This episode welcomes back Dr. Amie Shei of The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, joined by Jenna Day of RCAP Solutions, to share what’s happened since we first discussed their private well project in TT041. They explain how sampling hundreds of wells grew into a statewide coalition, a funded MassDEP study, and a bill that would require private well testing when a property is sold.
Topics Discussed
- Meet Jenna Day | LinkedIn
- Meet Amie Shei | LinkedIn
- Jenna’s Water Hero: Josefa Torres, RCAP Solutions Regional Director for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Amie’s Water Hero: Dr. Paul Farmer and the practice of accompaniment
- How the RCAP Solutions and Health Foundation partnership began in 2020
- Why 351 municipalities and no county government pointed toward statewide legislation
- Modeling the bill on New Jersey’s Private Well Testing Act
- The Title 5 septic inspection parallel and why testing at property transfer makes sense
- Statewide sampling results: more than 500 wells, with one-third exceeding primary drinking water standards
- How testing and education changed homeowners’ beliefs about their water
- Raising awareness through op-eds, testimony, and a statewide poll
- Securing funding for a MassDEP study of a statewide private well program
- Building the Coalition for Safe Drinking Water and its grassroots support
- Where the legislation stands and why a remediation fund may be key
- Rural and urban inequities in drinking water investment
- Advice for advocates in other states: listen, capture stories, start local, and join your board of health
- RCAP Solutions | LinkedIn
- The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts | LinkedIn
- Coalition for Safe Drinking Water / What’s in Your Well Water?
- Coalition testimony on S.585/H.900, An Act Protecting Drinking Water Quality in Private Wells
- Statewide poll on private well drinking water
- TT041 – Data: The Key to Private Well Advocacy
“It can be daunting to think about changing state policy… But you can also accomplish a lot by starting locally.”Dr. Amie Shei
Go Further
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About the Guests
Jenna Day is Director of Development at RCAP Solutions, where she has worked since 2018. She began as a Community Specialist for New England, then served as Director of Community & Environmental Resources, overseeing grants and contract compliance for a team of 30 technical assistance providers serving New England, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Jenna brings more than two decades of community and economic development experience, including roles as Town Coordinator in Heath, Massachusetts, Director of the Housing Consumer Education Center at the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and member of the Heath Board of Health. She has also operated a non-transient, non-community water system. She holds a degree in Environmental Education from Goddard College.
Dr. Amie Shei is President & CEO of The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, a health conversion foundation that works to improve the health of those who live or work in Central Massachusetts, with a focus on vulnerable populations and unmet needs. She joined the Foundation in 2016 and leads its grantmaking and advocacy efforts to improve health and promote health equity. She previously worked in health care strategy and health economics research and taught community health at Tufts University. Dr. Shei holds a BA in English from Amherst College and an MS in Health Policy & Management and a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard University. Her dissertation research on the health impacts of an anti-poverty program in Brazil was supported by several fellowships, including a Fulbright.