About Webinar Series
Our SCERC Guest Speaker Series will feature students and experts from academia, government, labor, and community organizations who will present emerging research, real-world applications, and policy perspectives in occupational and environmental health.
Government, Community, and Labor Partnerships to Advance Worker Health & Safety and Support Equitable Disaster Response
Presentation Overview
This presentation will explore the intersection between public health and working conditions impacting low-wage and high hazard industries, and share partnership models between LA County Department of Public Health and worker and community-based organizations to advance workplace safe and healthy, and support equitable disaster response. Examples from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2025 LA Fires will help illustrate the important role worker and community-based organizations play as trusted messengers in getting timely resources and information out to workers.
Intended Audience
This webinar is intended for employers, management, health and safety professionals, industrial hygienists, union representatives, worker advocates, workers, students, faculty, researchers, and policymakers.
About Speaker
Alice Berliner is the Director of LA County Department of Public Health's new Office of Worker Health & Safety, which supports the advancement of safe and healthy workplaces for all workers in LA County through policy, partnerships and co-enforcement strategies, education, outreach, and research. Alice comes to this role, with a passion for workers' rights, and has previously worked at unions and worker centers in New York and Los Angeles, the Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (SoCalCOSH), and UC Merced Community & Labor Center. Alice received her Master's in Social Work from Columbia University, and has received national and state recognition for her work building strategic partnerships and co-enforcement models between government entities, workers, and worker organizations.
Continuing Education Contact Hours
- Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) may be eligible to earn up to 1.5 contact hours for this event. Visit the BGC CIH Recertification Program for more information.
- Certified Safety Professionals may be eligible to earn up to 1.5 contact hours (0.15 points) for this event. Visit Professional Development Conferences for more information.
- The Southern California Education and Research Center is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 17741 for 1.5 contact hours.
- General Continuing Education Contact Hours - 1.5
Webinar Details
Date: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PST
Location: Zoom
Webinar Flyer
Presentation Overview
What if the most dangerous hazard a worker faces isn't just a toxic chemical or an unguarded machine—but a civil service exam and outdated hiring practices?
In this webinar, Tara Perkins and Yodit Semu from the Los Angeles Black Worker Center (LABWC) argue that employment policies are fundamentally health interventions. Drawing directly from our 1,000 Strong Campaign and our Ready to Work (R2W) program—which provides essential skill training and industry-specific mentorship to Black workers—we will show how discriminatory hiring practices, including the civil service exam, operate as structural and psychosocial hazards for Black workers in Los Angeles.
Presentation Overview
Dr. Bonney, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago, discussed findings from a national study examining how local health departments (LHDs) across the United States engaged with workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the barriers and facilitators that shaped their ability to investigate outbreaks and support mitigation efforts. Her presentation covered the complex landscape of authority for regulating infectious hazards in U.S. workplaces, a landscape in which public health agencies, employers, and OSHA each play distinct roles that do not always align neatly during rapidly evolving emergencies. LHD capacities, such as staffing, occupational health expertise, relationships with employers, and resource constraints, influenced real-world responses to COVID-19 in diverse jurisdictions. LHDs’ capacities have implications for ongoing challenges in protecting workers from airborne infectious diseases, and Dr. Bonney’s study highlights opportunities to strengthen cross-sector coordination, improve surveillance and response capabilities, and build more resilient occupational and public health systems for future pandemics.
February 26, 2026: Occupational Health Rulemaking in California
Presentation Overview
Eric Berg, Deputy Chief of Health for Cal/OSHA, presented on recently enacted and upcoming occupational health worker protections in the state of California.
February 12, 2026: Addressing Worker Mental Health: Current Issues and Why It Matters
Presentation Overview
Dr. Rosemberg, an Associate Professor and Director of the Occupational Health Nursing Program at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, presented on the current state of worker mental health and its impact at both the individual and organizational levels. A case example was included to illustrate the urgency of this issue in real-world work environments. The session concluded with examples of existing programs to support the mental health and wellbeing of workers and a call to action for current and future occupational health professionals.
Presentation Overview
Dr. Jin Jun, Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing and the Principal Investigator the Occupations and Well-being (OWL) lab, presented on how employment conditions, such as wages, scheduling, and workplace policies, function as structural determinants of health for healthcare support workers (e.g., nursing assistants). Her research examines the ways systemic factors shape physical, mental, and social well-being, highlighting disparities and vulnerabilities within this essential workforce. The session discussed implications for health equity and proposed strategies to address structural barriers through policy and organizational change.