|
SafeMinds Names Lyn Redwood Executive Director
 The SafeMinds Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN as Executive Director. Lyn is a co-founder of SafeMinds. She currently serves on the Department of Defense Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Program and the National Institutes of Health Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and the Fayette County Board of Health.
Lyn became involved in autism research when her son, Will, was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder in 1999. Having discovered that her son had been exposed to mercury at 125 times over the EPA Federal Safety Guidelines from multiple vaccines containing thimerosal (mercury), Ms Redwood testified before the Government Reform Committee on "Mercury in Medicine: Are We Taking Unnecessary Risks?", and before a subcommittee on health in 2003. She also co-authored Autism: A Novel Form of Mercury Toxicity, a landmark paper linking the symptoms of autism with excessive exposure to mercury. She has published in the journals Neurotoxicology, Molecular Psychiatry, Medical Hypotheses, Mothering Magazine, and Autism-Aspergers Digest.
|
Vote for SafeMinds to Share in $50,000 Prize - We Are Currently in 2nd Place with 2 Weeks to Go!
 Please vote for SafeMinds to share in $50,000 prize from the E-Bay Social Media Fundraising Tournament for environmental organizations.
Not only will your support help SafeMinds win a much-needed donation, it will drive awareness to the fact that exposure to mercury is a huge issue for pregnant women, infants and children. Click here to vote. |
|
New Members Join SafeMinds Team
Becky Estepp joins SafeMinds as  Director of Government Affairs and Public Relations. Becky has extensive experience in public relations and government affairs, and brings to the table many existing media relationships. She is the mother of two boys. Her oldest son, Eric is a child with autism. Becky was an early member of Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) and assisted in the launch of the San Diego TACA Chapter in 2001. In 2006, she began working for TACA, with her most recent position being government and media relations manager. She has worked with the press extensively on issues related to autism and vaccine safety. Becky has a B.A. in Communications from California State University Northridge. Becky will be a wonderful addition to the SafeMinds team and a huge asset in helping us to get our message heard by the media and public.
 Mary Holland has joined the SafeMinds Government Affairs Committee. Mary is director of the Graduate Legal Skills Program at New York University School of Law. Educated at Harvard and Columbia Universities, Mary has worked as a lawyer in the public and private sectors. Prior to joining NYU, she worked for six years at major U.S. law firms, with three years based in Moscow, Russia. Before that, she directed the European Program of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First). After graduating law school, she clerked for a federal district court judge in New York City. She researches and writes on legal issues related to autism and vaccines. She is a co-founder of the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy. Mary lives in NY and has a son who turns 13 in July with regressive autism. Mary was also instrumental in drafting the Amicus Brief for the upcoming Bruesewitz v. Wyeth case that SafeMinds has signed on in support.
|
|
SafeMinds Sponsors and Exhibits at International Meeting for Autism Research
 SafeMinds communications
committee member Maria Dwyer recently attended the International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR) Conference representing SafeMinds. Working to
ensure that the environmental factors were represented at the largest
meeting for autism research, SafeMinds distributed copies of the original
autism mercury hypothesis, Autism: A Unique Form of Mercury Poisoning, Environmental Mercury Exposure and the Risk of Autism by Dan Laks and our Summary of Supportive Science Regarding Thimerosal and Vaccines. In addition, as a sponsor of the
conference, SafeMinds new organizational brochure was included in the conference
materials for all registrants.
Read SafeMinds board member Katie Wright's article on IMFAR from Age of Autism. |
|
SafeMinds Statement to be
Read at Negotiating Session of World Treaty on Mercury
SafeMinds Environmental
Committee developed a statement regarding the use of thimerosal in vaccines
that will be read by Charlie Brown this week in Stockholm at the first
negotiating session of a world treaty on mercury. Negotiations will stretch
over three years at five sessions; the next one will be in January 2011 in
Tokyo. The meeting is convened by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
which is the equivalent of our EPA. Read SafeMinds statement.
|
SafeMinds Recommends: Callous Disregard by Dr. Andrew Wakefield
 Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines -- the Truth Behind the Tragedy
This is the account of how a doctor
confronted first a disease, and then the medical system that sought
and still seeks to deny that disease, leaving millions of children
to suffer and a world at risk.
Purchase now from our Amazon store and a portion of the proceeds from your purchase will be donated back to SafeMinds.
|
In the News
NY Governor's Office Holds Up Regulation of State's Second Largest Mercury Emissions Source
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has been trying since late 2008 to restrict the Ravenna, NY cement plant from using mercury-laden fly ash in its cement production. Fly ash is left-over from the burning of coal in power plants and typically contains the heavy metals that were filtered out in that process. Cement plants around the country have dramatically increased their use of fly ash in recent years. Read more.
Ontario First Nation's People Show Signs of Mercury Poisoning 30 Years Later
A recently released report follows up residents of a northern community whose river system was polluted with mercury 40 years ago. Despite levels of mercury that now fall within "safe limits", the residents are exhibiting new symptoms of mercury toxicity today. Read more.
Skin Whitening Creams Can Contain Mercury
The Chicago Tribune's testing on skin-lightening creams turned up samples that had enough mercury to cause kidney damage over time. The FDA admits that it cannot adequately monitor all products. Read more.
|
|
Responding to Wall Street Journal Article
 Last week SafeMinds board member Katie
Weisman wrote an excellent editorial response to the Wall Street Journal's
article on the Smith and Woods study regarding the lack of benefit from a
delayed immunization schedule in infants. Read Katie's letter. Read Wall Street Journal article.
|
Online Auction Coming!
We need your support!
We're asking you to participate in one of the following ways...
Donate.
We need Auction items to add to our auction. If you have valuable merchandise, rare collectibles, business or personal services or access to unique events, we need your contribution today. Click here to Donate.
Be a Sponsor.
Contact us at eksafeminds@gmail.com or 404-934-0777 to take advantage of promotional opportunities for your business or to pledge your individual support.
Tell Your Friends.
Do you know someone who would be interested in supporting our cause? Please share the news of the online auction with your friends so they can be part of the excitement. Refer a Friend to our auction so they can get involved.
Thank you in advance for your continued support! We look forward to your item donation and online bids! |
