Toxins In Your Home

Modern day construction hasn’t solved the problem of toxic housing. On top of old school irritants like mold, lead and asbestos, some new homes and apartments could contain enough formaldehyde to cause significant lung damage over time. Efforts are underway to better educate the public about the dangers and help remove the toxins, including a large-scale effort to replace lead water pipes.  

Interview guests: Author and UCLA researcher Nick Shapiro; Managing Attorney Midwest Office Earthjustice Debbie Chizewer; Director of Hamilton County Environmental Health Jeremy Hessel; Lead Program Manager, Greater Cincinnati Water Works Kevin Kappers; Director Whole Home Innovation Center, People Working Cooperatively Aaron Grant; Senior Program Officer for LISC LaChé Roach; Repair Coordinator Habitat for Humanity Sylk Johnson; Medical Director, Pediatric Environmental Health and Lead Clinic Dr. Nicholas Newman. 

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Transcript

Ann Thompson:

It doesn't matter whether your home is historic or brand new. The building you live in could be making you sick.

Nick Shapiro:

Our homes are slowly filling with all of these volatile organic chemicals.

Ann Thompson:

Like formaldehyde resin found in plywood, furniture and carpeting, and old school toxins like lead and paint and pipes and asbestos and tiles and insulation. Potentially any of these could cause lung damage, including mold. This Hamilton County Health Department supervisor has taken plenty of calls.

Jeremy Hessel:

They're upset. They're saying they're being affected health-wise by mold or they see a water leak that's causing the mold or even I have mold all over my bathroom.

Ann Thompson:

When it comes to lead pipes, Ohio is third in the nation with an estimated 745,000 still in use. Cincinnati started replacing them a decade ago.

Ernie Greene:

I confirmed right here that there was lead. And you can see the old lead pipe that we severed.

Ann Thompson:

A federal mandate says all lead pipes must be gone by 2037. Meanwhile, as that removal effort continues, people are suffering from other toxins. One report details public housing built near contaminated sites.

Debbie Chizewer:

So imagine now they've have it from the air, the soil, and from their drinking water. And then because some of these homes were older than 1978, they also had lead paint in them. And so there was really a perfect storm of exposure to lead.

Ann Thompson:

On this episode, toxic housing and efforts to rid these harmful elements from the place we live. Let's get into it. This is Brick by Brick, solutions for a thriving community.

Ame Clase:

Brick by Brick is made possible thanks to leading support from Greater Cincinnati Foundation, AES Foundation and George and Margaret McLane Foundation, with additional major support from Laurie    Johnston, The Robert & Adelle Schiff Family Foundation, Murray and Agnes Seasongood Good Government Foundation and more. Thank you

Ann Thompson:

Hello and welcome to Brick by Brick, where we're highlighting solutions for a thriving community in Southwest Ohio. I'm your host, Ann Thompson. A silver lining of the pandemic is that everyone started thinking about the air inside their home, and in many cases, it's not good. We'll get to some of the common culprits in a minute. But first, modern day toxins, engineered woods held together by plastic containing formaldehyde. Environmental researcher and author of the book “Homesick” Nick Shapiro says, our homes are slowly filling with volatile organic chemicals more so when it gets hot and wet.

Nick Shapiro:

The average formaldehyde level in American homes, all American homes, is enough to cause significant pulmonary impairment. So that's the average home. It's not decrepit homes. It's not the old homes. This is where we live.

Ann Thompson:

Shapiro says formaldehyde is everywhere and in everything. ProPublica did an investigation last year and found it in furniture and flooring, gas stoves, and adhesives used in wallpaper, as well as candles. The EPA says safe levels are below seven. A government survey found average levels of 23 inside the home. As part of an asthma research group, Shapiro began studying the 120,000 trailers the government provided displaced residents after Hurricane Katrina. He says they were full of toxic materials. They've since been resold and are housing people across the country who, after being drawn to the new car smell, say they want out.

Nick Shapiro:

They quickly pivoted from being thankful to have housing to really ready to move anywhere else. There was one woman who was unhoused before she bought her former FEMA trailer, and she lived in a juniper bush, and she would tell me that her family was so sick in the trailer that she wondered if it'd be better if they moved back to the juniper bush.

Ann Thompson:

But in many cases, he says it's not that significant. It's a slowing of the mind and irritation of the eyes. Shapiro doesn't recommend buying a brand new trailer or a home or renting a new apartment. One that's five years older more gives time for all the chemicals to dissipate. It also helps to open your windows. Now, back to the old school problems of mold and lead. Researchers published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health say childhood exposure to household mold raises the risk of developing asthma. Eleven percent of the 40,000 studied had it. This compares to 7% who weren't exposed to mold. One Mount Auburn basement has had mold for years and over time caused the homeowner to develop a cough.

Mt. Auburn homeowner:

Maybe 10 years ago it started. And I never understood why it would happen randomly and why it was so bad.

Ann Thompson:

The homeowner who doesn't want to give her name knew it was bad, but was trying to save up the money to remove the paneling drywall and wooden beams that contained it. People Working Cooperatively came to the rescue. The Cincinnati nonprofit provides critical home repairs for eligible residents and recently started focusing on the root causes of homeowner health. According to Aaron Grant, PWC's director, Whole Home Innovation Center.

Aaron Grant:

This is an example of how we're trying to look a little bit deeper into how the home is impacting somebody's health outcomes, and especially for people that have illnesses that might be related to their environment like asthma or other respiratory illness.

Ann Thompson:

For this home, Grant says water was coming in from the old stone foundation and getting soaked up by paneling in two by fours.

Aaron Grant:

Our plan is to try to remove some of those things, get it back to the foundation wall, try to clean away some of the mold as best we can, and then help make the basement air drier, try to keep it less moist, and try to manage the moisture that does make its way into the basement.

Ann Thompson:

People working cooperatively will also try to manage the runoff from the gutters. All this will be done over a couple of weeks, and it can't come soon enough for the homeowner.

Mt. Auburn homeowner:

Yes, I am so excited to looking forward to things being better.

Ann Thompson:

If the mold is in a rental, the health department investigates and can issue citations. Jeremy Hessel is director of the Hamilton County Environmental Health Division. Over the years, he's seen plenty of mold and describes one scenario.

Jeremy Hessel:

There's water down here in the basement, which is then causing the white stuff on the surfaces, which is the mold to grow. The water had been down there for quite some time, about three feet of water in the basement, which they never corrected, and then the mold is starting to grow on these surfaces down here in the basement.

Ann Thompson:

The Hamilton County Health Department gets about two or three mold complaints a day and all sorts of housing types. Hamilton County, Public Health Dayton Montgomery County, and the City of Cincinnati have plenty of resources for people, including a free visual inspection service for mold and lead paint, paint chip sampling, blood testing, and the borrowing of vacuums with filters to clean up lead dust. You can learn about the programs at thinktv.org and cetconnect.org. And UCLA researcher Nick Shapiro is working with Ohio State to develop a smartphone-based test for dust to detect allergens that can cause asthma symptoms. It's not yet on the market. Did you know Ohio ranks second nationally for elevated blood lead levels? The president and CEO of Miami Valley Community Action Partnership, Erin Jeffries, told the Dayton Daily News that children here are more than twice as likely to have elevated blood levels compared to the national average.

For 2025, public health Dayton Montgomery County investigated and assisted with 138 lead cases. In 2025, Hamilton County reported 16 lead poisoning cases, but with a federal grant, was able to create 35 lead safe homes. Many people don't know the dangers in their home, but Brick by Bricks Hernz Laguerre Jr. Talked to one woman who quickly realized something had to be done to protect her and her children from lead-based paint.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Tracy Strong's Forest Park home used to be toxic.

Traci Strong:

The doors had a very, very old smell because they were here since 1953, but now it's so clear you can't smell anything. You can just smell the newness of the doors.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The newness of lead-free paint. We'll detail the rehab later on. Tracy's home was built in the 1950s and she moved into home in the 1990s. The home was in dire need of repair for many reasons, one of which is because of the lead-based paint in the home. Dr. Nicholas Newman is the director of the lead clinic at Cincinnati Children's.

Dr. Nicholas Newman:

The thing with lead exposure is that it happens most in young kids and because they're the ones who are exploring, like they're down on the ground, they're crawling around, they're putting their hands in their mouth. Children have certain windows of vulnerability as their brains are developing and their other systems are developing, that if something bad comes and hits them at that point when the system is kind of more vulnerable, then that can have effects later in life.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

And lucky for Tracy and her kids who were raised in the home and are now adults, no one had any effects from lead exposure. That's not always the case. Silk Johnson is a repair coordinator with Habitat for Humanity.

Sylk Johnson:

We worked with a lot of homeowners that had kids or even grandparents who have their grandkids over all the time. We had one. She was concerned with her grandchildren playing outside because they would lick the siding and the siding was lead based.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

These are the exact people who Hamilton County's lead safe program aimed to help. In fact, reportedly 60% of Hamilton County homes have lead paint. Tracy thinks back when she reached out for help.

Traci Strong:

I knew that program because my house is in really bad shape.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

It wasn't until 1978 that the federal government banned lead base paint for consumer use due to health concerns.

Sylk Johnson:

We do have a lot of homes that were built before 1978.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Habitat for Humanity is one of the partners of the county's lead safe program. Describe the work that you performed at Tracy's house.

Sylk Johnson:

We did some interior painting. We replaced exterior and interior doors. We painted the whole house on the outside. We did some soffit work, so we replaced gutters and downspouts. 

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The renovation, repairing, and painting process, RRP, is the key element of this grant funded initiative. Nonprofit organization, LISC, manages the LeadSafe program.  LaChé Roach, senior program officer at LISC, shares why they chose the RRP route as opposed to another method called abatement.

LaChé Roach:

Abatement requires a lot more like digging into the drywall, extracting anything that might have lid and then having some actual testing, so it costs a lot more. This RRP process though and going under the presumption rule.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The presumption rule assumes that anything built before 1978 has led so they can just go in and renovate the home without having to go through things like the costly pretesting that abatement requires.

LaChé Roach:

The difference would be RRP is more proactive while abatement is more of a reactive process. Our RP is saying, "Hey, we are going in and just removing any opportunity or reducing any opportunity for exposure to ingestion of that

Dr. Nicholas Newman:

Lid." Getting it remediated is a smart idea in terms of preparation for the grandkids coming to visit. And the whole point of a program, anything like that, is to try to prevent the next group of people from getting exposed.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The Lead Safe program didn't only remove the toxic chemical, but it gave Tracy's home a much desired makeover.

Traci Strong:

It feels like a whole brand new house. They painted my kitchen. They took all the old wallpaper out of my kitchen, painted going downstairs in my basement, in the whole outside of the house. I mean, they did beautiful. They did beautiful.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

We like to ask this question to everybody on our series. In your opinion, what makes a thriving community?

Traci Strong:

When your house looks the best on the street.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The Lead Safe Hamilton County program has reached its full capacity and the funding for the program will run out in February. But both the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County will continue to work through a loan program that is now open for low to moderate income homeowners. For Brick by Brick, I'm Hernz Laguerre Jr.

Ann Thompson:

Thanks, Hernz. Ohio knows it has a lead paint problem because many of its homes are old. Of cities with the most homes built before 1940, Cincinnati is eighth. Among smaller cities, Dayton is ranked seventh. Lead paint was outlawed by the federal government for consumer use in 1978. There is state help to get rid of it, but not as much. Last year, Ohio increased the lead abatement tax credit, but cut its lead abatement funding from seven and a half million a year to 250,000. And it abolished its Lead Safe Home Fund program. The state health director says these budget cuts will have consequences. Coming up on Brick by Brick, how Cincinnati got out in front in the rush to replace lead pipes. And what an investigation into public housing near super fund sites found.

Debbie Chizewer:

A mayor of East Chicago was quoted as saying, "We're going to build this housing here because it may not be desirable, but it's where the other black and brown people live."

Ann Thompson:

When Brick by Brick continues.

Ame Clase:

Brick by Brick is made possible thanks to the generous support of so many, including Diane and Dave Moccia, P & G, The Camden Foundation,  The Stephen H. Wilder Foundation, TJ and Susie Ackermann, Patti and Fred Heldman, a donation in memory of Frank and Margaret Linhardt, and more. Thank you. We couldn't do this work without you.

Mark Lammers:

As you can tell from this episode, creating healthy homes is not just a philosophical notion. It's a real life challenge for many, and it's important if we want our neighborhoods to thrive. Hi, I'm Mark Lammers, executive producer of Brick by Brick, and I'm here to ask you to help keep us accountable. The solutions we investigate, the issues we're sharing context around, these all begin based on a story lead, an idea of a solution helping our neighbors. Your feedback on what we're doing really does matter, and so do your ideas. So look for the link to provide feedback in our show notes and join the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.

Ann Thompson:

Welcome back to Brick by Brick. Here are some other toxins, radon gas. It's a naturally occurring radioactive, colorless, odorless gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium rocks. It seeps into buildings and could cause health risks over time. The Columbus dispatch tested 68 homes in September and October, and 54 of them had a reading above the EPA threshold of four. The fix is installing a system which vents it from beneath the house foundation. Here's something else. You know about the dangers of firsthand and secondhand cigarette smoke, but what about thirdhand smoke? In a 2025 report, Cincinnati Children's Hospital researchers found lingering tobacco smoke in dust, old carpets, couches, and other surfaces, and ultimately on the hands and in the saliva of kids. They lived in homes where nobody smoked and there were strict no smoking rules. Now back to lead. US cities have 11 years to get rid of all lead water pipes.

Lead in drinking water can cause learning disabilities in children, behavioral problems, and slowed growth. Dayton estimates it has more than 9,000 lead service lines to replace, which will cost an estimated 200 million. Cincinnati is ahead of the game, but is feeling the pressure to go faster. Getting the lead out has a double meaning for the Greater Cincinnati Water Works, even though it started replacing the lead pipes with copper a decade ago. It needs to nearly double what it did last year to meet EPA regulations. That's a goal of 3,000 a year. Brick by brick went to Cincinnati's North Avondale neighborhood where Josh Moerlein of Moerlein Construction was working to replace the line from the street to the house. So we know some digging is involved. How long does it take to replace the lead pipe in a typical home?

Josh Moerlein:

Well, your typical homes are always done within a day. Once we shut your water off in the morning, we have to have it on within eight hours. So normal workday is 7:00 to 3:00, and we'll have you plugged in and water back on. If all goes well, usually by one, 2:00 in the afternoon.

Ann Thompson:

Moerlein construction is one of many contractors Greater Cincinnati Water Works uses. It had an especially big challenge with this North Avondale house and its porch. Ernie Green is the assistant supervisor of construction inspection for the water works.

Ernie Greene:

They also had a footer that this foundation is resting on that was incredibly thick. So we had to drill through there. And because of that, pipe going underneath the footer, going through the footer, added an extra layer of protection. It kind of looked like an industrial swim

Ann Thompson:

Noodle. The crew covered it up with sand and dirt and then went inside for the hookup. Because Waterworks is footing the bill, replacing 42,000 lead service lines with copper gets expensive. Kevin Kappers is the lead program manager.

Kevin Kappers:

We're constantly analyzing that, the cost of service. So we say, how much does it cost us to do our business? And that has to be reflected in rates. So costs everywhere are going up, so there's potential that rates may go up at some point. However, we are maximizing our grants and loans.

Ann Thompson:

It used to be first come first served, but water works has prioritized replacement based on a new University of Cincinnati model.

Kevin Kappers:

It broke down our whole service area into census blocks, which was just a couple streets and an area, and it added in factors to try to identify population's most vulnerable to lead.

Ann Thompson:

It was nearly 100 years ago that Cincinnati realized lead pipes were bad and didn't allow them in homes built after 1928. 

Switching gears now to federally assisted housing. It's come to light that the government built a number of housing projects near contaminated sites. Debbie Chizewer, welcome to Brick by Brick. You're the managing attorney Midwest Office for EarthJustice. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. You are one of the authors of a report called Poisonous Homes, The Fight for Environmental Justice and Federally Assisted Housing. I'm wondering who sponsored it and what prompted the report.

Debbie Chizewer:

Thank you. Several organizations partnered to support a community in East Chicago, Indiana, which is in Northwest Indiana outside of Chicago. And this community was living on top of a contaminated site, a super fund site, and they did not know they were living on this site and their children and they were exposed to extremely high levels of lead and arsenic in the soil, in the air, and ultimately in their homes. And this group of organizations, the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, the University of Chicago Environmental Law Clinic, Northwestern's Environmental Law Clinic, and Loyola's Health Justice Clinic came together because we realized that the work required experts across many disciplines, and we came together and supported this community. We learned a lot of lessons from this community, from the residents, and also from our advocacy. And what we realized was that there needed to be policy changes that could really improve the lives of many people around the country who were also living on or near superfund sites around the country.

Ann Thompson:

Did it ever come to light why the low-income housing was built on these sites?

Debbie Chizewer:

Yeah, actually one of the most disturbing pieces of evidence that we found in putting together the civil rights complaint before the Department of Housing and Urban Development was quote in a newspaper article at the time. In 19, I want to say it was in the late '60s, a mayor of East Chicago was quoted as saying, "We're going to build this housing here because it may not be desirable, but it's where the other Black and Brown people live." And yeah, it's quite outrageous and it was right there in writing. It's the kind of thing that you worry about, and then to see it in writing is quite stark. And our colleagues at the Shriver Center filed that complaint with HUD that led to some relief for the community, but it was too little too late, obviously, but they were able to get housing vouchers to move to other communities.

Ann Thompson:

Your report came out, and then did you continue to look at other projects or what happened next and what kind of demands were you making or recommendations?

Debbie Chizewer:

Yeah, we have a series of recommendations in the report that are designed to tackle the issues from all the different levels of government and agencies that are involved. So we called on EPA to strengthen its standards for cleanup of lead and soil. The standard that EPA had been using was that if they found lead in the soil over 400 parts per million, that then they would clean up that site. But that standard was pegged to reducing blood in lead to below 10 micrograms. So that standard is no longer the standard though. CDC had updated the standard and now it's significantly lower, but the number that EPA was using was way higher. Mind you, the amount of lead in the soil there was in the thousands, not 400, but even higher than that. One of the things that is really vital is to make sure that the polluters are paying.

That is the purpose of the law, the super fund law, was to make sure that polluter's paid. And what happens and what happened in Chicago and in many other communities is that the government negotiates a resolution with the polluter. And if they can't get enough money, then they sacrifice the cleanup. And the goal should be to get the right cleanup, get the polluters to pay. But even if they can't pay, there's still a fund, the super fund that is designed to pay for these. And that needs to be fully funded by Congress so that when EPA cannot reach, get all the money it needs for proper cleanup, it's still doing the proper cleanup and using the money from the fund.

Ann Thompson:

Well, you and others have done great work on covering this. It sounds like there's still lots to be done. To end on a positive note, what gives you hope going forward?

Debbie Chizewer:

The people in community. One of the things that amazed me in our work in East Chicago and amazes me in the work that Earth Justice does all over the Midwest is that the community members come out time and time again, regardless of how sick they are or busy they are with other real urgent needs. They come out to advocate for their community and they understand what's happening in their community and they're able to convince decision makers to make change. And so I am indebted to and honored to work with so many amazing residents and community group leaders around the country.

Ann Thompson:

Debbie Chizewer, managing attorney, Midwest Office Earth Justice. Thanks for being on Brick by Brick.

Debbie Chizewer:

Thank you very much.

Ann Thompson:

Throughout this episode, the solutions we've looked at all involve removing the toxins from the home. How effective is that strategy? Very effective if it's before any long-term cognitive or lung damage. 30 years ago in Philadelphia with some of the oldest homes in the country, Children's Hospital launched the Community Asthma Prevention Program. It sends community health workers into the home to educate and make small changes and partners with various home repair agencies to fix structural defects. A 2023 study found fewer asthma symptoms and less hospitalizations and emergency room visits. People interviewed also reported quality of life improvements and a broader sense of wellbeing. Limitations for greening up toxic housing come down to cost and regulations. From aldehyde products like resin and furniture and cabinetry, shelving, countertops, and flooring are cheaper than solid wood or granite, but it doesn't increase the cost as much as you might think.

ECO Home did an analysis in 2021 and found that a green kitchen with formaldehyde-free cabinets, excluding countertops and taxes, is just $1,300 more than ones with formaldehyde. Environmentalists often look to Europe for more progressive regulations. Recently, Europe rolled back its regulations on formaldehyde, essentially doubling the level that workers are allowed to be exposed to. Here's another limitation. Workers who remove lead and mold are in short supply. One of the contractors for the Greater Cincinnati Waterworks mentioned this as a concern going forward because every city in the country is now having to remove lead pipes. But scientists and author, Nick Shapiro is somewhat optimistic. He says since COVID, people are thinking more about how much time they spend inside.

Nick Shapiro:

So I think we are in a really good moment to move forward to make strides towards healthier environments. I think in a polarized political world, a healthy home is a great way to find commonality.

Ann Thompson:

Shapiro thinks most people can agree the home should be a safe place. We have links to a lot of the information we've been telling you about on our website, including free county programs to evaluate toxins in your home at cetconnect.org and thinktv.org. On the website, there's also a big green button where you can tell your housing story and any solutions that you think we should all get behind. We try to be healthy, but there are so many things that are out of our control. It's time for takeaways and we welcome the team multimedia journalist, Emiko Moore. 

Emiko Moore:

Hello

Ann Thompson:

And Hernz Laguerre Jr.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Hey, everyone.

Ann Thompson:

Hey, guys. So Emiko, let's group this into old school toxins and maybe modern day. So in terms of old school, you had some things to say about mold.

Emiko Moore:

That's right. When I was listening about the nonprofit organization people working cooperatively in Cincinnati and their work with helping a Cincinnati homeowner with mold mitigation, it reminded me of a story last season that we did on preservation. The organization, the Dayton Home Repair Network, helped a Dayton homeowner, Barbara Gruber, with her mold mitigation. I mean, her health was greatly compromised. She could barely walk by herself, largely due to the mold and air quality, and the repairs really helped make a huge difference in her health. Yeah,

Ann Thompson:

I remember her well.  Hernz, you dug into lead paint.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah. And kind of in the same regard that Emiko brought up in regards to preservation, I think removing lead from home could help with that. It's a proactive solution. If we plan to use our aging homes as part of the housing stock in Hamilton County and Montgomery County and beyond, we need to make sure that what's in the home aren't affecting the residents who live in the home, especially young children. It doesn't make sense to have a house that hurts your health. I know the Led Safe Hamilton County program just ran out of funding, but Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati, they're continuing their efforts with a loan program. I think them doing that is going to help build the housing stock. But I will add, even though that they're continuing the program, like I said, it's a loan in comparison to a grant that was being provided through ARPA.

A lot of people who are affected by this, some of the people at least are of low income, and I wonder if the loan It'll be an extra burden as they're trying to repair their home.

Ann Thompson:

I like your line Hernz about you don't want housing that hurts your health. And even in a brand new house, there are things like flooring, kitchen cabinets, carpeting, couches that are off gassing that have formaldehyde glues in them. And you can help yourself buy, let's say if you buy a couch, putting it out in the garage for a couple days, opening the windows. And there's just so much information that you can dig into on our show page at thinktv.org and also cetconnect.org. Thanks for your thoughts, guys. 

Emiko Moore:

Thank you.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

No problem.

Ann Thompson:

Coming up on the next Brick by Brick, homelessness is continuing to rise, a round table with area experts. I

Dr. Kathy Rowell:

Don't know what's happened to us, but I think that the pain that children experience when they're living unhoused is really hard to hear.

Kevin Finn:

To be honest, I feel like we've caught lightning in a bottle. We know how to reduce homelessness. This is not rocket science.

Ann Thompson:

The strategies Hamilton and Montgomery counties are employing to help solve it on the next brick by brick. 

That's our show. If you like what you hear, please rate and review our podcast. It makes it easier to find. We hope you learned something, and if you did, please tell your friends and family about it. For Hernz Laguerre Jr. and Emiko Moore, I'm Ann Thompson. We'll be back soon with more solutions. Take care. 

Our show is produced, hosted an edited by me, Ann Thompson with reporting and story editing from Hernz Laguerre Jr. and Emiko Moore. Our Executive producer of Mark Lammers. Audio sweetening provided by Mike Schwartz. Zach Kramer runs the lights and cameras. Derrick Smith is our production specialist and Jason Garrison is our production manager. Kellie May heads up our marketing and promotions, along with Mike Shea and Bridgett Dillenburger. Elyssa Stefenson handles the website and Josh Lusby and Steve Wright are our designers. Bill Dean and Andres Kruza are the engineers for the show and our Chief Content Officer is Colin Scianamblo. Our music is from Universal Production Music. Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community is a production of CET and ThinkTV, Southwest Ohio PBS member stations.

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