"How Community Activism Is Pest Control" - Caroline Bragdon

In New York City, rats are a public health problem. The solution to a problem like controlling rats has a surprising amount in common with almost all the problems that people have when living together: thoughtful cooperation.

Caroline Bragdon, MPH is Director of Neighborhood Interventions for the Pest Control Services Program at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Her work focuses on improving neighborhood level responses to rat infestations. She develops curricula and teaches urban Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for diverse audiences including building managers, custodians, gardeners, businesses and City employees. She is the author of “Characteristics of the Built Environment and the Norway Rat” published in June 2016 in the "Journal of Environmental Health." She is also the author of “Evaluation of a Neighborhood Rat-Management Program – New York City, 2007-2009” published in 2012 in the "Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report." Ms. Bragdon joined the New York City’s Division of Environmental Health as a research scientist in 2004 and coordinated the Bureau of Veterinary and Pest Control Services outreach and education program from 2007-2014. She became the Director of Neighborhood Interventions for the Pest Control Services Program in 2014.  Caroline Bragdon received a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health and Social Psychology from Tufts University and a Master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.