Dr. Fran Koster presented to the Salisbury Rotary Club in January 2024. He did an outstanding job introducing and explaining the need to evaluate the air in our schools. The studies illustrating the change in test scores that aligned with the change in air composition were eye-opening. Dr. Koster invited our club members to participate during and after his program. Your group needs to hear his presentation.
Dr. Francis P. Koster gave the keynote address at our 2023 Volunteer Appreciation Banquet. He delivered a heartfelt and thought-provoking address that wove together touching personal anecdotes, surprising statistics, and an urgent plea to engage future generations in volunteer service. He provided the audience with a wealth of insights into the personal and social benefits of volunteering, challenging and inspiring all in attendance to continue their efforts to make a positive impact in their communities. His sincere delivery and clear passion for the topic left a lasting impression on those in attendance. I would highly recommend Dr. Koster as an engaging and motivating speaker for a wide variety of audiences.
Dr. Koster gave a very informative and revealing presentation about the connection between our environment and our health to a group of college students and faculty at the Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, College of Computing and Informatics of UNC-Charlotte. Dr. Koster presented alarming data and statistics to convey to his audience a strong sense of urgency to monitor and regulate chemicals in our environment and study the negative impact of environmental factors. These factors include radon gas and asbestos inside people’s house, pollution in drinking water, the omnipresent PFAS, microplastics and many more. Dr. Koster pointed the audience to the serious negative impacts of these environmental factors such as birth defects, neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer, obesity, reproductive issues etc. In particular, Dr. Koster said that exposures to pollution during pregnancy has multi-generational impact. Throughout the entire presentation, it is very clear that Dr. Koster has a very strong passion for monitoring what we are exposed to every day and protecting our environment. He has been working tirelessly for this course including LOANING FOR FREE devices through his non-profit organization “The Pollution Detectives” to monitor indoor air quality, lead in drinking water, radon, etc and making an indelible mark on environmental health.
Reviews of presentation entitled “The Connection Between Your Environment and Your Health”
1. "Very interesting and informative talk. I certainly would have liked to have heard more about the various 'canaries', but unfortunately time was limited."
2. "I enjoyed (not exactly ENJOYED!) Dr. Koster's presentation. As an infant psychologist I have been convinced that 'better living through chemistry' offers an answer to the riddle consuming many parents of babies born with developmental delays, autism, or other conditions. I saw it begin the the 50's as my mother rushed around our small house in the hot summer nights in the South rapidly closing windows as DDT fogged rumbled through the neighborhood. She argued it was poison to the next generation. Koster's statistic about NYC babies' umbilical cords containing 287 toxic chemicals is the evidence and why we witnessed increasingly obvious prototypes of classic autism characteristics evolve into diagnoses three generations later. His was a stunning presentation in so many ways. It needs to be widely disseminated."
3. "Dr. Koster is a very good speaker with total command of his subject matter. His talk was thought provoking, engaging, and relevant."
4. "Thank you so much for a wonderful presentation yesterday. It was outstanding."
5. "It was chocked full of amazing facts related to our daily lives and well-being. You have done an incredible amount of research on hidden pollutants, which, as you say, most of us are not aware of - for example, plastic in toothpaste. Who knew?" - Ambassador Brenda Schoonover (Ret.)
Dr. Koster was the first speaker at our new Rotary Club. He did not disappoint! The subject of the presentation concerned the level of pollution that exists in older schools and its impact on students ability to learn. The data he presented was very compelling. Many of our older schools contain unacceptable levels of carbon dioxide. Apparently, the level of carbon dioxide in the classroom has a direct effect on the student's ability to concentrate and retain the material that is presented. By reducing the amount of carbon dioxide, the level of student achievement can be increased significantly. Overall, his presentation was clear, concise and certainly captured the attention of our club members. Many of them stayed on the zoom call for an extra thirty minutes to ask questions. I encourage any group interested in student achievement to hear Dr. Koster's presentation. You will not be disappointed.
Fran Koster spoke at our 7680 Passport Club recently about the Air Quality in our local Schools in our nation and how bad air can impact a child's ability to learn. It was a fantastic presentation and everyone including myself was so taken back with how a higher level of C02 in classrooms can alter learning abilities and also affect the teachers. This can impact everyone, even adults and in their homes. I have grandchildren in Elementary schools and it concerns me deeply. I would love to learn more and have others who are connected to the Educational system look into this further. I wonder how other countries deal with this issue. I loved learning from a Futurist! We need more folks in this world like you Fran. Thank you for your passion and grit in trying to make it better for others. Your education, knowledge and experience is exceptional. Thank you Fran for a great presentation, and you are welcome back to our club anytime.
Dr. Koster, Thank you so much for your excellent presentation to Rowan Rotary Club this morning that increased my awareness of the need for improving oxygen levels and addressing important environmental issues throughout our communities. Your presentation was most enlightening, informative, and challenging. It is really important for each of us to focus on learning more about how our homes, schools, and work environments are affected by the quality of air and what each individual can do to address these issues. We also need to look at ways to engage leaders in our communities, state, and the nation in developing solutions to address these issues. Thank you again for informing, challenging and inspiring us to learn more and act responsibly.
Dr. Koster is apparently a very skilled educator. His manner of speaking was conversational and pleasant, while still imparting technical information. It was perfect for the audience we had. His knowledge and experience gave him excellent credibility. He used his slides well to demonstrate his point and he was very approachable afterwards as people asked questions.
Hi Dr Koster, Thank you for giving a wonderful presentation at the Appachain State University Mid-Year Summit last week. Many people I spoke to were thrilled to have you present on something that was not generally felt to be common knowledge. The way that you interacted and were involved with the audience was also deeply appreciated. I for one am making sure that I get out of my office on a regular basis to get some fresh air. Thanks again for a thoughtful and inspiring talk.
THE WORK WAS OUTSTANDING. THANK YOU SO MUCH! One of our best projects. This group has boys that struggle to like school. They loved this work!!! TRULY! Our 7th grade team is VERY INTERESTED in indoor and outdoor air quality. I think they will LOVE collaborating with you next! I'm bringing them into the discussion!
Dr. Koster presented to a group of upper school and middle school teachers. The teachers were really impressed with his experience, from acquiring his education to working for the state of Massachusetts. I am sure there are some really great stories in there that would be fun to listen to. Dr. Koster described his latest gathered research on indoor air quality and the benefits of students conducting citizen science experiments. He then toured us through his lending library of equipment. Teachers were excited to begin brain storming about how to best use the equipment to enhance their teaching practices.
Dr. Koster, Thank you very much for your informative presentation to Charlotte International Rotary Club. I'm not sure any of us were aware of the significant effects that can be gained in student performance by improving the indoor air quality in our schools. Evidently, it isn't only the early starting times in schools that cause students to want to nod off. It certainly makes sense that higher levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants could be an issue, but I don't think we imagined that our children might be in classrooms with CO2 levels as high as they were in the studies you described. It seems that a sampling of indoor air quality would be a wise decision for our schools, and action taken if the results warranted it. Thank you very much for sending your slide deck, so I can include your attachment when I send the meeting minutes. Again, we appreciated your well-organized presentation on this important topic.
Dr. Koster visited the Charlotte Top-of-the- Week Rotary Club at UNC Center City and delivered a fascinating presentation on an issue most of us in attendance knew nothing about and were shocked to learn. As a founder of “The Pollution Detectives”, Dr. Koster introduced us to the problem of increased CO2 levels in classrooms that reduce learning capabilities among children from Kindergarten through 12th grade-whatever socio-economic background they come from. The focus of his program and efforts is to raise awareness of a serious issue that can be easily corrected and by doing so can significantly increase the educational performance of our children. Club members were fascinated to learn how increased levels of CO2 can affect our learning and that there are currently no governmental efforts in NC focused on an issue that seemingly can improve educational performance for little expenditure of time, effort or money. We were both educated and amazed at Dr. Koster’s learned presentation on an issue not currently being addressed on any broad scale.
Dr. Koster spoke at our Charlotte Dilworth South End Rotary Club. His presentation was eye-opening and very thorough. The things we don’t know about air pollution (specifically lead, carbon dioxide, and radon) in our children’s schools, and the effect it has on their ability to learn (including long-term consequences), is disturbing. He is one of the best speakers we have had! Thank you.