About CEH For ten years, the Center for Environmental Health has worked at the intersection of health and the environment, reducing pollution and promoting alternatives to toxic chemicals that can cause diseases like cancer, asthma, learning disabilities, and birth defects. We work with individuals and organizations across the country to help mobilize communities against exposures to hazardous chemicals, and to create markets for healthier products and practices. Our cutting edge work moves major industries to greener practices, helping them see the value in business that protects public health. |
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Our Mission
The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) protects the public from environmental and consumer health hazards. We are committed to environmental justice, reducing the use of toxic chemicals, supporting communities in their quest for a safer environment, and corporate accountability. We change corporate behavior through education, litigation, and advocacy.
CEH Board of Directors
Julie Parker Benello, Chicken & Egg Pictures
Julie produces documentaries on health and environmental issues for television. She co-produced the Sundance award winning HBO documentary BLUE VINYL a film in search of the truth about vinyl (PVC), America’s most popular plastic. Previously she produced a film for PBS entitled Prostate Cancer: A Journey of Hope. Julie also serves on the board of the Clarence Foundation and Working Films.
Antonio Diaz, PODER
Vice Chair
Antonio is the Executive Director of PODER (People Organizing to Demand
Environmental and Economic Rights), a community-based organization in
San Francisco’s Mission District. He is a nationally known leader
in the environmental justice community and is an Advisory Board Member
of Corpwatch.
Michael Dorsey, Dartmouth College, Environmental Studies
Michael is the Thurgood Marshall visiting lecturer at Dartmouth College.
He is a National Board Member of the Sierra Club, a Task Force Member
of the Environmental Leadership Program and an Advisory Board Member of
CorpWatch. In addition, he is a trustee and founding member of the Environmental
Leadership Program, a former National Advisory Board Member for Youth
Warriors, and a former Board Member of Edmonds Institute.
Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente
Secretary
Kathy is Vice-President for Work Place Safety at Kaiser-Permanente. Previously, Kathy was the director of Environmental Stewardship, and responsible for developing, organizing and managing a nationwide environmental initiative for Kaiser Permanente. She is a visionary leader in moving industry away from the use of toxic chemicals, and is on the Board of Directors of Health Care Without Harm.
Anuja Mendiratta
Anuja is an independent consultant working in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors with foundations, donors, nonprofit organizations, community groups, and coalitions on a range of environmental and social justice issues. Prior to launching her consulting business, Anuja served as a senior program officer with the Women's Foundation of California, managed the San Francisco Foundation's Environmental Health and Justice Initiative, and worked as a program officer at the Marin Community Foundation. In addition to serving on the board of the Center for Environmental Health, Anuja is also on the advisory board of the California Breast Cancer Research Project. She holds an undergraduate degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto, Canada. Anuja lives in Berkeley, California.
Marni Rosen,
Jenifer Altman Foundation
Chair
Marni is Executive Director of the Jennifer Altman Foundation, Administrator
of the Mitchell Kapor Foundation, and advisor to the StarFire Fund.
Prior to joining these foundations, she was the Associate Director of
The Children's Environmental Health Network, served as the NGO Liaison
for a United Nations conference, and conducted public health research
in New York on HIV/AIDS issues.
Katie Silberman, J.D., Science and Environmental Health Network
Katie is the Associate Director for the Science and Environmental Health Network. Prior to joining the Board, Katie was CEH’s Associate Director and Policy Program Director for five years. Katie has also worked with such organizations as Breast Cancer Action, Communities for a Better Environment and the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment. Katie graduated from Brown University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Lawrence
Smith, Smith and
Company, CPA's
Treasurer
Lawrence is the founder and principle chair at Smith and Company CPAs.
He provides fiscal and managerial oversight to CEH’s operations.
He is the longest serving member of the CEH Board, joining in early 1997.
CEH Staff
Sue Chiang, MPP, MPH, Pollution Prevention Director, (510) 594-9864 x.311
Prior to joining CEH, Sue served as a consultant to the San Francisco Foundation's Environmental Health and Justice Initiative, and was a community health advocate at the San Francisco-based nonprofit, Greenaction. One of her main projects focused on preventing pollution in the healthcare industry as well as advocating for more health-protective alternatives to medical waste incineration. In addition, Sue was the program coordinator of the California Urban Environmental Research & Education Center (CUEREC), a statewide university-based center whose primary purpose is the coordination and support of applied environmental research at the grassroots level. Sue also spent over four years at Environmental Defense (Fund) researching toxics and environmental health issues. Her work focused on community right-to-know issues, investigating Proposition 65 cases and conducting grassroots outreach for EDF's Chemical Scorecard. Sue received a B.A. degree in environmental science from Barnard College , Columbia University and completed a double-masters program at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy and the Graduate School of Public Health.
Christine Cordero, Community Health Program Coordinator, (510) 594-9864 x.307
As Community Health Program Coordinator, Christine works with the national Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) to link groups across the environmental health and environmental justice spectrum to strengthen community, advocacy, and scientific work. Christine has a Bachelors degree in Linguistics from Stanford University , with a focus on language and power. She previously worked as a Program Assistant at the California Wellness Foundation in the areas of Environmental Health and Work & Health, and has experience in youth and labor organizing. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity (FACES).
Caroline Cox, Research Director, (510) 594-9864 x.308
Caroline has a masters degree in entomology from Oregon State University . For the last sixteen years she's been the editor of the Journal of Pesticide Reform and the staff scientist at the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides in Oregon.
Alexa Engelman, Public Interest Litigation Coordinator, (510) 594-9864 x.310
Alexa conducts research in the Prop 65 program and with CEH's attorneys. Alexa holds an honors degree in environmental studies from Brown University where she wrote her thesis on environmental communication and toxics. She joins CEH after finishing an internship at Redefining Progress in the Environmental Justice and Climate Change initiative. Before landing in the Bay Area, she previously worked for NRDC's Wild Bears Project in Montana working to protect grizzly bears and open space.
Michael Green, Executive Director, (510) 594-9864 x.302
Michael founded the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) in 1996 after leaving the US Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management in Washington, D.C. As Director of CEH, he has been a leader in national efforts to stop toxic exposures and protect public health, and developed the groundbreaking CEH legal work that has won major victories in holding industries accountable for hazardous consumer products and toxic emissions. He has worked with the U.S. EPA Working Group on Environmental Equity, the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, India, Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, and the legal advisor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in The Netherlands. He has been interviewed for national news reports by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Toronto Globe & Mail, CBS Evening News, Good Housekeeping, and NPR Marketplace, as well as several international news media outlets. He serves on the board of directors for the Tibet Justice Center, Environmental Justice and Health Union, and the California League for Environmental Enforcement Now.
Cathy Greene, Assistant to the Executive Director, (510)-594-9864 x315
Cathy assists CEH’s Executive Director Michael Green with various development, program, board, and management responsibilities. Cathy graduated from Cal State East Bay with a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies, and a masters degree in Geography. For her masters thesis she conducted an analysis of the potential to reduce San Francisco’s electricity use by maximizing energy efficiency. Her analysis was used as evidence in an environmental justice lawsuit opposing the expansion of the Potrero Power plant. Cathy has experience in research, writing, outreach, and community organizing. She enjoys spending time with cats and native plants.
PJ
Johnson, Financial and Administrative
Manager, (510) 594-9864 x.306
PJ is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz with degrees in Community Studies
(LGBT focus) and Theater Arts (Modern Dance focus). While in Santa Cruz,
he worked with at-risk youth at Above The Line – Group Home Society
and interned for the LGBT organization Triangle Speakers. After reading
The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann, PJ’s social
change interests shifted towards sustainable ecology issues. He sees
sustainable ecology as vital to the success of any other issue, be it
human rights or national security.
Jennifer Kim, Director of Development, (510) 594-9864 x.303
Jennifer joined CEH after gaining more than 15 years of experience at Bay Area nonprofit and philanthropic institutions. She most recently served as Development Director for the Center for Asian American Media, and has held similar positions at The Nature Conservancy, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Campaign for the SF Main Library and others. In addition, she managed the services to donors with advised funds and family foundations at The San Francisco Foundation and Peninsula Community Foundation. Jennifer has also worked as a fundraising consultant and served on nonprofit boards. She has a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin.
Charles
Margulis, Communications Director and Food Program Director, (510) 594-9864 x305
Charles was previously a Genetic Engineering Campaigner for Greenpeace,
and has worked in fundraising for Peace Action and PIRG. He is a graduate
of the University of California at Berkeley in Peace and Conflict Studies.
He is also a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and is a long-time
professional baker.
Ansje Miller, Policy Director, (510) 594-9864 x314
Ansje Miller, Policy Director, previously founded and directed the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, a coalition, hosted by Redefining Progress, of the nation’s leading environmental justice, faith-based, and policy organizations gathered to push the North Americans to create and implement socially just global warming policies. Her organizing efforts and numerous research reports and popular articles have led to the creation of numerous policies on global warming including California’s AB32 and has been cited in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report.
Charlie Pizarro, Associate Director, (510) 594-9864 x.304
Charlie spent eleven years
helping attorneys unearth and decipher the facts necessary to defend
people facing the death penalty. This corner of the law represents the
unfortunate collision of the most pressing social justice issues of
our day – race, poverty, employment, education, health, and of
course, the environment. He is excited to contribute to solutions to
the environmental ills that have devastated the lives, families, and
communities of so many of his capital clients.
CEH Interns
Susan Chan, P65 Intern, (510)-594-9864 x309
Susan is currently finishing up her last year at UC Berkeley. She is double majoring in Sociology and Molecular Cell Biology, with an emphasis on biochemistry. Susan is fascinated in policy surrounding environmental and health issues and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with CEH. She hopes to gain a better understanding of the ways in which power and policy operates in the real-world context and the process of engaging a community of like minded progressives to harness it.
David Chang, Financial & Administrative Assistant, (510)-594-9864 x301
David is currently a freshman at UC Berkeley with Business as his intended major. He enjoys dealing with financial issues and also enjoys trying to understand the complex nature of computers. He hopes to put his interests to good use at CEH by making sure the books and the computers are running smoothly.
Jennifer Ly, Research Assistant, (510)-594-9864 x353
Jennifer Ly is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley working towards double majors in Conservation and Resource Studies and Environmental Economics and Policy. She is interested in waste management in urban environments and is actively engaged in worm composting as a method of diversion of organic waste from landfills. She enjoys working with people on issues of community health and development and has spent time in Brazil working on sustainable agriculture and food security projects. She hopes to continue her experiences with community development abroad.
Michael Netwon-McLaughlin, Research Assistant, (510)-594-9864 x309
He is happy to be finally graduating from university (Go Bears!) and get on with that whole thing called finding a job. He is an environmentalist and proud of it. He is heading towards medical school, or something within the public health arena that allows him to work with people, travel and be outdoors. He has 5 years of experience in environmental and social justice movements/causes/actions and am psyched about working with a group of people also seasoned and passionate about standing up against greedy profit motives and carelessness and for justice and community democracy. I know Spanish, some Vietnamese and am an amateur film maker, ethno-botanist, bongocero, bartender and chef. He tends to mix these things together as often as possible.
Patty Paik, Executive Assistant, (510)-594-9864 x301
Patty is currently an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley earning her degree in Public Health. She is interested in issues of public health that intersect with medicine and believes that the two can work together to improve the health of individuals and communities. She hopes to pursue a career in nursing, where she aspires not just to care for the individual in the ambulatory setting, but also to educate people on the principles of prevention from the public health perspective she’s gained from her undergraduate career and work experience.
Tamanna Rahman, Community Program Health Intern, (510)-594-9864 x354
Tamanna is currently an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, finishing up her Bachelors in Public Health. She enjoys doing community service work and actively volunteers at the Suitcase Clinic. Working at CEH has exposed her to a whole different side of community service that she had never experienced before. In the fall, she will be attending UCLA where she will be part of the MPH program, emphasizing in Environmental Health.
Center for Environmental Health
528 61st Street, Suite A
Oakland, CA 94609-1204
T: (510) 594-9864
F: (510) 594-9863
ceh@cehca.org
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