On Monday December 5 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM in Mabee Ballroom A, the Kozmetsky Center will feature a lecture entitled “Native American Perspectives on Science, Spirituality, Nature, and the Environment” offered by Dr. Dianne Barton who is currently responsible for managing water quality, environmental toxics, and regulatory processes at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). CRITFC works to restore fish in the ancestral homeland of the CRITFC tribes which covers one-fourth of the entire Columbia River Basin. Salmon, water, and other natural and cultural resources are critical to tribal culture, religion, and economy but are threatened by the production and discharge of toxic contaminants and other pollutants into the environment.
Dr. Barton also serves as Chair of the National Tribal Toxics Council (NTTC) which is an EPA Tribal partnership group that advocates for tribal interests in toxic policy decisions. Key issues for the NTTC include advocacy for programs to minimize the disproportionate exposure of tribal members to toxic chemicals, increasing tribal capacity to monitor and assess foods and resources for toxic chemicals, and enhancing tribal consultation and coordination on national chemical risk management and pollution prevention policies.
Previously, Dr. Barton was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico and worked in their Environmental Restoration Technologies Department and in the Infrastructure Surety Department. She holds a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Arizona.