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This is the Beyond Data Management Podcast, powered by HS GovTech.
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Now live from Kansas City, here's Cameron Garrison.
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Welcome back live as we are sitting here live in the exhibit hall, not live to YouTube.
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We'll get these posted probably uh this evening.
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So we're shooting them on Tuesday, day two, uh, from the exhibit hall here at the AEC for Nihon 2026 in Kansas City.
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And I actually I wish we'd been recording for the last like hour.
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We've been sitting here chatting while everything got dialed in.
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We're we're fighting with some new robot cameras and things here um outside of the studio.
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But um Claudia Regal from New Orleans.
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Thanks, Cameron.
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You host you guys had uh was it two or three years ago you hosted Nikon?
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We did.
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Yeah, I was so excited.
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It was such a fun trip we were going down the bourbon street.
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I it's just a beautiful mugging hot.
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Were you were you on the pest tour that evening?
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I I did not get that one.
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Oh, I'm so sorry.
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So you like where to even start?
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Why don't we start with this?
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You're gonna be playing the uh the anchor round, closing out the conference, right?
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I am you have a keynote coming up, yeah.
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So maybe plug that and then let's talk about like you're a very unique kind of animal in the regulatory side, especially EH, in that you're doing a lot more than most agencies have been able to in vector.
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So yeah, so so thank you so much for inviting me to do this podcast.
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Super excited.
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And uh, yeah, so I'm closing out the meeting.
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It's gonna be on Thursday.
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No early flights, don't make your flights.
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I hope people attend, right?
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But they will.
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If the people are really active at this meeting, so very exciting.
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And so I'm gonna talk all about our Centers for Disease and Control Prevention project.
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We have two projects actually, but the big one is the Gulf South Vector.
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It's the Vector Educational Centers for Training, Outreach, and Resources.
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So we're entering the fourth year of a five-year project, and it's really about increasing capacity and building infrastructure for prevention and also response of vector-borne diseases.
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And then I'm also going to talk about our super cool project that we've been doing about rodent control and data.
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And actually, that's funded about the other group in Atlanta from the environmental group.
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So, how do you use data and what does that mean for improving uh rodent control?
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And what kind of data are you involved in that?
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So it's, you know, we started out that project thinking like, okay, let's use all this data that different rodent control programs have.
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And honestly, there aren't that many, okay.
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Um, but when we did surveys, we found out that people don't really care about the data.
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All they want really is where do I go get information about rodent control?
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So we're doing the work in New Orleans, but we've also created a lot of um resources uh for folks.
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So I'm gonna talk a lot about that.
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That is that's a lot for one keynote.
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It will have a whole hour and a half.
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I'm very excited.
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That's actually really nice.
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You um so there's not specifically a rat control function designated in many on on the environmental side in most jurisdictions, is there?
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No, they are they're not.
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So um actually there aren't that many programs anymore nationwide.
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I mean, if you look about back in the 1940s and 50s, there were so many rodent control programs across the United States.
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And over the course of time, as defunding programs for environmental health and health, a lot of those programs have gone away.
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Were they victims of their own success to a degree?
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Like the rodent problem got better, and so people blindly took the money away.
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Yeah, I mean, I cannot tell you that.
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Yeah, you're not used to it.
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You weren't there in the 40s and 50s stuff.
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I don't know, right?
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But I can tell you that our industry likes to work in the background, doing our work diligently and quiet, right?
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Not promoting.
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And not necessarily promoting.
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So, um, you know, and I think sort of the history of environmental health and and public health, that seems to be an easy one to cut to cut.
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And so, you know, we're working really hard for awareness, um, especially with these projects, but how important what we do every day is keeping people safe, right?
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In a livable community.
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Are rodents getting worse?
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Or is it the social media effect that puts them on every time someone sees a rat dragging a piece of pizza up the subway stairs?
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You know, look, I mean, yeah, I mean everyone's got an iPhone now or or like some sort of Android, right?
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Phone, and so it's easy, and and I find that a lot of times with rodent control, it can be very easily sensationalized, right?
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Um but you know, look, I mean, if we look at why rodents occur.
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So urbanization, lack of infrastructure infrastructure that is declining, for example, your sewers.
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I I live in New Orleans, right?
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So I work in New Orleans, a very old city, old infrastructure.
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So um, but I'll tell you, we're not the ratios city.
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Okay, we do a lot of work down there, but it's it's a challenge.
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And so, and then you've got areas with tourism, you've got how you pick up trash, right?
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Yeah, sanitation and the the live the bossing away, trash is a big deal.
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It's a huge thing, and so those are the things that are gonna proliferate.
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Um rodents and and so New Orleans.
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New York doesn't have this.
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They do, so actually, or how do they're actually in the health department.
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So there's a whole big division.
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They have our wonderful team in New York City.
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Um, actually led by um the rodent part of it, led by one of the preeminent rodentologists, Dr.
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Bobby Corrigan.
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He's there, he is amazing.
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He's got his hands full in New York.
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He does, and so but there's other really great people there in New York, and they're doing a big initiative on how to handle trash and um you know how that can impact control the the sanit the sanitation and the sanitation is huge.
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Like it again, you know, if you go to New York City, there's other cities and we fight this in New Orleans and a lot of places that like when that trash bag goes from inside that structure or building and gets put onto the sidewalk, that's rap food right there.
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Feeding the animals, and it's just not rodents, too.
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I mean raccoons and urban wildlife, I mean flies, I mean that's all related.
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So, you know, trash handling is absolutely critical uh component for for rodent management.
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And New Orleans, I guess on the vector, the like the mosquito side and things, really good place to blaze territory, right?
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Because you've got the humidity and the water and got the mosquitoes, right?
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So again, so New Orleans um has a had a very long history.
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I think it's really important to always go back in history and and read and what happened, right?
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Uh hundreds of years ago.
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But uh yellow fever, the last epidemic of yellow fever was in 1905 in New Orleans.
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Yeah.
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Um you've had over the history of time in in the United States, you know, it wasn't United States at the time, but malaria, for example.
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So in New Orleans, I mean, we're not a huge city.
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I would say we're a medium-sized city, but we get a lot of visitors and a lot of people, and we're essentially surrounded by water.
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That whole region is surrounded by water.
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You really are, and it's below water level too, right?
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Yes, about 80% below sea level.
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And so, but the main thing is is that you've we've got several species of important mosquitoes, you've got uh marsh areas, um, and you know, we're subject to tidal surges and storms and all those things.
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So all that takes into consideration.
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You said important mosquitoes.
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Yeah, so important as it for their their role in the ego.
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Right, so we have medically important mosquitoes, and we also have lots of nuisance mosquitoes as well, which is you know part of mosquito control.
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So medical, uh medically important as well as nuisance mosquitoes go hand in hand, but they're very important to manage.
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So they're both important.
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So yeah.
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That's really, really interesting.
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But I will say we've had a team there, we've got had a program since 1964.
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So a lot of work has been done over the decades to get us to where we are in there.
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Very much.
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Actually, continuity-wise, I'm only the fourth director since 1964.
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That's remarkable.
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And uh it's great because it allows you to build programs and set goals.
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So myself and the directors before us, you know, we set one year, three year, five year, and ten year goals.
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That's unheard of in government, right?
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Usually it's the next election cycle if you're lucky.
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And so and so, but with that continuity, you know, I can look 10 years out and our team can look out and say, where do we need to be?
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What infrastructure?
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And so we're able to look for grants and monies and collaboration.
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We are not.
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I was gonna say because there that would be a miracle feat if you grew and stayed that consistent back on 10-year goals, because I every what two years there's an election, probably just like everywhere else.
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No, in New Orleans it's every four.
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Oh, okay.
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So the mayor gets a little bit more time than there was in the last year.
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And then typically the mayors get re-elected, so it's about every eight years.
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Stability.
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I know that it's uh some people say, Oh, it's a political issue.
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No, it's like there are some benefits to incumbency, which is continuity and stability.
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You know, I've been there for um in February will be 23 years, right?
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So at least at the city of New Orleans.
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And so of course you have the mayors and you know, they set policy and where they want to go.
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But there's also a lot of other people that have good continuity.
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And so I look, when we're working in this field, we need to make sure that we're not working in silos.
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And so it is collaborating with sanitation, code enforcement, environmental folks at the health departments, at the state, local, federal, all these folks.
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And so with the continuity, you also build these long-term relationships and you've got a network, right?
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And I think that's what New Orleans does really well is talk to each other.
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And Homeland Security, for example, is another group that's in that mix.
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And so really we work with fire department, we work with all the EMS, the we work with a lot of federal big collection of of uh huge agency logos.
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At least like that's just like in our city sphere, right?
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But we work with our regional universities, we work with private industry and collaboration.
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So I always use the example, like even private industry.
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We do lots of training, right?
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And New Orleans, we've actually expanded it through the Gulf South vector, but we've had a long history of uh working with our uh pest control operators, for example.
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So we do a lot of the training and uh recertification for them.
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So we have those partners as well.
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And so I always say like you can take like a dollar here and a dollar from this group, and next thing you know, you put the money together.
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It actually adds up to real money.
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It does, and it expands the reach, right?
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Because at the end of the day, all these folks want the same thing.
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Yeah, they want a good livable community, they don't want pest in vector issues, they want, I want, they want our visitors to come here and have a New Orleans.
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It's also marketing because you get so many visitors and we get tons of visitors, right?
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And so look, I don't want anybody coming to New Orleans um and having a rodent experience, right?
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So, or that rodent that runs across.
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Rodent experience, that's an awesome way to put it.
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Right, that runs across that restaurant when they're enjoying.
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Yep.
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So once it's a of course it's an environmental health and public health issue, but it's also that's when the camera comes up and say, hey, look, this is what I saw in New Orleans, I don't like it, or don't go there, right?
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We want people to come visit.
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So you're kind of being the opposite, which is so smart.
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Um, you're actually building a really good media operation.
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We were chatting before we went on, and I think a lot of agencies are like, we don't want videos from tourists with a rat showing up online, so they actually do the wrong thing and shy away from it.
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You're leaning in, aren't you?
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Uh look, we have leaned in to media since the very beginning.
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And I'm actually super proud of New Orleans in this respect because they allow us to talk to the news.
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Of course, you have to go through the process.
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That is a key point because a lot of times it goes to the uh the public relations officer or the PIO, right?
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And that's where requests go to die.
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So the requests go there, they're really good about reading.
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I I look, I would say everything that I wanted to have done, I've been able to do.
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So which is really great.
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And so it's not just me, we've got other folks that are, you know, specialists with termites and uh entomologists that are there, emergency response.
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And so we like to have a big presence.
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We also have social media.
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So if somebody wants to follow us at Nola Mosquito, please follow us.
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At Nola Mosquito.
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We do lots of really great stuff.
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Um so we have a lot we have our YouTube channel where we do, for example, uh webinars on rodent control.
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So we have a seven-part series on rodent control.
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We've got a four-part series on termite management, on mosquito control, mosquito ID.
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So all of these things are great.
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And I'm gonna can I tell you a story?
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Yes, please.
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All right, so let's talk a little bit about um with COVID, right?
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During the shutdown.
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Um so we continue to work.
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New Orleans um pest management, public health was considered an essential service, so we did not miss a beat, right?
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It was straight on, let's keep going.
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So when the city shut down, I I forget exactly what day, but I think it was March 6th, something like that.
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Don't hold me specifically specifically to that day, but it was right around there.
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Um you know, it wasn't unexpected uh where rodents were going to come out looking for food.
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And it was actually a global phenomena, I would say.
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It would have we saw it all over the world.
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And what was happening is, you know, you've got locations where rodents were not managed like they needed to be.
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Um and these animals didn't have their food source that was handed to them on the daily basis.
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So they the cafeteria stopped serving.
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Pretty much.
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And so they came out um into the streets looking for rodents or looking for food.
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And we were right there.
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And so fortunately, our city and the communications they did a great job, and we were able to be proactive and let people know hey, this is what's happening.
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It's not a rat apocalypse on top of the phone.
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And then also don't get rid of your pest control contract.
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There because of the lot of them, right?
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So I don't know if you remember about that, but if you're not gonna cancel all this, you're cutting cost, right?
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And so fortunately, pest control in many cases were not cut.
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And between pest management, our services that we were providing, we really were able to make a huge dent uh in some of these commercial areas.
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So you cut it down.
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It was that an art was that tough though for some of the businesses?
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They're like, there's a lot of like the government made me shut down and now they want me to keep paying my pest control bill.
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How how did I I'm assuming being so communicative actually was part of your secret weapon.
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How did you handle that?
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And so do you know at the time you know, being really active in emergency response at the city, uh there were almost week daily uh press conferences by the mayor, executive staff, too.
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And your governor at the time, I think, was doing them too, uh, because they were playing clips of him.
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Was it Mitch Landro at the time or who that's before that was a previous mayor, so that's a that's three mayors back.
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Yeah.
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Oh wow, okay, I'm behind.
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I remember Ray Nagan during uh Katrina.
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So I know just enough about New Orleans history to be dangerous.
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I think I am on my one, two, three.
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I'm on my fourth mayor right now.
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So um I think I have another one or two to go, right?
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So probably another one after that.
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But we were able to talk to the mayor through our daily briefing and said, Look, mayor, could you please in your press conference talk about how important it is to make the message out from the top?
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She did.
00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.320
So she got the message out to the public.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:28.320
And I think what also happened was businesses, and I'm sure there were so many businesses that were really hurt financially, but many businesses, what we found, especially in the French quarter, is that they took the opportunity to do the renovations and do some of the cleaning and the work that you just can't really do on a day-to-day, right?
00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:28.720
Yeah.
00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.519
So I think that was really super important.
00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:42.960
And in between all the efforts of pest management, making those changes, removing those food sources, uh, we really uh were able to hammer, you know, the rodent populations in the area.
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:43.919
That is excellent.
00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000
So you've mentioned a couple of times the group, and you guys do have we've talked about media now.
00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.399
You have a great site, and as you mentioned, a bunch of stuff up there.
00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:59.279
But we're gonna show one of the clips now is fairly short from your site so that folks can and we'll put the link to this in the description below when this is posted on all the platforms.
00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.039
So let's go ahead and roll a clip.
00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:01.759
What are we set up?
00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:02.720
What are we getting ready to see?
00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.640
So, you know, part of what we're doing with Gulf South Vector is really to educate people.
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:08.079
What is a vector?
00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:16.640
And we're creating these great little short films to educate professionals as well as general public on what is uh some of these topics.
00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:17.680
So, what is a vector?
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:19.119
We'll roll this now.
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:32.000
The Gulf South Vector Project brings people together to keep communities and animals safe from vector-borne diseases.
00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:33.759
But what's a vector?
00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:39.119
Vectors are living organisms that spread diseases to animals and people.
00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:46.079
Some common vectors include blood-feeding insects like fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:50.720
Most of us have been fighting insect at some point in our lives.
00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:59.920
If a vector is carrying a harmful pathogen, like a parasite, bacteria, or virus, that illness can be transmitted through the body.
00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.119
Not every biting insect carries a disease.
00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:18.000
Around the world, over 700,000 people die each year from preventable diseases like malaria, metile virus.
00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.039
That's nearly the population that's important.
00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:30.880
And I have a lot of people can be affected, but there are certain populations at greater risk.
00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:41.599
Children, the elderly people who are immunocomposed, those who work outside, income populations are especially.
00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:47.359
We each have a role to play in preventing disease.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.000
But thankfully, we're not alone.
00:18:50.319 --> 00:19:18.880
The CDC and many different experts work together to ensure the public health and well-being of your community, your family, and you so I think that our mics might have been hot there when I was like, that's very high production value.
00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:19.839
Really good.
00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:20.400
Yeah.
00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:28.000
Um I I can be I like I think people are getting snob, not snobbier, but more discerning that way.
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:32.160
If it looks like homegrown content, they're very good production value on that.
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:39.119
It is, you know, you know, one of the things we wanted to do is communicate w how important the work we do.
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:49.279
And, you know, there is a place for your iPhone video of maybe inspecting uh a container, for example, or explaining to someone how to clean.
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:52.400
Right in the field, how to clean a birdbath, right?
00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:55.440
Most people think you just turn over the birdbath, fill it up.
00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:56.400
No, no, no, no.
00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:04.559
You have to actually scrub the bird bath, remove those mosquito eggs that are adhere to the side, and then they stick to it.
00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:11.599
So there is a place for those kinds of videos, but we really wanted to communicate how critical and how important it is.
00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:14.400
And you really do need that with a high production video.
00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:25.680
And this, a part of our Gulf Sub Vector team, we have an amazing team of researchers, um, industry, government, local government, vector control programs.
00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.480
And one of the people on there, she is an artist.
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.319
And she works in film and she has filmmakers that are part of her sphere.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:42.319
And so for a very, and this is this is government funded, so this is not high production cost meaning what we're paying.
00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.519
It's part of that research.
00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.160
You're having to be very clever about getting it at a discount.
00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:53.920
At a discount, because it's this kind of work is extremely expensive if you just go out into private private industry.
00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.720
So, you know, we've got other videos coming.
00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.079
Um I think you're even thinking about launching your own podcast, aren't you?
00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:00.799
Which would be awesome.
00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:02.400
Yes, we absolutely are going to.
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:04.000
I'm not gonna be your competitor, right?
00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.200
So no, not at all.
00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:06.240
We need more.
00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:12.640
And we'd love to like to get you on actually when we're in the studio and do a deeper dive and we can cross-promote content.
00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:13.519
Absolutely.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.000
It's the same community and they need right.
00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:16.799
They need more.
00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:19.039
There's a void uh out there of this stuff.
00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:20.480
It's a huge void.
00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:26.720
And I think it's I want to do it in a way that it's fun, that you know, tells our story of what we do.
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:31.440
We do such important work, and you know, how do you get the next generation involved?
00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:41.680
And I I really do think that it's getting them, you know, more interested or at least let people know, students, what do we do and how you do it?
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:44.319
And there's so many different areas of environmental health and it's a very good idea.
00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:46.960
Accidental profession for so many people in it.
00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:49.839
And they they backed into it or second career.
00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:55.759
And uh it's stunning, that's the more common answer than I went to college knowing I wanted to do this.
00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.799
All right, Cameron, I do you wanna why don't you ask me how I got to where I was?
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:05.119
You get into how'd you become the rat, mosquito, et cetera lady for the city of New Orleans?
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:06.640
Totally by accident.
00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:10.319
And so my background is in plant pathology.
00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:12.559
So I am a plant pathologist by training.
00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:16.319
So I grew up in Illinois, uh outside of Chicago.
00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:20.079
I ended up going to Purdue, studying uh plant molecular biology.
00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:22.480
So I thought my world was going to be agriculture.
00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:29.279
And um and I took a class one day and um it was learned I learned about nematodes.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.119
So I was like, oh, this is pretty cool.
00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.279
But I always knew I wanted to go on in school.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.319
So I ended up at University of Georgia working in plant pathology.
00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:42.720
So I've taken virology and bacteriology and all these other cool things, which actually helps me today.
00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:52.799
And then I ended up at University of Florida for a PhD working in nematology, but I worked in that department with a bunch of entomologists.
00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:59.200
And so that is not really my background, entomology is not really my background, but there's a professor there, Dr.
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:09.119
Phil Kaler, who's a renowned urban uh entomologist, and actually I have a podcast, not a podcast, I have a webinar all about his life, super interesting.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.119
You can go to our YouTube channel and see it.
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:27.599
But he used to set up um interviews for students uh working in the area, and so he set one up for me and uh make a long story short, I ended up working in um working with termites.
00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:39.359
But the intent really was to work in uh plant pathology nematology, but as I was going through the process with this company, they said, hey, look, we have a hiring freeze, can't take you right now, sorry.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:48.480
So I said, okay, I got something else, but they came back a couple months later and said, Look, I have a job in Baton Rouge working with termites.
00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.920
And I'm like, what?
00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:51.920
I didn't study this, right?
00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:55.680
But I think it's really important for students if you keep an open mind.
00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:56.160
Yes.
00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:04.720
But what I did learn all those years is how to do research, how to be a critical thinker, all those things, right?
00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:14.559
So then I ended up moving to that, worked in industry for a while, and I actually worked with the city of New Orleans for those four years in a position open there, and that's when I hopped over.
00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:18.240
And so then a year and a half later, totally accidental.
00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:27.279
Hurricane Katrina comes, and then you do everything from insurance and learn about FEMA and rodent control, and it's just it's awesome.
00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.119
Essentially, you know what I do.
00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:30.079
Totally by accident.
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.000
Like you're it you're infectiously enthusiastic about it.
00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:34.640
I love it.
00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.279
You really do need to do the podcast because people would really love it.
00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:41.680
Plus, you just have you have rats to work with as your stories and shortcuts.
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:42.400
Yes.
00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:44.480
And that's just come on, that's the best.
00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:45.440
It's the best.
00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:54.240
And so we we have lots of videos and we use uh game cameras quite a bit because we really need to connect the visual to what we've been saying.
00:24:54.480 --> 00:25:08.720
So it might just be a rodent climbing up a conduit, for example, but you can actually see it climbing up, and so you look you can really see tell people about the biology and why they're able to do that.
00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:16.559
And so you can also use those tools, of course, to educate your person, your stakeholder, who whatever building you're in, and all of that.
00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.000
The old adage is true, right?
00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:19.359
A picture is worth a thousand words.
00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:20.799
In this industry, it really is.
00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:21.359
Yeah, yeah.
00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:23.599
So when you do it, please let us know.
00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.759
Come on, uh the studio and promote it, and we'll like I'd love this.
00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:29.039
This will be really exciting.
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:29.759
Absolutely.
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.039
Um, I'd really appreciate it.
00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:31.440
Good luck.
00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.359
Thank you so much for 90 minutes to close it.
00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:34.960
I think you're gonna it's gonna be well attended.
00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:35.279
Uh, okay.
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:36.079
How can it not be?
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:36.799
Thank you so much.
00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:37.920
Claudia, we'll talk soon.
00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:40.559
And we'll have her back on, folks, and we'll put some details.
00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:41.039
All right.
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:43.359
Do you mind if we put how people can contact you in the show?
00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:43.839
Oh, absolutely.
00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:44.799
Yeah, please.
00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:45.519
We will do that.
00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:45.759
Yes.
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.400
All right, that was fun conversation there.
00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:50.480
We're getting ready to wrap up here from the exhibit hall.
00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.759
I think we've got about an hour left before they're gonna tear us down and kick us out.
00:25:53.920 --> 00:26:04.480
But for all of us here at the Beyond Data Management Podcast, powered by HSGov Tech, I'm Cameron Garrison, live in Kansas City at Niha AEC 2026, and we'll see you next time.
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.400
This is the Beyond Data Management Podcast, powered by HS GovTech.
00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:12.720
Now live from Kansas City, here's Cameron Garrison.
00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:17.839
Welcome back live as we are sitting here live in the exhibit hall, not live to YouTube.
00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.079
We'll get these posted probably uh this evening.
00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:28.960
So we're shooting them on Tuesday, day two, uh, from the exhibit hall here at the AEC for Nihon 2026 in Kansas City.
00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:33.200
And I actually I wish we'd been recording for the last like hour.
00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.320
We've been sitting here chatting while everything got dialed in.
00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:41.920
We're we're fighting with some new robot cameras and things here um outside of the studio.
00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:44.640
But um Claudia Regal from New Orleans.
00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:45.679
Thanks, Cameron.
00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:49.759
You host you guys had uh was it two or three years ago you hosted Nikon?
00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:50.399
We did.
00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:51.200
Yeah, I was so excited.
00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.240
It was such a fun trip we were going down the bourbon street.
00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:55.920
I it's just a beautiful mugging hot.
00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.399
Were you were you on the pest tour that evening?
00:00:58.640 --> 00:00:59.679
I I did not get that one.
00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.960
Oh, I'm so sorry.
00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:03.200
So you like where to even start?
00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:04.239
Why don't we start with this?
00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:09.519
You're gonna be playing the uh the anchor round, closing out the conference, right?
00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:11.519
I am you have a keynote coming up, yeah.
00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:24.799
So maybe plug that and then let's talk about like you're a very unique kind of animal in the regulatory side, especially EH, in that you're doing a lot more than most agencies have been able to in vector.
00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:28.560
So yeah, so so thank you so much for inviting me to do this podcast.
00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:29.680
Super excited.
00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:32.000
And uh, yeah, so I'm closing out the meeting.
00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:33.200
It's gonna be on Thursday.
00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:35.120
No early flights, don't make your flights.
00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:36.799
I hope people attend, right?
00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:37.439
But they will.
00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:40.719
If the people are really active at this meeting, so very exciting.
00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:45.280
And so I'm gonna talk all about our Centers for Disease and Control Prevention project.
00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:49.359
We have two projects actually, but the big one is the Gulf South Vector.
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:53.439
It's the Vector Educational Centers for Training, Outreach, and Resources.
00:01:53.519 --> 00:02:06.560
So we're entering the fourth year of a five-year project, and it's really about increasing capacity and building infrastructure for prevention and also response of vector-borne diseases.
00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.000
And then I'm also going to talk about our super cool project that we've been doing about rodent control and data.
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:17.280
And actually, that's funded about the other group in Atlanta from the environmental group.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:21.680
So, how do you use data and what does that mean for improving uh rodent control?
00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:24.400
And what kind of data are you involved in that?
00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:31.840
So it's, you know, we started out that project thinking like, okay, let's use all this data that different rodent control programs have.
00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:34.240
And honestly, there aren't that many, okay.
00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:40.159
Um, but when we did surveys, we found out that people don't really care about the data.
00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.080
All they want really is where do I go get information about rodent control?
00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:50.800
So we're doing the work in New Orleans, but we've also created a lot of um resources uh for folks.
00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:52.240
So I'm gonna talk a lot about that.
00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:54.400
That is that's a lot for one keynote.
00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:56.080
It will have a whole hour and a half.
00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:56.800
I'm very excited.
00:02:57.919 --> 00:02:58.639
That's actually really nice.
00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:10.240
You um so there's not specifically a rat control function designated in many on on the environmental side in most jurisdictions, is there?
00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:11.840
No, they are they're not.
00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:16.000
So um actually there aren't that many programs anymore nationwide.
00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:22.560
I mean, if you look about back in the 1940s and 50s, there were so many rodent control programs across the United States.
00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:30.000
And over the course of time, as defunding programs for environmental health and health, a lot of those programs have gone away.
00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:32.080
Were they victims of their own success to a degree?
00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:36.960
Like the rodent problem got better, and so people blindly took the money away.
00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:38.400
Yeah, I mean, I cannot tell you that.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:39.840
Yeah, you're not used to it.
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:41.680
You weren't there in the 40s and 50s stuff.
00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:43.039
I don't know, right?
00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:50.000
But I can tell you that our industry likes to work in the background, doing our work diligently and quiet, right?
00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:50.879
Not promoting.
00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:52.800
And not necessarily promoting.
00:03:52.960 --> 00:04:00.639
So, um, you know, and I think sort of the history of environmental health and and public health, that seems to be an easy one to cut to cut.
00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:10.240
And so, you know, we're working really hard for awareness, um, especially with these projects, but how important what we do every day is keeping people safe, right?
00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:11.120
In a livable community.
00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:12.560
Are rodents getting worse?
00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:18.879
Or is it the social media effect that puts them on every time someone sees a rat dragging a piece of pizza up the subway stairs?
00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.560
You know, look, I mean, yeah, I mean everyone's got an iPhone now or or like some sort of Android, right?
00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:32.000
Phone, and so it's easy, and and I find that a lot of times with rodent control, it can be very easily sensationalized, right?
00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:37.680
Um but you know, look, I mean, if we look at why rodents occur.
00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:45.120
So urbanization, lack of infrastructure infrastructure that is declining, for example, your sewers.
00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:47.120
I I live in New Orleans, right?
00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:51.600
So I work in New Orleans, a very old city, old infrastructure.
00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:55.040
So um, but I'll tell you, we're not the ratios city.
00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.079
Okay, we do a lot of work down there, but it's it's a challenge.
00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:03.439
And so, and then you've got areas with tourism, you've got how you pick up trash, right?
00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:07.920
Yeah, sanitation and the the live the bossing away, trash is a big deal.
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.360
It's a huge thing, and so those are the things that are gonna proliferate.
00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.720
Um rodents and and so New Orleans.
00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:15.920
New York doesn't have this.
00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:21.040
They do, so actually, or how do they're actually in the health department.
00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:23.120
So there's a whole big division.
00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:25.759
They have our wonderful team in New York City.
00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:31.600
Um, actually led by um the rodent part of it, led by one of the preeminent rodentologists, Dr.
00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:32.560
Bobby Corrigan.
00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:34.560
He's there, he is amazing.
00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:36.399
He's got his hands full in New York.
00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:51.519
He does, and so but there's other really great people there in New York, and they're doing a big initiative on how to handle trash and um you know how that can impact control the the sanit the sanitation and the sanitation is huge.
00:05:51.680 --> 00:06:06.079
Like it again, you know, if you go to New York City, there's other cities and we fight this in New Orleans and a lot of places that like when that trash bag goes from inside that structure or building and gets put onto the sidewalk, that's rap food right there.
00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:08.879
Feeding the animals, and it's just not rodents, too.
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:13.759
I mean raccoons and urban wildlife, I mean flies, I mean that's all related.
00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:20.160
So, you know, trash handling is absolutely critical uh component for for rodent management.
00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:27.120
And New Orleans, I guess on the vector, the like the mosquito side and things, really good place to blaze territory, right?
00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:31.120
Because you've got the humidity and the water and got the mosquitoes, right?
00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:35.680
So again, so New Orleans um has a had a very long history.
00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:40.079
I think it's really important to always go back in history and and read and what happened, right?
00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:41.680
Uh hundreds of years ago.
00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:47.199
But uh yellow fever, the last epidemic of yellow fever was in 1905 in New Orleans.
00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:47.439
Yeah.
00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:54.639
Um you've had over the history of time in in the United States, you know, it wasn't United States at the time, but malaria, for example.
00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:57.680
So in New Orleans, I mean, we're not a huge city.
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:04.160
I would say we're a medium-sized city, but we get a lot of visitors and a lot of people, and we're essentially surrounded by water.
00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:05.839
That whole region is surrounded by water.
00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:07.920
You really are, and it's below water level too, right?
00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:11.600
Yes, about 80% below sea level.
00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:26.560
And so, but the main thing is is that you've we've got several species of important mosquitoes, you've got uh marsh areas, um, and you know, we're subject to tidal surges and storms and all those things.
00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:28.160
So all that takes into consideration.
00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:29.600
You said important mosquitoes.
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.319
Yeah, so important as it for their their role in the ego.
00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:40.079
Right, so we have medically important mosquitoes, and we also have lots of nuisance mosquitoes as well, which is you know part of mosquito control.
00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:46.879
So medical, uh medically important as well as nuisance mosquitoes go hand in hand, but they're very important to manage.
00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:48.240
So they're both important.
00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:48.879
So yeah.
00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:50.160
That's really, really interesting.
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:54.240
But I will say we've had a team there, we've got had a program since 1964.
00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:59.199
So a lot of work has been done over the decades to get us to where we are in there.
00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:00.879
Very much.
00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:06.000
Actually, continuity-wise, I'm only the fourth director since 1964.
00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:07.600
That's remarkable.
00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:13.439
And uh it's great because it allows you to build programs and set goals.
00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:22.800
So myself and the directors before us, you know, we set one year, three year, five year, and ten year goals.
00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:24.399
That's unheard of in government, right?
00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:26.720
Usually it's the next election cycle if you're lucky.
00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:36.720
And so and so, but with that continuity, you know, I can look 10 years out and our team can look out and say, where do we need to be?
00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:38.320
What infrastructure?
00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.080
And so we're able to look for grants and monies and collaboration.
00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:46.320
We are not.
00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:57.440
I was gonna say because there that would be a miracle feat if you grew and stayed that consistent back on 10-year goals, because I every what two years there's an election, probably just like everywhere else.
00:08:57.919 --> 00:08:59.279
No, in New Orleans it's every four.
00:08:59.600 --> 00:08:59.919
Oh, okay.
00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.320
So the mayor gets a little bit more time than there was in the last year.
00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:07.600
And then typically the mayors get re-elected, so it's about every eight years.
00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:09.759
Stability.
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.960
I know that it's uh some people say, Oh, it's a political issue.
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:17.679
No, it's like there are some benefits to incumbency, which is continuity and stability.
00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.840
You know, I've been there for um in February will be 23 years, right?
00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.480
So at least at the city of New Orleans.
00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:30.080
And so of course you have the mayors and you know, they set policy and where they want to go.
00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:34.000
But there's also a lot of other people that have good continuity.
00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:39.759
And so I look, when we're working in this field, we need to make sure that we're not working in silos.
00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:49.759
And so it is collaborating with sanitation, code enforcement, environmental folks at the health departments, at the state, local, federal, all these folks.
00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:57.039
And so with the continuity, you also build these long-term relationships and you've got a network, right?
00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:01.679
And I think that's what New Orleans does really well is talk to each other.
00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.759
And Homeland Security, for example, is another group that's in that mix.
00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:17.360
And so really we work with fire department, we work with all the EMS, the we work with a lot of federal big collection of of uh huge agency logos.
00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:21.759
At least like that's just like in our city sphere, right?
00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:28.639
But we work with our regional universities, we work with private industry and collaboration.
00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:31.600
So I always use the example, like even private industry.
00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:33.440
We do lots of training, right?
00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:41.840
And New Orleans, we've actually expanded it through the Gulf South vector, but we've had a long history of uh working with our uh pest control operators, for example.
00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.440
So we do a lot of the training and uh recertification for them.
00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.000
So we have those partners as well.
00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:53.759
And so I always say like you can take like a dollar here and a dollar from this group, and next thing you know, you put the money together.
00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:55.120
It actually adds up to real money.
00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.519
It does, and it expands the reach, right?
00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.960
Because at the end of the day, all these folks want the same thing.
00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:09.759
Yeah, they want a good livable community, they don't want pest in vector issues, they want, I want, they want our visitors to come here and have a New Orleans.
00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:15.120
It's also marketing because you get so many visitors and we get tons of visitors, right?
00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:21.519
And so look, I don't want anybody coming to New Orleans um and having a rodent experience, right?
00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:23.039
So, or that rodent that runs across.
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.279
Rodent experience, that's an awesome way to put it.
00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:28.559
Right, that runs across that restaurant when they're enjoying.
00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:28.960
Yep.
00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:40.399
So once it's a of course it's an environmental health and public health issue, but it's also that's when the camera comes up and say, hey, look, this is what I saw in New Orleans, I don't like it, or don't go there, right?
00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:41.279
We want people to come visit.
00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.000
So you're kind of being the opposite, which is so smart.
00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.919
Um, you're actually building a really good media operation.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:59.200
We were chatting before we went on, and I think a lot of agencies are like, we don't want videos from tourists with a rat showing up online, so they actually do the wrong thing and shy away from it.
00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:00.320
You're leaning in, aren't you?
00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:04.879
Uh look, we have leaned in to media since the very beginning.
00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:10.399
And I'm actually super proud of New Orleans in this respect because they allow us to talk to the news.
00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:11.679
Of course, you have to go through the process.
00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:18.000
That is a key point because a lot of times it goes to the uh the public relations officer or the PIO, right?
00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:19.600
And that's where requests go to die.
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.240
So the requests go there, they're really good about reading.
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:28.879
I I look, I would say everything that I wanted to have done, I've been able to do.
00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:30.240
So which is really great.
00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:38.399
And so it's not just me, we've got other folks that are, you know, specialists with termites and uh entomologists that are there, emergency response.
00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:40.639
And so we like to have a big presence.
00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:42.000
We also have social media.
00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:45.360
So if somebody wants to follow us at Nola Mosquito, please follow us.
00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:46.480
At Nola Mosquito.
00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:48.320
We do lots of really great stuff.
00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:54.559
Um so we have a lot we have our YouTube channel where we do, for example, uh webinars on rodent control.
00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.200
So we have a seven-part series on rodent control.
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:02.960
We've got a four-part series on termite management, on mosquito control, mosquito ID.
00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:04.879
So all of these things are great.
00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:06.240
And I'm gonna can I tell you a story?
00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:07.200
Yes, please.
00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.799
All right, so let's talk a little bit about um with COVID, right?
00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:12.879
During the shutdown.
00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.320
Um so we continue to work.
00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:23.279
New Orleans um pest management, public health was considered an essential service, so we did not miss a beat, right?
00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.840
It was straight on, let's keep going.
00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:33.039
So when the city shut down, I I forget exactly what day, but I think it was March 6th, something like that.
00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:37.120
Don't hold me specifically specifically to that day, but it was right around there.
00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:45.039
Um you know, it wasn't unexpected uh where rodents were going to come out looking for food.
00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:48.000
And it was actually a global phenomena, I would say.
00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:50.559
It would have we saw it all over the world.
00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:58.159
And what was happening is, you know, you've got locations where rodents were not managed like they needed to be.
00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:05.919
Um and these animals didn't have their food source that was handed to them on the daily basis.
00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.000
So they the cafeteria stopped serving.
00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:08.799
Pretty much.
00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:14.399
And so they came out um into the streets looking for rodents or looking for food.
00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.000
And we were right there.
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:25.120
And so fortunately, our city and the communications they did a great job, and we were able to be proactive and let people know hey, this is what's happening.
00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:27.919
It's not a rat apocalypse on top of the phone.
00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:32.399
And then also don't get rid of your pest control contract.
00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:34.480
There because of the lot of them, right?
00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:39.840
So I don't know if you remember about that, but if you're not gonna cancel all this, you're cutting cost, right?
00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:44.159
And so fortunately, pest control in many cases were not cut.
00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:53.919
And between pest management, our services that we were providing, we really were able to make a huge dent uh in some of these commercial areas.
00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:54.960
So you cut it down.
00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.080
It was that an art was that tough though for some of the businesses?
00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:04.000
They're like, there's a lot of like the government made me shut down and now they want me to keep paying my pest control bill.
00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:08.320
How how did I I'm assuming being so communicative actually was part of your secret weapon.
00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:09.440
How did you handle that?
00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:24.080
And so do you know at the time you know, being really active in emergency response at the city, uh there were almost week daily uh press conferences by the mayor, executive staff, too.
00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:28.799
And your governor at the time, I think, was doing them too, uh, because they were playing clips of him.
00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:34.639
Was it Mitch Landro at the time or who that's before that was a previous mayor, so that's a that's three mayors back.
00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:34.960
Yeah.
00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:36.399
Oh wow, okay, I'm behind.
00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:38.799
I remember Ray Nagan during uh Katrina.
00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:41.679
So I know just enough about New Orleans history to be dangerous.
00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:44.000
I think I am on my one, two, three.
00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:45.919
I'm on my fourth mayor right now.
00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:50.559
So um I think I have another one or two to go, right?
00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:52.559
So probably another one after that.
00:15:52.879 --> 00:16:04.639
But we were able to talk to the mayor through our daily briefing and said, Look, mayor, could you please in your press conference talk about how important it is to make the message out from the top?
00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:05.679
She did.
00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.320
So she got the message out to the public.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:28.320
And I think what also happened was businesses, and I'm sure there were so many businesses that were really hurt financially, but many businesses, what we found, especially in the French quarter, is that they took the opportunity to do the renovations and do some of the cleaning and the work that you just can't really do on a day-to-day, right?
00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:28.720
Yeah.
00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.519
So I think that was really super important.
00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:42.960
And in between all the efforts of pest management, making those changes, removing those food sources, uh, we really uh were able to hammer, you know, the rodent populations in the area.
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:43.919
That is excellent.
00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000
So you've mentioned a couple of times the group, and you guys do have we've talked about media now.
00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.399
You have a great site, and as you mentioned, a bunch of stuff up there.
00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:59.279
But we're gonna show one of the clips now is fairly short from your site so that folks can and we'll put the link to this in the description below when this is posted on all the platforms.
00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.039
So let's go ahead and roll a clip.
00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:01.759
What are we set up?
00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:02.720
What are we getting ready to see?
00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.640
So, you know, part of what we're doing with Gulf South Vector is really to educate people.
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:08.079
What is a vector?
00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:16.640
And we're creating these great little short films to educate professionals as well as general public on what is uh some of these topics.
00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:17.680
So, what is a vector?
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:19.119
We'll roll this now.
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:32.000
The Gulf South Vector Project brings people together to keep communities and animals safe from vector-borne diseases.
00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:33.759
But what's a vector?
00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:39.119
Vectors are living organisms that spread diseases to animals and people.
00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:46.079
Some common vectors include blood-feeding insects like fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:50.720
Most of us have been fighting insect at some point in our lives.
00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:59.920
If a vector is carrying a harmful pathogen, like a parasite, bacteria, or virus, that illness can be transmitted through the body.
00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.119
Not every biting insect carries a disease.
00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:18.000
Around the world, over 700,000 people die each year from preventable diseases like malaria, metile virus.
00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.039
That's nearly the population that's important.
00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:30.880
And I have a lot of people can be affected, but there are certain populations at greater risk.
00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:41.599
Children, the elderly people who are immunocomposed, those who work outside, income populations are especially.
00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:47.359
We each have a role to play in preventing disease.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.000
But thankfully, we're not alone.
00:18:50.319 --> 00:19:18.880
The CDC and many different experts work together to ensure the public health and well-being of your community, your family, and you so I think that our mics might have been hot there when I was like, that's very high production value.
00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:19.839
Really good.
00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:20.400
Yeah.
00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:28.000
Um I I can be I like I think people are getting snob, not snobbier, but more discerning that way.
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:32.160
If it looks like homegrown content, they're very good production value on that.
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:39.119
It is, you know, you know, one of the things we wanted to do is communicate w how important the work we do.
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:49.279
And, you know, there is a place for your iPhone video of maybe inspecting uh a container, for example, or explaining to someone how to clean.
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:52.400
Right in the field, how to clean a birdbath, right?
00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:55.440
Most people think you just turn over the birdbath, fill it up.
00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:56.400
No, no, no, no.
00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:04.559
You have to actually scrub the bird bath, remove those mosquito eggs that are adhere to the side, and then they stick to it.
00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:11.599
So there is a place for those kinds of videos, but we really wanted to communicate how critical and how important it is.
00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:14.400
And you really do need that with a high production video.
00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:25.680
And this, a part of our Gulf Sub Vector team, we have an amazing team of researchers, um, industry, government, local government, vector control programs.
00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.480
And one of the people on there, she is an artist.
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.319
And she works in film and she has filmmakers that are part of her sphere.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:42.319
And so for a very, and this is this is government funded, so this is not high production cost meaning what we're paying.
00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.519
It's part of that research.
00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.160
You're having to be very clever about getting it at a discount.
00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:53.920
At a discount, because it's this kind of work is extremely expensive if you just go out into private private industry.
00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.720
So, you know, we've got other videos coming.
00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.079
Um I think you're even thinking about launching your own podcast, aren't you?
00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:00.799
Which would be awesome.
00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:02.400
Yes, we absolutely are going to.
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:04.000
I'm not gonna be your competitor, right?
00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.200
So no, not at all.
00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:06.240
We need more.
00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:12.640
And we'd love to like to get you on actually when we're in the studio and do a deeper dive and we can cross-promote content.
00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:13.519
Absolutely.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.000
It's the same community and they need right.
00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:16.799
They need more.
00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:19.039
There's a void uh out there of this stuff.
00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:20.480
It's a huge void.
00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:26.720
And I think it's I want to do it in a way that it's fun, that you know, tells our story of what we do.
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:31.440
We do such important work, and you know, how do you get the next generation involved?
00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:41.680
And I I really do think that it's getting them, you know, more interested or at least let people know, students, what do we do and how you do it?
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:44.319
And there's so many different areas of environmental health and it's a very good idea.
00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:46.960
Accidental profession for so many people in it.
00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:49.839
And they they backed into it or second career.
00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:55.759
And uh it's stunning, that's the more common answer than I went to college knowing I wanted to do this.
00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.799
All right, Cameron, I do you wanna why don't you ask me how I got to where I was?
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:05.119
You get into how'd you become the rat, mosquito, et cetera lady for the city of New Orleans?
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:06.640
Totally by accident.
00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:10.319
And so my background is in plant pathology.
00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:12.559
So I am a plant pathologist by training.
00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:16.319
So I grew up in Illinois, uh outside of Chicago.
00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:20.079
I ended up going to Purdue, studying uh plant molecular biology.
00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:22.480
So I thought my world was going to be agriculture.
00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:29.279
And um and I took a class one day and um it was learned I learned about nematodes.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.119
So I was like, oh, this is pretty cool.
00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.279
But I always knew I wanted to go on in school.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.319
So I ended up at University of Georgia working in plant pathology.
00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:42.720
So I've taken virology and bacteriology and all these other cool things, which actually helps me today.
00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:52.799
And then I ended up at University of Florida for a PhD working in nematology, but I worked in that department with a bunch of entomologists.
00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:59.200
And so that is not really my background, entomology is not really my background, but there's a professor there, Dr.
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:09.119
Phil Kaler, who's a renowned urban uh entomologist, and actually I have a podcast, not a podcast, I have a webinar all about his life, super interesting.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.119
You can go to our YouTube channel and see it.
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:27.599
But he used to set up um interviews for students uh working in the area, and so he set one up for me and uh make a long story short, I ended up working in um working with termites.
00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:39.359
But the intent really was to work in uh plant pathology nematology, but as I was going through the process with this company, they said, hey, look, we have a hiring freeze, can't take you right now, sorry.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:48.480
So I said, okay, I got something else, but they came back a couple months later and said, Look, I have a job in Baton Rouge working with termites.
00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.920
And I'm like, what?
00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:51.920
I didn't study this, right?
00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:55.680
But I think it's really important for students if you keep an open mind.
00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:56.160
Yes.
00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:04.720
But what I did learn all those years is how to do research, how to be a critical thinker, all those things, right?
00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:14.559
So then I ended up moving to that, worked in industry for a while, and I actually worked with the city of New Orleans for those four years in a position open there, and that's when I hopped over.
00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:18.240
And so then a year and a half later, totally accidental.
00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:27.279
Hurricane Katrina comes, and then you do everything from insurance and learn about FEMA and rodent control, and it's just it's awesome.
00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.119
Essentially, you know what I do.
00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:30.079
Totally by accident.
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.000
Like you're it you're infectiously enthusiastic about it.
00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:34.640
I love it.
00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.279
You really do need to do the podcast because people would really love it.
00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:41.680
Plus, you just have you have rats to work with as your stories and shortcuts.
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:42.400
Yes.
00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:44.480
And that's just come on, that's the best.
00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:45.440
It's the best.
00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:54.240
And so we we have lots of videos and we use uh game cameras quite a bit because we really need to connect the visual to what we've been saying.
00:24:54.480 --> 00:25:08.720
So it might just be a rodent climbing up a conduit, for example, but you can actually see it climbing up, and so you look you can really see tell people about the biology and why they're able to do that.
00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:16.559
And so you can also use those tools, of course, to educate your person, your stakeholder, who whatever building you're in, and all of that.
00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.000
The old adage is true, right?
00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:19.359
A picture is worth a thousand words.
00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:20.799
In this industry, it really is.
00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:21.359
Yeah, yeah.
00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:23.599
So when you do it, please let us know.
00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.759
Come on, uh the studio and promote it, and we'll like I'd love this.
00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:29.039
This will be really exciting.
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:29.759
Absolutely.
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.039
Um, I'd really appreciate it.
00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:31.440
Good luck.
00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.359
Thank you so much for 90 minutes to close it.
00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:34.960
I think you're gonna it's gonna be well attended.
00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:35.279
Uh, okay.
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:36.079
How can it not be?
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:36.799
Thank you so much.
00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:37.920
Claudia, we'll talk soon.
00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:40.559
And we'll have her back on, folks, and we'll put some details.
00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:41.039
All right.
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:43.359
Do you mind if we put how people can contact you in the show?
00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:43.839
Oh, absolutely.
00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:44.799
Yeah, please.
00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:45.519
We will do that.
00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:45.759
Yes.
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.400
All right, that was fun conversation there.
00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:50.480
We're getting ready to wrap up here from the exhibit hall.
00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.759
I think we've got about an hour left before they're gonna tear us down and kick us out.
00:25:53.920 --> 00:26:04.480
But for all of us here at the Beyond Data Management Podcast, powered by HSGov Tech, I'm Cameron Garrison, live in Kansas City at Niha AEC 2026, and we'll see you next time.
