Local and State Innovation Driving Healthier Homes: Highlights from the 2026 National Lead and Healthy Housing Conference

by Joel Ervice, Laura Fudala, and Sarah Goodwin

At the 2026 National Lead and Healthy Housing Conference, the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) and Regional Asthma Management & Prevention (RAMP), longtime friends and partners, supported two dynamic panels that underscored a powerful theme: innovation at the state and local level is driving meaningful progress in reducing environmental health risks in homes and improving indoor air quality (IAQ).

From radon exposure to indoor environmental asthma triggers, across both sessions, one message was clear: Communities are not waiting for top-down solutions; they are designing, testing, and scaling their own.

Rethinking Radon: Local Models Leading the Way

The first panel, “Locally Driven Innovation in Radon Testing and Mitigation: Models for the Field,” highlighted how local programs are tackling the long-standing but often under-addressed threat of radon exposure.

Despite being the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers, radon remains undertested and not well understood in many communities. Panelists shared promising approaches to changing that reality.

In Milwaukee, the MKE FreshAir Collective is taking a community-centered approach to distributing radon test kits. ZIP codes within the city of Milwaukee have historically had very low testing rates compared to the surrounding suburbs. Co-Executive Director Danika Hill-Paulus described how their team is working to better understand why testing remains low and provide community-centric interventions to increase radon testing in these neighborhoods. Their efforts demonstrate that boosting radon awareness is not just about information—it’s about trust, accessibility, and relevance to everyday lives.

Meanwhile, Gary Schwartz of the University of North Dakota offered a compelling reminder that the full health implications of radon exposure may be broader than currently understood. His new research exploring links between radon and ovarian cancer underscores the urgency of expanding testing and mitigation efforts. As he noted, we may still be underestimating the true public health burden of radon.

As moderator, NCHH helped connect these local efforts to broader policy and program opportunities. The discussion emphasized that local experimentation in areas such as innovative community engagement models, expanded service delivery, and emerging research can serve as a testing ground for scalable national strategies and further highlight the need for increased focus on this important IAQ issue.

The takeaway: Tackling radon demands innovation, curiosity, and heightened awareness; pushing us to test new solutions while continuously expanding what we know about exposure and its impacts.

Scaling Asthma-Friendly and Healthy Housing Through Systems Change

The second panel, “Snapshots of Innovation: State and Local Approaches to Healthy Housing and Asthma-Friendly Housing,” shifted the focus to IAQ, asthma, and the importance of systems-level solutions.

Speakers shared how they are building sustainable, coordinated approaches to expand access to home-based asthma interventions.

Meridith Mueller of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services highlighted the state’s use of a Health Services Initiative (HSI)—a program that allows a state to use Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for preventative services—to address both lead and asthma. While the HSI has enabled impactful home-based services, it also comes with scaling constraints as the program is currently limited to specific areas in the state. Wisconsin’s efforts to identify sustainable funding pathways reflect a broader challenge faced by many jurisdictions: how to move from pilot programs to lasting infrastructure.

In Cleveland, Yvette Mitchell of the Cleveland Department of Public Health described the complexities and opportunities tied to building a home-based asthma program from the ground up. Her work illustrates the importance of cross-sector coordination and collaboration, from healthcare to housing to public health, as well as the need to braid funding sources to sustain services.

At the municipal level, Mayor Nathaniel Booker of Maywood, Illinois, showcased a compelling model of partnership-driven innovation. By collaborating with utilities, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits, Maywood is addressing respiratory health through integrated energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and health and safety interventions. This approach reflects a growing understanding that healthy housing solutions are most effective when they are holistic, as well as the importance of chasing down any and all partnerships, funding, and other opportunities to bring resources into a community.

The Role of Technical Assistance in Driving Progress

A key throughline through both sessions was the importance of technical assistance (TA), peer learning, and partnerships in helping communities scale and sustain their efforts.

As one piece of this bundled support, NCHH and RAMP highlighted our joint work, supported under cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to provide free, customizable TA and training. Our proven approach prioritizes flexibility and responsiveness to support communities as both learners and leaders simultaneously while leveraging and investing in other aligned efforts. From the initial contact forward, we meet local change agents where they are and together determine how partners like NCHH and RAMP can best engage to support them in building local capacity, amplifying promising practices, and ultimately creating healthy, thriving, and sustainable communities.

From Local Innovation to National Impact

Together, these panels illustrate a broader shift in the healthy housing field. Increasingly, progress is being driven not just by national policy, but by local innovation that is deeply rooted in community needs and realities.

Whether it’s rethinking how radon testing is delivered, identifying new health risks, or building sustainable systems for asthma intervention, these efforts are creating a roadmap for what’s possible.

For practitioners, policymakers, and advocates, the message is clear:

• Invest in local ideas and feedback. Innovation is at its finest when those closest to the issue are leading the way.
• Prioritize sustainability from the start. Programs must be designed with long-term funding and infrastructure in mind.
• Leverage partnerships. Cross-sector collaboration is essential for addressing complex housing-related health issues.
• Stay open to emerging evidence. As research evolves, so too must our strategies.

NCHH and RAMP are proud to support and elevate these efforts and to continue working alongside communities to ensure that every home is a healthy home.

Banner image (left to right): Amanda Reddy (NCHH), Meridith Mueller (Wisconsin DHS), Yvette Mitchell (Cleveland DPH), Joel Ervice (RAMP), and Mayor Nathaniel Booker (Village of Maywood).

 

Joel Ervice is the associate director of RAMP. In partnership with RAMP’s director, Joel manages organizational development, financial sustainability, and communications activities in support of RAMP’s mission of reducing the burden of asthma with a focus on health equity. Joel also manages two strategic areas: (1) Healthy Air for All, which shapes policies to reduce air pollution in inequitably burdened communities; and (2) healthcare equity, which increases access to prevention-oriented services within healthcare, and advances workforce development for asthma professionals. Joel leads the California Asthma Financing Workgroup, a network of diverse stakeholders committed to improving the financial sustainability for asthma education and in-home environmental trigger reduction.

Laura Fudala, project manager, joined NCHH in January 2014 as a project coordinator to provide a wide variety of coordination, research, writing, and support functions on multiple NCHH projects. She currently manages a New York State Department of Health contract and an EPA cooperative agreement that together provide coordination, evaluation, technical, training, and/or programmatic support for healthy homes stakeholders such as the New York State Childhood Lead Poisoning Primary Prevention Program and those working to support the launch and growth of large-scale, evidence-based, sustainable asthma home visiting programs.

Sarah Goodwin joined NCHH as a policy analyst in June 2017. She previously served NCHH as a policy intern, helping to establish and run the Find It, Fix It, Fund It lead action drive and its work groups. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from American University.