group of research, advocacy, and medical experts from ten countries:

  • Arturo Aguilar, Filmmaker, Mexico
  • Syed Mezab Ahmed, World Asbestos Congress, Pakistan
  • Troi Atkinson, Mesothelioma Patient and 2015 Honoree, USA
  • Emily Bankhead, Mesothelioma Widow and 2014 Honoree, USA
  • Brad Black, Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director at Center for Asbestos Related Disease and ADAO Science Advisory Board, USA
  • Jill Cagle, Mesothelioma Widow and Singer, USA
  • Robert Cameron, University of California, Los Angeles and The West Los Angeles VA, USA
  • Barry Castleman, ScD, Author of the “Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects,” and ADAO Science Advisory Board, USA
  • Mark Catlin, Service Employees International Union, USA
  • Earl Dotter, Photojournalist, USA
  • Geoff Fary, Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency, Chairman, Australia
  • Professor Dean Fennell, Chair of Thoracic Medical Oncology, University of Leicester and 2015 Honoree, United Kingdom
  • Raja Flores, Chairman, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Mount Sinai Health System and Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Science Advisory Board, USA
  • Arthur Frank, Professor of Public Health and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Drexel University School of Public Health and ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair, USA
  • Fernanda Giannasi, Associação Brasileira dos Expostos ao Amianto (ABREA), Brazil
  • Marc Hindry, Association Nationale de Défense des Victimes de l’Amiante (ANDEVA), France
  • Philippe Gomes Jardim, The Brazilian Labor Public Ministry, Brazil
  • Doug Larkin, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Co-Founder, USA
  • Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (ret.), Rear Admiral, USPHS (ret.) and ADAO Science Advisory Board Co-Chair, USA
  • Guadalupe Aguilar Madrid, Mexico
  • Luis Antonio Camargo De Melo, General Labour Prosecutor, Brazil
  • Captain Aubrey K. Miller, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Medical Advisor, Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, USA
  • Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, Professorial Lecturer Dept of Environmental & Occupational Health Milken Institute School of Public Health George Washington University, USA
  • Patrick J. Morrison, Assistant to the General President for Occupational Health, Safety and Medicine, USA
  • Sandra Neuenschwander, Mesothelioma Mother, USA
  • Christine Oliver, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Science Advisory Board, USA
  • Ellen Patton, Mesothelioma Patient and 2015 Honoree, USA
  • Jorma Rantanen, Professor at International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and 2015 Honoree, Finland
  • Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, President and Co-Founder, USA
  • Barry Robson, Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia (ADFA), Australia
  • Domani Tripam, Mesothelioma Daughter, USA
  • Ellen Tunkelrott, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Board Member, USA
  • Sue Vento, Widow of the late Congressman Bruce Vento, USA
  • Cameron Von St James, Mesothelioma Husband, USA
  • Yvonne Waterman, Ph.D. LL.M., The Netherlands
  • John Wheeler, Associate Director for Science at CDC/ATSDR, USA
  • Lou Williams, Mesothelioma Patient and Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia (ADFA), Australia
  • Jordan Zevon, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Spokesperson and Musician, USA

Despite its known dangers, there is still no global ban on asbestos, and it continues to claim lives. Exposure to asbestos, a human carcinogen, can cause mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers; as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders. The World Health Organization estimates that 107,000 workers around the world will die every year of an asbestos-related disease, equaling 300 deaths per day.

ADAO will hold its 11th Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference on April 17 – 19, 2015, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA.

 

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About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO is the largest non-profit in the U.S. dedicated to providing asbestos victims and concerned citizens with a united voice through our education, advocacy, and community initiatives. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure, advocate for an asbestos ban, and protect asbestos victims’ civil rights.  For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

 

 

Media Contact:
Kim Cecchini
Media Relations
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
(202) 391-5205
Kim@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org

 

 The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO),  a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, does not make legal referrals.