The Community Engagement Core

The Community Engagement Core (CEC) collaborates with community partners using an exposome approach to seek environmental justice and improve health in the metro Atlanta area.
Guided by a commitment to anti-racism, we aim to:

Create conversations between the Atlanta community and HERCULES

Increase the capacity of local communities to address their environmental health concerns

Guide and support HERCULES scientists in community engagement

Our Approach

By developing partnerships and building capacity among community members and scientists, the CEC aims to incorporate community concerns into the long-term research efforts of HERCULES investigators.

To achieve these aims, we use the following approaches:

Partnerships

Our work relies on strong partnerships, especially with our Stakeholder Advisory Board. Our Board, which includes local residents, non-profits, and government agencies, guides CEC activities and ensures community concerns about environmental health issues are incorporated into HERCULES. We also support community-engaged research partnerships through the HERUCLES Pilot Program and by recognizing partners for their community engaged work.

Learn about our SAB and partnership work

 


Community Resources

We create and provide environmental health resources relevant to the local community, including infographics and summaries of environmental health research

View Community Resources

 


Roadshow and Grant Program

We conduct workshops with local communities to share the exposome concept, identify communities’ exposome-related perspectives and concerns and include those perspectives in  future exposome science. We then provide grants for communities to address those concerns.

More Information

Current and past grant programs

 


Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR)

We support HERUCLES scientists who are interested in integrating community-engaged approaches into their research, facilitate community-scientist partnerships when appropriate, and prepare future scientists for community-engaged research.

Community Engagement Core Services

Community-partnered Research

 

 

Community Engagement Activities

HERCULES collaborative publication: Developing and Implementing In-Person and Virtual SoilSHOPs in Atlanta, Georgia, as a Community-Engaged Approach to Screen and Prevent Soil Lead Exposure
July 10, 2023
HERCULES collaborative publication: Developing and Implementing In-Person and Virtual SoilSHOPs in Atlanta, Georgia, as a Community-Engaged Approach to Screen and Prevent Soil Lead Exposure

The HERCULES Community Engagement Core played a role in bringing partners together to identify and address lead soil contamination in West Atlanta. These partners collaborated on a recent publication...

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