Kenneth Greene and Elizabeth Ellmore are Registered Environmental Health Specialists with the Alamance County Health Department. Kenneth earned his Bachelor of Science degrees in geography and environmental health and his Master of Science degree in occupational health and safety from East Carolina University. He has been working in the environmental health sector for 17 years and leads the healthy homes program in Alamance county.
Similarly, Elizabeth earned her Bachelor of Science degree in natural resources from North Carolina State University and has been working in the environmental health sector for 19 years. She has been working in Alamance county for 12.5 of those years and leads the county’s lead program. On a day to day basis, they both conduct inspections at restaurants, nursing homes, and child care centers, and they communicate the importance of growing the healthy homes and lead programs in Alamance county.
Kenneth’s interest in healthy homes, specifically indoor air quality, heightened when he began working with the school safety officer to advocate for better indoor air quality in schools. This interest led him to take a healthy homes class and become a healthy homes specialist, which enabled him to take on the role of co-chair for the Alamance County Asthma Coalition. After meeting with families to discuss healthy homes strategies, Kenneth enjoys receiving follow-up calls from the families asking for more information or for clarification. He says, “Hearing from the families I work with helps me see that some of the recommendations I made are actually being implemented to benefit the children [living in the home].”
Elizabeth earned her lead authorization 11 years ago and has since been working for the lead program in Alamance county. In this role, she is involved with the Safe Kids Alamance Coalition and she collaborates with them to conduct outreach about the program at events, like Summer Fun and Safe Kids Expo. Elizabeth explains that the most exciting part of her job can also be the most frustrating. She enjoys seeing families create a healthier and safer environment for their children and seeing the children’s blood lead levels come down. Yet working with landlords to enable these positive impacts can be challenging.
In previous years, Kenneth and Elizabeth have attended Healthy Homes trainings conducted by the Community Outreach and Engagement Core in the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, and in this way became connected to the Lead and Healthy Homes Task Force. They both appreciate being part of the Task Force and having the opportunity to network and get new ideas for better healthy homes outcomes in Alamance County.