Sending Big Sugar Packing – One Community’s Story

May 13th  12 NOON – 1 PM

Brief description of the presentation: Sugary drinks are the largest single source of added sugar and calories in our diets today. Having just one sugary drink a day (e.g., soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and added sugar waters/teas) significantly increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other diseases. What can communities do to set a new path forward where sugary drinks become an occasional treat instead of a significant cause of disease and death? Sugary drink sales in Howard County, Maryland are decreasing 2-3 times faster than the national average. This webinar will discuss how policy and systems changes combined with community engagement and media approaches are leading to better health outcomes in Howard County.

About the Presenter:  Glenn Schneider, Chief Program Officer, Horizon Foundation

Glenn is a passionate, strategic, and skilled public health leader with extensive experience managing successful campaigns that improve lives. Through data-driven programs and campaigns, advocacy efforts, community organizing and partner collaborations, Glenn and his teams strive to advance policy and systems changes – known precursors to better community health.  At the Horizon Foundation, Glenn leads a talented program team that oversees diverse community initiatives such as its health equity work, Howard County Unsweetened, Sugar-Free Kids Maryland, Support Human Campaign, Speak(easy) Howard, Streets for All, and the Mental Health Film Festival just to name a few.  These initiatives are working to improve health. For example, Howard County Unsweetened and Sugar-Free Kids Maryland have successfully advocated for policies that make healthier food and drinks more widely available at parks, schools, government offices, community organizations, and child care facilities. Nationally published peer-reviewed research found that local sugary drink sales have declined by 20 percent in Howard County due to these campaigns

Prior to joining the Foundation, Glenn was a national consultant, executive director, community organizer, grassroots strategist, and policy director in the government and nonprofit sectors. His work resulted in more than 35 new state and local laws and regulations across the nation that increased access to health care, protected the public’s health, raised tobacco prices, created smoke-free public places, and cut youth access to tobacco.  Locally, Glenn spearheaded efforts to make all Howard County public places smoke-free, pass the nation’s first regulations prohibiting youth access to indoor tanning beds, and make healthy food and beverages more widely available on government property, school property, and in child care facilities. He was also a co-creator of the Healthy Howard Health Plan, a nationally-acclaimed health care access program for the uninsured.  Glenn is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer and his work is featured in the book The DeMarco Factor: Transforming Public Will into Political Power. Glenn has an MPH from the University of Pittsburgh and lives with his wife Janice and their two sons, Eric and Evan.

This webinar will be recorded and archived on the event webpage, following the live webinar.

Click here to register for this webinar

ADDITIONAL WEBINAR SERIES INFORMATION:

Cost: Free!

Registration:  Click on the registration links above to register for each webinar.

Registration is limited to the first 100 registrants.