9 Reasons You Need the Austin Air Mold Solutions Summit

You've probably heard the term "toxic mold" thrown around. Maybe you've seen it in a headline, spotted it in a bathroom corner, or — if you're reading this — maybe you've lived it. But here's something most people don't realize: mold exposure is one of the most underestimated, misunderstood, and under-addressed environmental health challenges in the country today.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollution ranks among the most significant environmental risks to public health — with indoor contaminant levels capable of reaching concentrations far higher than what you'd encounter outside. And yet, millions of families are navigating mold exposure largely on their own, with little guidance, frequent dismissal, and more questions than answers.

That's exactly why Austin Air Systems — a global leader in medical-grade air purification for over 35 years — created the Austin Air National Mold Solutions Summit.

This free, online educational event launches soon — March 31, 2026 — and brings together an extraordinary lineup of physicians, scientists, building experts, advocates, legal professionals, and detection innovators for a conversation that is long, long overdue.

Not sure if it's for you? Here are nine reasons we know it absolutely is.

1. It's Genuinely the First of Its Kind

The Austin Air Mold Solutions Summit is the first nationally promoted educational event to bring together experts from medicine, environmental health, building science, law, advocacy, and detection technology — all under one virtual roof, all focused on one subject: mold.

Traditional medical conferences talk to clinicians. Remediation workshops talk to contractors. Advocacy events talk to lawmakers. This summit talks to all of them — and to the families caught in the middle — at the same time. That has simply never been done before, definitely not at this scale, and the cross-pollination of expertise alone makes it worth showing up for.

2. The Science Is Fascinating — and You Won't Find It Anywhere Else

Here's a name to remember: Dr. Joan Bennett, the current Ida A. Richardson Chair of Botany at Tulane University, distinguished professor emerita at Rutgers, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Bennett has spent her career studying mycotoxins — the toxic compounds produced by mold — and her work is at the absolute frontier of what science understands about how mold affects living things. One of her most captivating areas of research involves using the bioluminescence of Drosophila fruit flies to detect mycotoxin exposure.

Yes, really. The presence (or striking absence) of that natural glow in fruit flies can signal mycotoxin contamination — an elegant, unexpected window into a problem that has long been notoriously difficult to detect.

Why does that matter? Beyond being fascinating, it is significant because mycotoxin testing remains one of the most contested and elusive areas in mold science. Evidence is growing, detection methods are evolving, and researchers like Dr. Bennett are helping push the field forward in ways that will eventually change how mold illness is diagnosed and understood. Getting a front-row seat to that conversation — for free — is a genuinely rare opportunity.

3. The Medical Lineup Is Extraordinary

The summit features seven medical and scientific experts who collectively bring over 200 years of clinical and research experience to the table. That's not a typo.

Dr. Anne Marie Fine and Dr. Lyn Patrick, both co-founders of Environmental Medicine Education International, have spent decades training clinicians to recognize and treat mold and environmental toxin exposure.

Dr. Andrew Heyman, Program Director of Integrative and Metabolic Medicine at George Washington University, specializes in biotoxin illness recovery and will be sharing practical tools for healing. He is also the Medical Director and Co-Founder of Beyond Mold.

Dr. Sheila Kilbane, a board-certified pediatrician and integrative medicine physician, addresses the mold-related health challenges that children face — and that parents are so often told don't exist.

Dr. Tim Guilford, a Johns Hopkins-trained ENT and pioneer in glutathione research, brings decades of work on detoxification and immune function.

And Dr. Lindsay Ledwich, an integrative rheumatologist who became a mold specialist in part because of her own family's experience, offers the kind of clinical compassion that mold-affected patients rarely find.

Together, they cover the full spectrum — from pediatrics to rheumatology, integrative medicine to mycology — all talking about mold, because mold impacts our entire system.

4. It Goes Way Beyond the Doctor's Office

Here's where this summit gets really interesting for people who might not think a medical event applies to them.

Understanding mold illness is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to know how to find it, how to safely get rid of it, what to do about the home you're living in, and what your legal rights are if someone else is responsible for your exposure. The Austin Air Mold Solutions Summit covers all of that.

John C. Banta, a retired Certified Industrial Hygienist with 35+ years investigating health-compromised buildings, brings unmatched expertise on what proper remediation actually looks like — and the common failures that put families at risk. He is also a published author and a consultant for

Andrew Pace, founder of the Green Design Center and known as the "Healthy Home Concierge," addresses something most people never think about: the hidden chemical hazards lurking in building materials used during renovations and repairs, which can be devastating for people who have already developed environmental sensitivities.

Marilee Nelson, among her many accomplishments, is a certified Building Biology Environmental Consultant, co-founder of Branch Basics, and currently serves on the Professional Advisory Board of Documenting Hope as their materials specialist. She will speak to why the products used during remediation matter as much as the remediation itself.

If you work in construction, contracting, or renovation, this summit was made for you too — consider yourself a guest of honor. Understanding how mold exposure affects the families in the homes you work on, what clients need during and after remediation, and how materials choices impact long-term indoor air quality makes you a better, more trusted professional. The summit gives you tools to bring back to your clients and your practice.

5. There's a Dog Involved — a Very Talented One

We're not above leading with this.

Lindsay Reeves, co-founder of Hope the Mold Dog, will be at the summit sharing her story — and it is a story worth hearing. After their entire family developed severe, unexplained health issues following a move to Georgia in 2014, her husband Blake eventually uncovered the cause: hidden toxic mold throughout their home. They left nearly everything behind, slowly recovered, and then channeled their experience into helping other families find answers.

Today, both Lindsay and Blake are certified mold inspectors and together they operate Home Safe Mold Inspectors of NWA. Their partner in this work is Hope — a Jack Russell Terrier with over 1,000 hours of elite mold detection training who can identify hidden mold beyond the reach of conventional tools.

You may have heard of truffle dogs. Likewise, canine detection is an emerging and remarkably effective approach to finding contamination that standard testing can miss. Hope and the Reeves family bring lived experience, technical expertise, and yes, a very good dog to the summit.

6. Jason Earle Will Change How You Think About Mold Testing

Jason Earle has an origin story that feels almost too on-the-nose: as a child, he suffered from debilitating asthma and allergies — which mysteriously vanished when his family moved away from a musty farmhouse. Years later, he connected the dots, changed careers, and became one of the country's leading voices in mold detection innovation.

After witnessing rampant conflicts of interest in the mold inspection industry, Jason pioneered one of the first independent mold inspection services in the country and helped bring canine detection into the mainstream. He then developed the GOT MOLD? Test Kit — a professional-quality, lab-analyzed air testing solution designed to give families accurate results without the cost, confusion, or contractor bias of traditional inspections.

His session at the summit will be eye-opening for anyone who has ever wondered: can I even trust the results I'm getting?

7. Someone at This Summit is Changing Federal Law

Jackie Talarico didn't set out to become a national housing advocate. She set out to protect her family. Her impact has expanded outward.

A military spouse from a generational military family, Jackie's own experience with mold exposure, misdiagnosis, and medical gaslighting in military housing became the fuel behind one of the most significant housing advocacy efforts in recent memory.

She became a leading voice behind the Military Housing – Catalysts for Change movement and worked alongside the Change the Air Foundation and bipartisan lawmakers to help shape the Military Occupancy Living Defense (MOLD) Act — legislation that frames unsafe housing as both a public health crisis and a national security concern.

Of course, this isn’t just an issue for military families — the MOLD Act has great potential to impact civilians as well. The legislation would be a first step towards recognizing the health hazards of mold and ensure protections for those who are impacted.

Jackie’s presence at the summit serves as a reminder that mold isn't just a health issue — it's a housing issue, a human rights issue, and increasingly, a policy issue. Every renter, homeowner, and tenant deserves to know where they stand.

8. It's for Families and Professionals — At the Same Time

One of the most unusual and valuable things about this summit is its intentional dual audience.

Most medical conferences are built for clinicians. Most public health events are built for laypeople. This one was designed to serve both — simultaneously — because the people who most need to be in the same conversation rarely are.

Clinicians will find advanced interdisciplinary insights they can apply directly in practice. Families will find clear, validated, fear-free information they can actually use. Remediation professionals will walk away with client education tools that strengthen trust and improve outcomes. Real estate professionals, legal advocates, and building experts will find connections across fields they've never had access to in a single setting.

If mold has touched your health, your home, your work, or someone you love — there is something in this summit for you.

9. It Was Built by Someone Who Lived It

Every great initiative has an origin story, and this one belongs to Stacy Malesiewski.

Austin Air's Director of Marketing and Communications, Stacy is a certified health and wellness coach, mother of four, and mold survivor whose entire family was impacted by mold exposure. She knows firsthand what it feels like to watch your household's health unravel while searching for answers that seem impossible to find. She knows the gaslighting. The isolation. The endless medical appointments and testing that lead nowhere. And she knows what it feels like to finally, slowly, fight your way back.

That personal experience is the heartbeat of the Austin Air Mold Solutions Summit. Stacy didn't just organize a speaker lineup — she built a platform she wishes had existed when her family needed it most.

This summer, she'll be releasing her book, Rebuilding Your Temple After Mold, which documents her recovery journey and offers practical guidance for others navigating similar challenges. It promises to be an invaluable companion to the summit itself — honest, hard-won, and written from the inside out.

If you've ever wanted to attend an event that was created with genuine love and urgency by someone who truly gets it, the Austin Air Mold Solutions Summit is that event.

Ready? Here's How to Join — and How to Win

The Austin Air National Mold Solutions Summit is free, online, and launches March 31, 2026.

And here's a little bonus: everyone who pre-registers before March 31 is automatically entered to win an Austin Air HealthMate air purifier — our original unit, and still widely considered the gold standard for mold-related air quality support.

The HealthMate combines true medical-grade HEPA filtration with an extensive activated carbon and zeolite blend to capture not just mold spores, but the volatile organic compounds that mold releases into your air. It's the unit recommended by clinicians, trusted by families, and used in homes and healthcare settings in over 100 countries. Winning one would be a pretty great way to start your mold recovery journey.

The mold conversation changes now. We hope to see you March 31, but late comers will always be welcome. Once the summit is live, it will be available online in perpetuity.

Many many thanks to all of the participating experts! We couldn't have done this without and we're so excited about the positive impact the Mold Solutions Summit will inevitably have.