Suzanne (she/her) is the founder of Sprout San Francisco, a chain of stores and e-commerce site selling natural and organic products for children. ​Suzanne started Sprout when, after learning about the toxic chemicals in everyday products, she wanted to make it easier for parents to create a healthy home for their children.

Previously a Senior Equity Research Analyst in the Green Living Consumer Sector at ThinkEquity, a San Francisco-based investment bank, Suzanne has spent years studying  the impact of toxic chemicals on our bodies and searching for solutions. Every day, Suzanne is inspired by her teen daughters to help to create a healthier environment for all of our children. Suzanne holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and a BA from Northwestern University.

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Sharon (she/her) is responsible for BCPP’s fiscal management, overseeing our internal controls, budgeting, cash management, audited financial statements, tax returns, and financial grant reporting. 

Sharon is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) through the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Sharon has 20 years of corporate finance experience, and has previously held senior finance roles such as Head of Finance at AEG Entertainment and Warner Brothers. Sharon has also spent the last 5 years volunteering her time to mission driven nonprofits, and has held board member/treasurer positions at both Bow Food Bank and Birds Eye View.
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Nancy (she/her) works at the state and federal levels to advance public policy to reduce exposures to toxic chemicals.

Before joining BCPP, Nancy spent over 20 years in Washington DC advocating for numerous causes, including civil rights for women and the GLBT community. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and earned a Masters degree in Biological Oceanography from the University of Connecticut. Nancy is an avid outdoors person, spending her spare time hiking and birding in Northern California and beyond.

Pujeeta (she/her) works to translate the science of environmental toxicology into education and outreach.

Prior to BCPP, Pujeeta was a health risk assessor consultant for 10 years and worked on extremely complex projects involving estimating cancer risks from various chemicals at contaminated sites and in consumer products. Pujeeta is very passionate about the environment – from identifying harmful chemical exposures to reducing waste, she is committed to using science to ignite change, both personally and professionally. Pujeeta has a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences from University of California, Berkeley. In her spare time she loves spending time outdoors with her daughter and husband, exploring food and inventing new recipes, hiking, traveling, and gardening.

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Marie (she/her) coordinates BCPP’s outdoor fundraising events.

With a background ranging from banking to natural foods to trail running and nutrition coach, Marie found deep alignment with BCPP’s mission to improve the health of the planet and its people. She joined the Climb Against the Odds in 2007 as a fundraiser for BCPP. She participated in seven annual fundraising Sacred Trek events before she joined BCPP’s staff in 2015 as Outdoor Events Manager. Her background in banking honed her skills as a detail oriented project manager, while her love of people and the outdoors means she is a great cheerleader for the participants in all of BCPP’s outdoor events.

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Laura (she/her) coordinates BCPP’s digital advocacy campaigns and the Black Beauty project. She runs campaigns that influence corporate, state, and federal policies in order to support BCPP’s legislative work of protecting the public against chemicals linked to breast cancer and other serious diseases.

Prior to joining BCPP, Laura worked as an environmental health scientist where she conducted a variety of human health risk assessments to evaluate cancer risks and noncancer health effects associated with environmental exposures at contaminated sites, residential homes and commercial offices. She holds a Master of Public Health degree specializing in Environmental Health from Boston University. Outside of work, Laura loves being a mom, exploring the coast and performing improv.

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Nyisha (she/they) leads the new Californians Linking Action with Science for Prevention of Breast Cancer (CLASP- BC) project.

They come to BCPP with several years of grassroots community organizing and activism in upstate NY and San Diego, CA advocating for many causes including human rights, environmental justice, and most recently reproductive justice. They’ve co-founded two grassroots community organizations with a focus on gender equality, sit on three non-profit organization board of directors, and owns a small business as a certified full spectrum doula. Nyisha graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. In their spare time they enjoy roller skating by the beach and coloring.

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Angela (she/her) coordinates BCPP grant reporting, proposals, and communications to foundations and large donors. She also uses her creative side to craft social media graphics, cartoons and messaging in support of development.

Prior to joining the Development Department, Angela worked with both the Science and Program & Policy team as a Science Intern and Program Associate. Angela earned a B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing and pole aerial fitness.

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Janet (she/her) directs program and policy activities and coordinates BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Cans Not Cancer Campaign.

Janet draws on 30 years of experience working in the social change arena as a political organizer and lobbyist on women’s health issues to create and oversee BCPP’s cutting edge policy initiatives and market-based campaigns. Previously, she served as Political Director at Credo Mobile (formerly Working Assets) and Legislative Assistant for Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Janet has a M.A. in Public Policy from George Washington University.

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Nicole (she/her) oversees donor engagement for BCPP, fostering the interests and passions of the organization’s supporters.

Prior to joining BCPP, Nicole held positions at the American Diabetes Association as Director of Development, and Associate Director of Development at her alma mater, UC San Diego, where she worked to develop a culture of philanthropy among students and young alumni. In her spare time, Nicole is most likely doing something outdoors with her family.

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Julie (she/her) leads BCPP’s fundraising activities, including individual giving, events, foundation grants and business partnerships.

Having previously worked for BCPP from 2003-2012, Julie is so pleased to re-join the team as Director of Development. A passionate match-maker, Julie thrives on connecting people and funders with the causes they care about the most. Prior to returning to BCPP, Julie worked as Associate Dir. of Development for California Institute of Integral Studies and most recently as Director of Development for Nepal Youth Foundation. When not working, she enjoys her time with family, friends, and playing in the great outdoors.

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In addition to managing operations and technology, Emily (she/her) provides internal communications, HR, CEO and Board support.

Emily joined BCPP’s policy and advocacy team in 2015, spurred by her passion for health equity and environmental justice. Prior, she led advocacy and fundraising campaigns across the U.S. as a Field Organizer and Canvass Director for environmental and human rights nonprofits including Food & Water Watch, the Human Rights Campaign, Corporate Accountability International, and Green Corps. Emily earned a B.A. in Political Science, Environmental Studies Concentration, Magna Cum Laude from Bryn Mawr College.

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Dr. Rainbow Rubin (she/her) received an MPH in Environmental Health at UC Berkeley and a PhD in nutritional biology at UC Davis where she conducted post-doctoral research in epidemiology and exposure science in the School of Public Health.

She received the Fellowship in Reproductive and Environmental Health at UC San Francisco where worked with the US EPA to expand their definition of at-risk populations to include pregnant women. Dr. Rubin’s research focuses on the health impacts associated with pre- and perinatal toxic exposure and the prevention of chronic disease during vulnerable life stages. Her article on children’s cancer risks from dietary contaminants found that cancer hazards are exceeded for five persistent, bioaccumulative contaminants commonly found in the food supply. Dr. Rubin is passionate about translating science for the public and highlighting institutional and individual chronic disease prevention strategies.

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Lisette (she/her) leads BCPP’s food policy work at the California and federal levels.

Lisette comes to BCPP with 12 years of experience in the toxics world having worked with the Health & Environment Alliance (HEAL), Health Care Without Harm Europe, and the International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) in Europe. Many of the campaigns and issues she has worked on the EU mirror our efforts here, including the EDC-Free Europe campaign, implementing the EU REACH industrial chemicals system and work on food contact materials. She has a deep knowledge of and passion for toxics work.

Erika (she/her) leads the Marketing and Communications teams at BCPP and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC). A multi-media storyteller and designer at heart, she is strongly committed to scaling social impact by strategically developing and disseminating innovative MarCom initiatives for B2C, B2B, and B2G audiences.

Empowering women through social impact is nothing new to Erika. Before coming to BCPP, she focused on helping tech startup female-founders secure funding and succeed in and beyond Silicon Valley. Erika also dedicated years to supporting and representing women-owned businesses at the local and federal level as Director of Communications for Women Impacting Public Policy. Erika earned her B.A. from U.C. Berkeley in Media Studies and Communications. Erika enjoys running, acting in local and independent films, and creating socially-conscious multi-media art pieces.

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Donald (he/him) manages BCPP’s Salesforce database and Classy donation platform data sync.

Cindy (she/her) provides daily finance and accounting support to BCPP’s CPA, directors, and staff.

Before coming to BCPP, Cindy was a Director of Financial Management. She is an accomplished financial executive with 20 years of nonprofit experience. Cindy earned a B.S. in Business Administration in Accounting from California State University, East Bay. She also a California State certified tax preparer.

Lisa Bailey, MD, Chair of the Board, Chair of the Executive Committee, and BCPP Science Advisory Panel Member, began her surgical practice in the East Bay in 1982, specializing in caring for patients with breast cancer and other breast health issues. She completed her degree in Mathematics at Northwestern University in 1971 and went on to her MD degree at Northwestern University Medical School in 1975. She completed her General Surgery residency at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Medical School and her Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Evanston Hospital in 1981. Dr. Bailey is past president and member of the Board of Directors of the California Division of the American Cancer Society and chaired their Breast Cancer Taskforce and Cancer and the Environment Team. She was a member of the Commission of Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and a Governor of the American College of Surgeons. She is a Co-Founder of the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, chaired the weekly Breast Cancer Tumor Board at that institution, and has instituted several clinical programs and the quality assurance program at the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, the East Bay Surgical Society, the San Francisco Surgical Society, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Society of Breast Diseases, and the Society of Surgical Oncology.

Wanda Cole-Frieman, Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Fund Development Committee, is the Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition for CommonSpirit Health (formerly Dignity Health). For 25 years, she has been helping organizations achieve their recruitment goals in industries that span from accounting (Arthur Andersen) to investment banking (J.P. Morgan) and from healthcare (Blue Shield) to high tech (Apple Computer). Wanda’s community involvement experience includes serving as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for St. Paul’s Episcopal School, as Board President for The Princess Project, as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Oldfields School, and as President of her regional alumnae association. Wanda holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Vivian Fan, Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee, is a LinkedIn Sales Strategy & Operations Manager within their Digital Marketing Group. A former systems engineer, Vivian is passionate about applying innovative technology and data analytics to business operations. Before LinkedIn, Vivian spent six years as an M&A Strategy Manager at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, working with clients in the IT, healthcare, and financial services industries. In addition to her client work, she started numerous initiatives, such as Deloitte’s first Global M&A IT Bootcamp and the Women in M&A Conference. She also co-founded Enterprise to Empower (a student start-up incubator). Vivian has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Laura Fenster, PhD, MPH, Co-Chair of the Science Advisory Panel, has extensive experience conducting epidemiologic studies of the relationship of environmental chemicals to fertility, birth outcomes, neurobehavioral development, and semen quality. She retired after 30 years as an epidemiologist in the California Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control. She has been the principal or co-investigator on several collaborative studies of occupational and environmental exposures and reproductive outcomes, including investigations of the reproductive health effects of endocrine disruptors. She received a PhD in epidemiology and an MPH in health education from the University of California at Berkeley. She previously served on the California Breast Cancer Research Program Council.

Maricela Frausto, Chair of the Audit Committee, is a partner in the KPMG San Francisco office, providing audit and accounting services to clients in the technology, healthcare, and life sciences sectors, ranging from venture-capital-funded early-stage companies to large public companies. Maricela completed a three-year rotation in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice (DPP) in New York. She was involved in issuing firm guidance and thought leadership on various emerging audit and accounting topics. She was also a technical resource for partners and professionals to interpret accounting, auditing, and regulatory standards. Maricela has assisted the companies she serves in providing a variety of audit-related services, including initial public offerings and secondary offerings; issuance of comfort letters and consents and responding to SEC comment letters; provision of accounting advisory services, including interacting with DPP when required, and initial and ongoing compliance with SOX 404b. Maricela is a partner co-champion for KPMG’s business resource group Somos KPMG in the San Francisco office and a Somos KPMG national board member. Born and raised in Mexico, Maricela holds Economics and Business Administration degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a licensed public accountant in California, New York, and Hawaii.

Malcolm Goodwin is a highly accomplished business leader with a proven track record of driving innovation and growth across diverse industries. At World Wide Technology, he was instrumental in building strategic partnerships with some of the world’s most influential companies. As a successful entrepreneur, Malcolm has founded and scaled multiple startups, applying his expertise to guide businesses through complex challenges and growth opportunities. He is also a sought-after strategic advisor to numerous startups, where his insights and leadership help shape the future of emerging enterprises. Malcolm’s connection to breast cancer prevention is deeply personal. His mother was a breast cancer survivor, and his wife, a Breast Oncology Surgeon, shares firsthand stories of the disease’s impact. Malcolm is passionate about eliminating the environmental exposures that contribute to breast cancer, especially in vulnerable and underrepresented communities. He is committed to leveraging his extensive business experience to support Breast Cancer Prevention Partners in their mission to create safer products, pass health-protective laws, and translate science into actionable education for those most affected.

Sarah Janssen, MD, PhD, MPH, Secretary of the Board and Co-Chair of the Science Advisory Panel, has a broad background in reproductive physiology, clinical medicine, and public health. She has over 20 years of experience studying toxic chemicals, including hormone-disrupting substances, which interfere with fertility and reproduction. Dr. Janssen is a physician in the Occupational Medicine Department of The Permanente Medical Group in San Francisco. She is board-certified in Preventive Medicine. She completed her MD and PhD in reproductive physiology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and completed her residency training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She has an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Janssen is also an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and is active in teaching.

Sonali Jindal, Partner, Kirkland and Ellis, LLP, is a nationally recognized corporate partner in the San Francisco office of Kirkland & Ellis. Sonali’s practice focuses on debt finance transactions, with an emphasis on representing private equity sponsors, and their portfolio companies in complex financing transactions, with an emphasis on leveraged buyouts. Sonali is a member of the firm’s Recruiting Committee, Operations Committee, Finance Committee, Compensation Committee, and Co-Chairs the firm’s Administrative Committee. Sonali is recognized by numerous industry publications as a leading lawyer for Banking & Finance, including the 2017–2023 editions of Chambers USA, the 2016–2022 editions of The Legal 500 U.S. in the area of Commercial Lending, and was named to the “Top 22 in ‘22: Women in Leveraged Finance,” Kayo Conference Series, 2022. Over the course of her career, Sonali has advised on more than 200 completed financings with a value exceeding $50 billion. Sonali has a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. Sonali lives in San Francisco with her husband, two children, and a puppy.

Corinne Lenehan has worked as a financial consultant, helping small businesses with their accounting and strategic needs for over fifteen years. She spends most of her time as the CFO for Sprout San Francisco, a retailer that provides only the healthiest and non-toxic products to young children and their families. Corinne started her career at Deloitte as an auditor, obtaining her CPA license, and then in the financial advisory services practice, focusing on securities litigation, fraud investigations, and purchase price disputes. After receiving her graduate degree at Stanford University, she followed her passion for strategy and worked for Charles Schwab to evaluate client segments and develop new product lines. Corinne holds a BA in Economics and Mathematics from Claremont McKenna College.

Mather Martin recently founded her own consulting firm, Ravinett Strategies, which provides strategic consulting to political and philanthropic clients. With over 15 years of experience in the political sector doing advocacy and campaign strategy, Mather has spent the last several years running national and West Coast fundraising programs as a campaign adviser and donor adviser. From her start on Senator Clinton’s first presidential bid and an unprecedented ballot measure for public transportation in LA to the successful Senate campaigns of both Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), Mather tries to be aligned with candidates and projects that do not look like those that have come before them. Between her passion and professional projects, including today’s work as a Breast Cancer Prevention Partners board member, Mather’s steadfast goal has been to speak out and step up to help represent the underrepresented and give a voice to the voiceless.

Kristin Mason is an award-winning brand strategist who provides guidance to brands, founders private equity firms and investor groups. She has a passion for companies with a purpose and believes that clean products fuel healthy lives. Kristin began her career at McKinsey & Company after completing her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business. Working alongside founder Jessica Alba, Kristin helped develop and launch Honest Beauty. Kristin joined Sephora as VP of Brand Marketing, where she led a team of 25 marketers and worked directly with brands to optimize their growth strategies through analytics. Currently, Kristin is the Chief Executive Officer of Poosh, Kourtney Kardashian’s wellness media company.

Jasmine McDonald, PhD, BCPP Science Advisory Panel Member, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. She received her Doctorate in 2009 from the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program at Harvard University with a concentration in Immunology and Infectious Disease. She has postdoctoral training in breast cancer epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Her research portfolio integrates individual-level factors (e.g., health behaviors) and the macroenvironment (e.g., physical, social, microbial environment) with biology (e.g., endocrine disruption, epigenetic modification) to inform how these multiple levels of etiology impact breast cancer risk across the lifespan. Much of her portfolio is nested within populations that have a higher burden of cancer, including those with a genetic predisposition, racial and ethnic minorities, and young women. Dr. McDonald, an avid teacher and mentor, was awarded the 2021 Columbia University Teaching Award for her dedication and excellence in teaching, mentoring, and community engagement. Dr. McDonald teaches Cancer Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, is the Assistant Director of the Cancer Research, Training, and Education Center at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), and is the Co-Director of the CURE Program at the HICCC. The CURE program is catered to high school and undergraduate students from traditionally overlooked and underserved backgrounds and communities and has hosted over 40 students since 2015. Dr. McDonald also actively engages with the community from a research and educational perspective on the harmful role of endocrine disruptor chemicals in personal care products.

Kimberly Comer Mulqueen, Chair Emeritus of the Board, Executive Committee, is a senior strategist with over 30 years of experience in Health Care. Kimberly’s work spans strategic growth and innovation, operating model, and operational and technology transformation programs—with digital innovation as an essential element in all recent value creation efforts. Kimberly has served many leading national and regional health systems, including the largest faith-based health systems and essential care providers. Kimberly has held numerous leadership roles within Deloitte, including as Deloitte Consulting’s Chief Inclusion Officer and a Deloitte Consulting’s Management Committee member. She is a trustee with Covenant House Michigan and Chair of the Program Committee. Kimberly serves as a Corporate Advisory Board member for the National Association of Black Accountants. Kimberly participated in the 32nd International Conference on the “Addressing Global Health Inequalities” theme sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and The International Confederation of Health Care Institutions (C.I.I.S.A.C.). She speaks and writes on inclusion, professional development, and leadership topics. Kimberly earned a Master of International Management, with Distinction, from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Michigan State University.

Beth H. Parker, JD, is the Founder and Principal of Parker Law & Mediation. Since 2018, she has served as the General Counsel of three Planned Parenthood affiliates and their separately incorporated 501(c)(4) Action Funds, where she advises Senior Management and the Boards on a wide array of health care, regulatory compliance, non-profit governance, and political advocacy issues, handles government investigations and manages litigation. Between 2013 and 2018, she was Chief Legal Counsel of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. This state-wide entity coordinates Planned Parenthood’s seven California affiliates’ legal, legislative, advocacy, regulatory, and electoral work.

Christina Pehl, Chair of the Board Development Committee, was a secondary teacher in San Francisco Unified School District for 10 years before leaving to raise her children in Berkeley, California. During her tenure there, she was involved in various reform initiatives, bilingual programs and teacher education. Christina graduated from Santa Clara University and completed her graduate studies at UC Berkeley. She and her Team SML teammates have participated in Peak Hike since 2006. She is co-Executive Director of the pH Family Foundation, focusing on healthy sustainability in vulnerable communities and conservation of critical natural habitats.

Mary Pomerantz, CFRE is a leader in patient advocacy. She is dedicated to working on behalf of people with unmet medical needs and currently leads advocacy for a mission driven biopharmaceutical company in South San Francisco. Previously she was the Vice President of Philanthropic Partnerships at Parker Media, a privately held technology, social impact and investment platform led by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sean Parker. She served on the senior leadership team of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and led the strategy for institutional advancement. Mary has also held leadership roles at Stand Up To Cancer and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Mary spent several years as the director of a contemporary art gallery in Los Angeles. She drew upon her experience in fine arts public affairs to grow her career in philanthropy and patient advocacy. Mary graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a degree in Sociology and Humanistic Studies.

Parul Somani is an acclaimed keynote speaker, executive coach, and patient advocate. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies like Oracle, Neiman Marcus Group, and Bristol Myers Squibb, she is a thought leader on navigating challenging situations with intention and resilience. Parul is also an award-winning patient advocate who has spoken at the White House for President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, and for the World Economic Forum, MIT’s Koch Institute, American Cancer Society, and Stanford Cancer Institute on topics spanning cancer care, actionable genomics, and mental wellbeing. She wrote her blog “New Job. New Baby. New Cancer.” throughout her cancer treatment, and it now has readers in ~85 countries. She has been featured in Forbes, Thrive Global, Authority Magazine, and films on survivorship and mindset. Previously, Parul led a long career in management consulting at Bain & Company and Silicon Valley consumer and healthcare start-ups. She holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Parul resides in the Bay Area with her husband and two daughters, and carries a lifelong love for Indian dancing, which she performed for over thirty-five years. Learn more at parulsomani.com.

Rekha Venuthurupalli, Chair of the Human Resources Committee, is the Vice President of Human Resources for vCom Solutions, Inc, where she is responsible for managing the strategic and day-to-day operations of the Human Resources Department, mainly focused on People & Culture along with HR Operations, Talent Management, Office Admin, Training and Development. Rekha has over 15yrs of human resources experience and worked in various industries like Mortgage, Banking and Home Health Care. Rekha holds a Master’s Degree in Arts from University of Hyderabad, India and is a certified ESL Teacher. She is passionate about working with young children in the AVID Program (which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a nonprofit college-readiness program designed to help students develop the skills they need to be successful in college) and has been volunteering as tutor for over 6yrs at one the middle schools in the SRV Unified School District and is involved in various community outreach programs in the East Bay. Coming from a family of doctors, Rekha strongly believes in supporting science-based work for cure & prevention.

Kelly Walsh, Treasurer of the Board, Chair of the Finance Committee, has over 20 years of financial leadership experience serving in both CFO and lead strategy positions for health care, biotech, and financing organizations—including large, long-established companies as well as start-ups. Kelly has served in positions specifically dedicated to women’s health: CFO of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate and as Director of Finance for the Rape Crisis Center. Kelly started her career at Deloitte. Kelly’s community involvement experience includes serving as board chair of Central City Hospitality House and as a founding board member and 15-year learning coach for College Bound Foundation.

Staff Physician, Kaiser Permanente, Occupational Medicine Department Assistant clinical professor, University of California, San Francisco Sarah Janssen is a staff physician at Kaiser Permanente’s Occupational Medicine Department. She is also Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF School of Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Department of Urology. Her work has included research on flame retardants, cosmetics, plastics and plasticizers, breast cancer and threats to adult reproductive health and child development.

Janssen is board-certified in preventive medicine, with a subspecialty in occupational and environmental medicine. She completed her MD and PhD in molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2001, and her Master of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley in 2005. Janssen is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and served as senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) from 2006 to 2013. She was honored with a Science Hero Award by Breast Cancer Prevention Partners in 2010.

Laura Fenster has extensive experience in conducting epidemiologic studies of the relationship of environmental chemicals to fertility, birth outcomes, neuro-behavioral development, and semen quality. She recently retired after 30 years as an epidemiologist in the California Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control.

She has been principal or co-investigator on a number of collaborative studies of occupational and environmental exposures and reproductive outcomes, including investigations of the reproductive health effects of endocrine disruptors. She received a PhD in epidemiology and MPH in health education from the University of California at Berkeley. She previously served on the California Breast Cancer Research Program Council.

Breast surgeon and co-director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Dr. Lisa Bailey has been in practice in the East Bay since 1982, and specializes in the care of patients with breast cancer and other breast health issues. She completed her degree in Mathematics at Northwestern University in 1971, and went on to her MD degree at Northwestern University Medical School in 1975.

She completed her General Surgery residency at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Medical School, and her Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Evanston Hospital, in 1981. Dr. Bailey is past president and member of the Board of Directors of the California Division of the American Cancer Society, and currently chairs their Breast Cancer Taskforce. She is a member of the Commission of Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, and also a Governor of the American College of Surgeons. She is a Co-Founder and the Medical Director of the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center, and a Co-Director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. She chairs the weekly Breast Cancer Tumor Board at that institution, and has instituted several clinical programs and the quality assurance program at the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center. She is a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons, and member of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, the East Bay Surgical Society, San Francisco Surgical Society, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Society of Breast Diseases, and the Society of Surgical Oncology.

Professor and Chief, Cancer Epidemiology and Health Outcomes & Co-Leader, Cancer Prevention and Control, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Professor of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Dr. Bandera’s major research interests include the impact of obesity and body composition and related comorbidities and biomarkers on breast and ovarian cancer risk, treatment outcomes and survival, with a focus on cancer health disparities.

She has served as Principal Investigator in several epidemiologic cohort studies, including the Women’s Circle of Health Follow-up Study, a cohort study of breast cancer in Black/African American women and the Jersey Girl Study, which aimed to evaluate predictors of pubertal markers in girls. Dr. Bandera has served in numerous advisory boards and expert panels for several organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF).  For over 10 years she served as a member of the International Expert Panel for the WCRF/AICR Continuous Update Project and the WCRF/AICR Third Expert Report on Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer: A Global Perspective, released in May, 2018. She also served as Chair of the Lifestyle Behaviors, Energy Balance and Chemoprevention Special Interest Group of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO). Dr. Bandera earned an MD degree from the University of Málaga, Spain and a PhD in Epidemiology and Community Health from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she also completed postdoctoral training in nutrition and cancer epidemiology.

Internal Medicine, Sutter Health Lorae Womack Batzdorf is an Internal Medicine physician with Sutter Health providing primary care in the Berkeley, CA community for the past ten years. She has held various lead roles in cardiovascular disease prevention, process improvements, and youth/ community organizing. In 1999, Lorae received her Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann School of Medicine (now known as Drexel University).

Batzdorf’s clinical interests include prevention of osteoporosis, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. The food security and hunger relief program she founded in 1989, as a UCLA undergraduate student, continues there to this day. In 2016, through the support of Jack & Jill, Inc. of America, Oakland Bay Area Chapter, Batzdorf co-established programming to teach African American teens how to become change-makers. Her passion was infectious as they too became advocates for food justice in communities of color, and on behalf of unhoused people, using the former Oakland Black Panther Party’s breakfast program/ grocery giveaway as a blueprint. After clinical residency rotations with La Cruz Roja (The Red Cross) in Central Mexico, and a sabbatical in Munich, Germany, she speaks medical Spanish and basic conversational German. Batzdorf is a compassionate primary care physician, community organizer, and baker of seriously delicious chocolate chip cookies.

Senior Scientist and Executive Director Emeritus, Silent Spring Institute Julia Brody is the Executive Director of Silent Spring Institute, the only scientific research organization dedicated to advancing breast cancer prevention. Founded in 1994 by women’s health activists, Silent Spring Institute leads groundbreaking studies to identify the links between environmental chemicals and breast cancer, opening new doors to understanding the health risks associated with toxics where we live and work.

Having published more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles, Brody and the Institute are generating a body of evidence that supports a policy agenda for breast cancer prevention. Among Brody’s most prominent publications is a major scientific review she led on breast cancer and environmental pollutants, published in Cancer. As part of Silent Spring’s innovative exposure research, Brody pioneered the development of ethical and effective methods for reporting personal exposures to study participants when the health implications are uncertain. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health and recognized with a U.S. EPA Environmental Merit Award. Brody is an adjunct assistant professor at Brown University School of Medicine. She was honored with a Science Hero Award by Breast Cancer Prevention Partners in 2003. Check out our joint blog with Dr. Brody “50 Years After Rachel Carson: There’s Still Hope“

Adjunct Faculty Member, University of Windsor James Brophy has worked in occupational health for almost 40 years. He has a PhD in occupational and environmental health from the University of Stirling in Scotland. He is an adjacent faculty member of the Sociology Department of the University of Windsor and well as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Stirling.

For 18 years, Brophy worked as the executive director of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OCHOW) in Windsor and then later in Sarnia Ontario. In Sarnia, which is one of the centres of the Canadian chemical industry, he helped to document and expose one of the largest cohorts of asbestos disease victims in Canadian history. During this same period, Brophy and his life and research partner, Dr. Margaret Keith, collaborated with the Aamjiwnaang First Nations community that lives adjacent to the enormous petrochemical complex in documenting a myriad of environmentally related health problems, including a skewed sex ratio. He and Margaret have led an international team in three research studies exploring occupational risk factors for breast cancer. In their most recent epidemiological study, published in 2012, they found an elevated risk of breast cancer in several industries including agriculture, metalworking, plastics manufacturing, food canning and casinos/bars. Together they have co-authored two books: Workplace Roulette: Gambling with Cancer and Barefoot Research: A Worker’s Manual for Organizing on Work Security. In 2008, they were jointly awarded the Canadian Geographic Environmental Health Gold Award for their work with the Aamjiwnaang community in Sarnia. In 2013, they were recognized by the Occupational Health Section of the American Public Health Association with the Scientific Award for their epidemiological work that examines associations between occupational exposures and breast cancer. They are members of the International Board for the journal New Solutions.

University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences, Northeastern University Phil Brown is University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences at Northeastern University, where he directs the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute that specializes in Social Science-Environmental Health collaborations and includes a National Science Foundation Training Grant to educate and train people in such collaborations.

Brown is the author of No Safe Place: Toxic Waste, Leukemia, and Community Action, and Toxic Exposures: Contested Illnesses and the Environmental Health Movement, and co-editor of Social Movements in Health, and Contested Illnesses: Citizens, Science and Health Social Movements. He studies biomonitoring and household exposure, social policy and regulation concerning flame retardants and perfluorinated compounds, reporting back data to participants, and health social movements. He is Co-Director of the Community Engagement Core and Research Translation Core for Northeastern’s Superfund Research Program PROTECT (Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats).

Professor Emerita of Psychology/Neuroscience and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at Vassar College For 25 years, Janet’s primary laboratory research focused on neural and peripheral metabolic mechanisms by which estrogens and mixed antiestrogens, especially tamoxifen, affect eating, body weight regulation and metabolic activity. Over the past 15 years, Janet has been interested increasingly in engaging in the intersection of environmental and women’s health issues, focusing on environmental risks and breast cancer.

Gray was the Director of the Vassar College Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer Project, a team effort that led to the production of a bilingual, interactive, user-friendly CD and website. She is the lead author of Breast Cancer Prevention Partner’s State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment (2008; 2010) and the recently published ‘State of the evidence 2017; an update on the connection between breast cancer and the environment.’ (Environmental Health).

Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley Tyrone B. Hayes was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina where he developed his love for biology. Hayes’ research focuses on developmental endocrinology with an emphasis on evolution and environmental regulation of growth and development.

For the last ten years, the role of endocrine disrupting contaminants, particularly pesticides, has been a major focus. Hayes is interested in the impact of chemical contaminants on environmental health and public health, with a specific interest in the role of pesticides in global amphibian declines and environmental justice concerns associated with targeted exposure of racial and ethnic minorities to endocrine disruptors and the role that exposure plays in health care disparities.

National Director of Science & Health at Healthy Babies Bright Futures Jane Houlihan directs the national research and advocacy programs at hbbf.org and ewg.org focused on healthy, sustainable food, clean water, and safe consumer products. As an environmental engineer, research director, and consultant on issues of environmental health and sustainability, Jane Houlihan focuses on transforming science into resources that empower others to make healthy, sustainable choices. Houlihan is the director and co-author of “Pollution in Newborns,” a study of industrial chemicals in umbilical cord blood, and many related studies revealing the health implications of people’s everyday exposures to pollutants and pesticides.

As long-time research director at Washington-DC based Environmental Working Group, Houlihan led a diverse team of scientists and programmers to create online, data-driven guides to chemicals in tap water, sunscreen, cosmetics, bottled water, and other common consumer products. She conceived of and directed for its first eight years EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics safety guide. Her research areas span risk assessment, chemicals policy, and green product formulation. Houlihan is an original co-founder of the national Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and a 2005 recipient of the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners’ Science Hero Award.

Previous Director, California Breast Cancer Research Program Mhel Kavanaugh-Lynch served as the director of the California Breast Cancer Research Program in the Office of the President at the University of California for 29 years, from 1995-2024.

In that role, she guided California’s research strategies and prioritized efforts designed to bring an end to breast cancer. This included building programs in community-based participatory research, as well as Program-directed strategies on environmental links to, and disparities in, breast cancer. Kavanaugh-Lynch is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, New York University School of Medicine, and University of Washington School of Public Health. She has served on numerous National Institutes of Health (NIH) peer-review committees, as well as boards and advisory panels for NIH, the California Department of Public Health and Environmental Protection Agency, Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and the American Cancer Society. She is the recipient of awards from the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Lesbian Health Fund, Zero Breast Cancer, Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. ​

Director of Scientific Policy, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research Lawrence H. Kushi is Director of Scientific Policy at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. Prior to joining the Division of Research, Dr. Kushi was at Columbia University, where he held the Ella McCollum Vahlteich Chair in Human Nutrition in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College; and he was a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

RDr. Kushi is internationally recognized for his expertise in nutritional epidemiology, and his research interests focus on the role of diet and nutrition in the etiology of coronary artery disease and breast and other cancers. He serves on a grant review committee for the American Cancer Society and has served on various American Cancer Society committees to develop guidelines for the dietary prevention and management of cancer. Dr. Kushi has also served on review committees for the Epidemiology and Disease Control Study Section of the National Institutes of Health, and the Integration Panel of the Breast Cancer Research Program of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. He formerly chaired the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association; served on the executive committee of the American Society of Preventive Oncology; and worked at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Dr. Kushi graduated from Amherst College and the Harvard School of Public Health. 

Breast surgeon, Kaiser Permanente Chair, Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Breast Care Task Force Susan Kutner is a general surgeon with a subspecialty practice in breast surgery at Santa Teresa Kaiser Hospital in San Jose, California. From 1996 to 2001, she was Chief of the Department of Surgery at Santa Teresa. Since 1995, Kutner has served as Chair of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Breast Care Task Force.

Kutner is also a member of the Interregional Breast Care Leaders Group of the Permanente Federation, and a former member of the California Department of Health Master Plan Task Force on Breast and Cervical Cancer, the American Cancer Society Subgroup Evaluating Clinical Breast Exam, the National Quality Forum Committee on Consumer Based Measurements of Mammography Centers, and the Quality Care Advisory Board of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. She participated as a climber and team doctor for the BCPPs’ Climb Against the Odds events on Mt. Fuji in 2000, Mt. Rainier in 2005 and Mt. Shasta in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Kutner also participated in Sacred Treks: Bhutan in 2008, a benefit event for BCPP. Andrea Ravinett Martin, BCPP’s founder, honored Kutner with a Strong Voices Hero Award by BCPP in 2007. She also previously served on BCPPs’ Board of Directors.

Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Dr. Adana Llanos is a cancer and molecular epidemiologist who is committed to understanding the molecular and sociobiologic underpinnings of breast cancer outcomes inequities.

A major focus of Dr. Llanos’ ongoing research is the examination of the various factors linked to increased breast cancer incidence at younger ages, increased incidence of more aggressive tumors, and increased breast cancer mortality among Black and African American women. Some of these factors include adiposity and adiposity-related biomarkers, epigenetics, chronic physiologic stress, personal care products (as key sources of potentially harmful chemicals), and how these factors intersect with the social environment and social determinants of health to impact breast cancer risk and outcomes.

Maricel Maffini is a private contractor on issues related to chemical safety, food additive regulation, science and public health. Prior to her current role she was a senior scientist in the health and environment program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in Washington, DC. She joined NRDC in 2013 after completing a three-year research project evaluating the U.S. food additive regulatory system at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Before joining Pew, she was an investigator at Tufts University in Boston, MA.

Maffini’s research areas included breast cancer, endocrine disruption and tissue engineering. She studied the effect of bisphenol A, or BPA, a food contact substance and estrogen mimic on the normal development of the breast in monkeys and rodents, and its link to breast cancer. Maffini has authored numerous scientific publications on endocrine disruption, mammary gland biology, carcinogenesis, conflicts of interest in food chemical safety decision-making, toxicity data gaps in chemicals used in food and packaging and the breakdowns in FDA food additive regulatory system. Dr. Maffini holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the National University of Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina. She was awarded several fellowships, including one from the World Bank. She was also awarded the Natalie V. Zucker Research Center for Women Scholars Award and grants from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the US Department of Defense and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Check out Dr. Maffini’s interview on BPA.

Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Jasmine McDonald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. She received her Doctorate in 2009 from the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program at Harvard University with a concentration in Immunology and Infectious Disease. 

Dr. McDonald has postdoctoral training in breast cancer epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Her research portfolio integrates individual level factors (e.g., health behaviors) and the macroenvironment (e.g. physical, social, microbial environment) with biology (e.g. endocrine disruption, epigenetic modification) to inform how these multiple levels of etiology impact breast cancer risk across the lifespan. Much of her portfolio is nested within populations that have a higher burden of cancer including those with a genetic predisposition, racial and ethnic minorities, and young women. An avid teacher and mentor, Dr. McDonald was awarded the 2021 Columbia University Teaching Award for her dedication and excellence in teaching, mentoring, and community engagement. Dr. McDonald teaches Cancer Epidemiology within the Mailman School of Public Health, is the Assistant Director of the Cancer Research, Training, and Education Center at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) and is the Co-Director of the CURE Program at the HICCC. The CURE program is catered to high school and undergraduate students from traditionally overlooked and underserved backgrounds and communities and has hosted over 40 students since 2015. Dr. McDonald also actively engages with the community from a research and educational perspective on the harmful role of endocrine disruptor chemicals within personal care products.

Professor, University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health Rachel Morello-Frosch is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. Her research examines race and class determinants of environmental health among diverse communities in the United States.

A focus of her current work is assessing the relationship between social inequality, psychosocial stress and how these factors may interact with chemical exposures to amplify pollution/health outcome relationships and produce environmental health inequalities. Much of her work has examined this environmental justice question in the context of ambient air pollution and indoor chemical exposures, prenatal exposures and effects on birth outcomes and children’s health, often using community-based participatory research approaches for data collection and risk communication. As part of this work she explores the scientific challenges and bioethical considerations associated with exposure assessment and chemical biomonitoring research in economically and racially marginalized communities. In collaboration with scientific colleagues and regulatory scientists, she has worked to develop scientifically valid and transparent tools for assessing the cumulative impacts of chemical and non-chemical stressors to improve regulatory decision-making and environmental policy in ways that advance environmental justice. Morello-Frosch is co-author of the book Contested Illnesses: Citizens, Science, and Health Social Movements.

Director of Community Engagement, Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University Melanie leads the community engagement for Emory University’s HERCULES Exposome Research Center and the Michigan PBB Research Registry. She collaborates with local residents, community organizations, and government officials to reduce health disparities, achieve environmental justice, and improve health for individuals and communities.

With the HERCULES Stakeholder Advisory Board, Melanie developed and implemented a highly successful community grant program, which led to tangible community benefits (Pearson 2020). In addition, she has facilitated multiple community-academic research partnerships with impactful outcomes, including an EPA Superfund Remediation, zoning ordinances in a local city, and an industry-initiated mitigation effort. Melanie also collaborates with a Michigan-state-wide community of farmers, former chemical workers, residents, and their children who continue to suffer from an industrial mishap that led to contamination of food products with polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) throughout the state. The PBB research has led to multiple important scientific contributions, including the first demonstration of earlier pubertal onset linked to in utero exposure to an endocrine-disrupting chemical, a dose-dependent risk of miscarriage in adult daughters born to mothers with high PBB levels, and an increased risk of breast cancer. The PBB Leadership Team includes academic partners, two community groups, and a district health department. This team has conducted over thirty community meetings throughout Michigan sharing research findings, responding to community concerns, and seeking community input for future research.

Acting Executive Director and Director of Research, Silent Spring Institute Ruthann Rudel is the research director at Silent Spring Institute, where she leads major exposure and toxicology research programs focusing on hormonally active chemicals and biological mechanisms by which chemicals may influence breast cancer. Her innovations in “breast cancer toxicology” include major peer-reviewed articles that identify chemicals that cause breast tumors or alter breast development in animal models, and she is developing a database of methods for measuring these chemicals in women.

Rudel leads a program to develop breast cancer-relevant chemical safety tests for green chemistry. She also directs the Institute’s Household Exposure Study, which has been described as the “most comprehensive analysis to date” of exposures in homes and is widely cited. She has served on the U.S. National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors and is an adjunct Research Associate in the Brown University School of Medicine. Read Ruthann Rudel’s guest blog on a groundbreaking study to investigate why so many female firefighters are getting breast cancer.

Professor, University of San Francisco Dr. Sattler is a Professor at the University of San Francisco and an international leader in environmental health and nursing. Prior to USF, she directed an Environmental Health Center at the University of Maryland for 23 years. She is a founding and active member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, an international organization that is helping to integrate environmental health into nursing education, practice, research, and policy/advocacy.

Dr. Sattler has also worked at the local level in communities facing environmental health risks associated with lead-based paint, pesticides, Superfund sites, and risks associated with gas and oil extraction. She has been an advisor to the US EPA’s Office of Child Health Protection and the National Library of Medicine for informational needs of health professionals on environmental health. Dr. Sattler has been the recipient of NIEHS, USDA, and EPA grants, as well as grants from a host of private foundations. She is the author of Environmental Health and Nursing, and a host of peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Sattler is a Registered Nurse with an MPH and DrPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Assistant Professor of Public Health, Chapman University Dr. Dede K. Teteh is a public health professional with broad experience across academia, research, policy development, and strategic communications. Through her work in community advocacy and prevention, as well as several roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she has refined her interest in sustainable public health infrastructure and building healthier communities, particularly in under resourced populations.

Dr. Teteh is currently an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Chapman University in Southern California. Her research program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is focused on understanding disparities in cancer survivorship through a social determinants of health lens and developing community-based interventions to improve quality of life of survivors and their families. Dr. Teteh is the founder of the Bench to Community Initiative (BCI), a community-based participatory research collaboration between community stakeholders and scientists to better understand the relationship between endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures from personal care products and breast cancer risk with an emphasis on Black women. 

Director, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Indian River Hospital, Vero Beach, Florida Dr. Eleni Tousimis joined Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital as the Director of the Scully Welsh Cancer Center in September, 2021. She came from Georgetown University Hospital, Comprehensive Cancer Center where she was Professor of Surgery, the Director of the Breast Center, Chief of the Division of Breast Surgery, and fellowship Director of the Georgetown Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship in Washington D.C. She also served as the 99th President of the American Medical Women’s Association in 2014. 

Following her breast surgery fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2001, she completed additional specialty training in minimally invasive surgery for breast cancer at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy. Dr Tousimis was previously Associate Professor of Surgery at the Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital where she practiced for almost ten years and served as Associate Program Director of Surgical Education. She has been recognized for her pursuit of new initiatives in breast cancer management, including nipple sparing mastectomy, partial breast radiation, and same-day discharge for mastectomy with reconstruction.

She has received numerous awards and has held leadership positions in several professional societies. Dr. Tousimis has been recognized as a Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors, Top Surgeons, Best Doctors and Washingtonian Top Doctors. She received an Achievement Award from the City of New York for her surgical skill, compassion and service to the people of New York as well as the Distinguished Female Physician Award for her Outstanding Accomplishments in the field of Breast Surgery in 2015.

Because of her compassion and commitment to patient care, she was recognized and chosen in 2016 as the personal physician of the Dalai Lama when he visited Washington D.C. The Dalai Lama’s emphasis on a broad education and environmental conservation influenced her to go back to school and complete an MBA and a sustainability degree at MIT in 2020. She is passionate about hospital sustainability focusing on the staff, the patient experience and environmental sustainability in the operating room.

Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities and Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope Current research projects in Treviño’s laboratory are focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the link between 1) developmental exposure to the endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) bisphenol S and F (bisphenol A substitutes) and development of fatty liver disease (a risk factor for liver cancer) in Hispanic/Latinx children/adolescents, and 2) exposure to parabens, a class of EDCs typically found in personal care products and development/progression of breast cancer in Black women.

Treviño is particularly interested in the role of EDC-mediated epigenomic reprogramming in these contexts. She previously demonstrated that developmental exposure to the endocrine-disrupting compound bisphenol A accelerated epigenomic aging in the developing liver and caused metabolic dysfunction in adulthood (Nature Communications 2020). These data highlight the importance of reducing adverse EDC exposures and preventing epigenomic reprogramming and its effects in target tissues, particularly during critical windows of susceptibility. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying epigenetic reprogramming may provide potential prevention strategies (for outreach and policy changes) and/or therapeutic targets for precision medicine approaches in high-risk populations.  

Research Scientist at the Program Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco Dr. Jessica Trowbridge’s curiosity about the impact of exposure to environmental chemicals on health came out of her experience growing up binationally and experiencing the environmental burdens of pollution in her communities in central Mexico and Richmond, California. 

Dr. Trowbridge completed her doctoral research with the Women Workers Biomonitoring collaborative, a community-based participatory research study with women firefighters in San Francisco. She characterized occupational exposure to suspected and possible environmental breast carcinogens including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFR) and thyroid hormone disruption in the women firefighters. Dr. Trowbridge’s current research explores prenatal exposure to toxic environmental chemicals and infant neurodevelopment. Through her research, Dr. Trowbridge aims to identify opportunities for education and prevention to reduce toxic exposures in vulnerable populations including workers, pregnant people, and children. Dr. Trowbridge completed her MPH and PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a research scientist at the Program Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) at the University of California, San Francisco.

Associate Vice Chancellor of Research & Engagement, University of Massachusetts – Amherst 

Laura Vandenberg is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Trained as an endocrinologist and developmental biologist, Dr. Vandenberg’s laboratory research focuses on how low level exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals, and in particular compounds that mimic estrogens, can induce disease. 

Vandenberg is especially interested in the effects of estrogenic compounds on breast health including breast development, lactation, and breast cancer risk. Her lab works to determine when individuals are most susceptible to these exposures. Outside of the lab, her research critically evaluates issues that affect risk and hazard assessments for endocrine disrupting chemicals including low dose effects, critical windows of susceptibility, routes of exposure, and testing methods. Dr. Vandenberg is an author on more than 115 peer reviewed papers and 15 book chapters.

Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, UCSF 

Dr. Tracey Woodruff is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco and the director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.

She has done extensive research and policy development on environmental health issues, with a particular emphasis on early-life development. Her research areas include evaluating prenatal exposures to environmental chemicals and related adverse pregnancy outcomes, and characterizing developmental risks. She has authored numerous scientific publications and book chapters. She was previously at the U.S. EPA, where she was a senior scientist and policy advisor in the Office of Policy, and author of numerous government documents. She is an associate editor of Environmental Health Perspectives. Woodruff received her PhD in bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, and her MPH in environmental health from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed a Pew Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, Institute for Health Policy Studies. 

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services 

Dr. Ami Zota is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

Dr. Zota’s work focuses on using innovative, multi-disciplinary methods to: 1) identify sources and consequences of human exposure to environmental contaminants; 2) illustrate how environmental hazards may interact with social disadvantage and psychosocial stressors to exacerbate health disparities; and 3) evaluate the impact of NGO and regulatory action on emerging environmental health problems. Much of her current research involves human exposure science and reproductive epidemiology studies of endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as flame retardants, phthalates, BPA, and others. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, as well as an MS and Doctor of Science (ScD) in Environmental Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. Check out our interview with Dr. Zotaon on her study tracking levels of phthalate exposure in people.