03/11/2024
Dear Friends & Partners, Youth Coordinator Bryan Zimmerman's last day with our to***co-free program was Friday, March 1st. As he continues his professional journey in the Columbia-Greene community at Twin County Recovery Services, Inc., we wish him the best of success! We would like to honor our superstar colleague with this long overdue . 😎🤩👏
Youth Coordinator Bryan Zimmerman
Format: Mini Interview
Q: How would you summarize what you do?
A: I’m a community health worker and educator who works with youth ages 13-18 and youth-facing adults. I work in a statewide program, Advancing To***co-Free Communities, within the NYS Department of Health.
A lot of people think our jobs involve helping people quit to***co. A lot of my job is to inform kids about how to***co marketing adversely affects our communities.
The ultimate aim is to get kids to advocate for policy change, help them make more informed decisions about their health, and be more aware and critical of their media environment.
Q: If there’s one thing people should understand about youth and to***co, what would it be?
A: The most important thing people need to understand is that ni****ne hijacks the developing brain.
I started smoking at 11. It affected my academic performance and self-esteem. It not only led to impulsivity and problems concentrating and learning. It also led to poor decisions at a time when adolescence is already risky terrain. In my situation, the last thing I needed was ni****ne.
Q: What motivates you?
A: In 10th grade, I had an English teacher assign the book Winesburg, Ohio, a novel about rural American people. I got into social documentary photography—Walker Evans, Dorothea Lang, Diane Arbus, Sebastio Salgado, Graciela Iturbide, and August Sander. I wondered if I could advocate for people who are underserved or isolated. Photography gave me permission to bear witness.
Growing up on the edge of Kansas City, I saw a lot of income and health disparities firsthand-–in school, church, and sports. After high school, I did two years at a local community college and worked jobs painting houses and landscaping. I had classmates older than me who were trying to break into a new job or career that was easier on their health. People are working hard, underpaid, and paying with their bodies. I saw firsthand how we are not entitled to equal health.
This is a ridiculous injustice.
Exposure to industrial chemicals became a passion of mine. That passion was stoked by learning about uranium mining on Navajo lands…PCBs ruining fishing in the Hudson…“Cancer Alley” in Louisiana. In these areas, health is a battleground, and commercial powers are on full display.
Shortly after I started working at a college photo lab, I became overexposed to color darkroom chemicals. My painting boss got lymphoma around the same time. After seeing artists exposed to toxic chemicals, I joined the school health and safety committee.
That is when I discovered I had the courage to speak up. I had the passion to advocate for others’ health.
To***coFreeNYS Reality Check
