National Council for Environmental Health & Equity

The National Council for Environmental Health & Equity, also known as the EH Council, protects the public’s health by coordinating and leveraging our collective power to advance health equity and elevate the value of environmental health.

Funding Opportunity: The EH Council, which is convened by the APHA, is currently accepting applications from community-based organizations to participate in a one-time capacity-building mini-grant program. The purpose of the project is to provide strategic communications support to organizations to enhance their organization’s profile among their community, partners and donor network as well as provide the tools to effectively communicate with their communities. The application is open to community-based organizations that are working to improve the health of their communities and their environments, with a specific focus on environmental health hazards. Organizations awarded will receive $25,000 and capacity building by way of workshop(s), technical assistance, and/or community of practice sessions. Learn more about this Request for Applications here. Applications must be submitted online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EHMiniGrants. This request for applications will be open until April 28, 2025, 5 p.m. ET. Late submissions will not be accepted.

About the EH Council
The EH Council was established in 2023 following the merger of the former National Environmental Heath Partnership Council and Environmental Health & Equity Collaborative. We have representatives from national environmental and public health associations, the nonprofit sector, academia, community-based organizations and others affiliated with environmental or public health organizations.

Want more information about our environmental health partnerships? Please contact environment@apha.org.

Learn more about the EH Council

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Milagros R. Elia
Program Manager, Climate & Clean Energy Advocacy

Cara Cook
Director of Programs

American Lung Association
Katherine Pruitt
National Senior Director, Policy

American Public Health Association
Kate Robb
Deputy Director, Center for Public Health Policy

Olubukolami David
Project Consultant – Environmental Health, Center for Public Health Policy

American Public Health Association Environment Section
Toby Levin
APHA Environment Section Chair

Association of Public Health Laboratories
Julianne Nassif
Director, Environmental Health

Jennifer Liebreich
Manager, Environmental Health

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Abraham Kulungara (Co-Chair)
Senior Director, Environmental Health

Bloomberg American Health Initiative at John Hopkins University
Megan Latshaw
Associate Scientist

Children’s Environmental Health Network
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon (Co-Chair)
Executive Director

Kristie Trousdale
Deputy Director

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Ashley Bergeron
Director, Non-Infectious Disease Programs

Environmental Defense Fund
Lindsay McCormick
Senior Program Manager, Safer Chemicals

Environmental Health Research-to-Action
Natalie Sampson
Co-Founder

Environmental Justice Coalition
Rhea Goswami
Founder and Executive Director

Health & Environmental Funders Network
Ansje Miller
Executive Director

Independent EH Council Members
Leyla McCurdy
Environmental Health Consultant

Suzanne Condon
Environmental Health Consultant

Laura Anderko
Environmental Health Consultant

National Association of County & City Health Officials
Chelsea Gridley-Smith
Director, Environmental Health

National Center for Healthy Housing
Amanda Reddy
Executive Director

Sarah Goodwin
Policy and Advocacy Manager

National Environmental Health Association
Gina Bare
Director, Program and Partnership Development

Michéle Samarya-Timm
Membership and Affiliate Engagement Manager

National Environmental Education Foundation
Sharon Stokes-Williamson
Program Director, Health

National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council
Leslie Mitchell
Executive Director

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units
Maida Galvez
Region 2 Director
Professor, Environmental Medicine, and Climate Science & Pediatrics, The Mount Sinai Hospital

Trust for America’s Health
Kevin McIntyre (Co-Chair)
Government Relations Manager

Young, Gifted & Green
LaTricea Adams
Founder, CEO & President

The EH Council have prioritized four interrelated objectives to guide their work together for the next few years:

Raise public and decision-maker awareness of the value and need for the practice of environmental health;
Ensure investments to address environmental justice are reaching those most impacted by environmental racism and historically excluded from decision-making;
Respond to emerging environmental health challenges with clear and science-based messaging; and
Maintain and strengthen the collaborative relationship with CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and develop and expand engagement with other federal agencies to advance environmental health priorities.

Our core values and norms underpin everything we do and are foundational to our identity and actions.

Core Values

Environmental Justice and Structural and Systems Change: We strive to operationalize antiracism, equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and fairness by challenging racist and other forms of oppressive and marginalizing structures, systems and policies and prioritizing long-term, equitable impact.
Credibility: We bring subject-matter expertise and evidence-based technical excellence to the work, emphasizing the importance of empathy and lived experience.
Collaboration: We are a diverse group of environmental health experts working with partners and audiences across a variety of sectors and experiences. We bring unique perspectives and strengths to our interdisciplinary partnerships.
Commitment: We are passionate about our mission and leveraging our shared voice to advance environmental health.

Norms

How we work together:
We are committed to transparency, openness, respect and empathy in our interactions. Through these operating principles, we create a culture of trust and collaboration.

Who we work with:
We strive to work with a diversity of organizations and agencies – including those that represent federal agencies, local health departments, non-profits, and community-based organizations, academia, and others – and to increase diversity and representation of groups who have been historically underrepresented and disproportionately affected by environmental health issues.

Advancing Environmental Justice through Technical Assistance

The EH Council, with support from CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, supported five environmental justice grantees through the Advancing Environmental Justice through Technical Assistance Mini-Grants Program.

Resources

Water Equity: How the IIJA Can Help Ensure Safe and Healthy Drinking Water for All

Download the one-page issue brief summary (PDF)

Download the full issue brief (PDF)

Ventilation Matters in Our Schools and Early-Learning Environments

Help us spread the word about environmental health hazards in schools by sharing our VENTILATION MATTERS images on social media:

En Español:

Environmental Health Playbook: Investing in a Robust Environmental Health System

Download the entire report (PDF)

Download the report fact sheet (PDF)

More resources

Infographic: Investing in Health and the Environment Saves Lives and Saves Money (PDF)
(text version of infographic)
Reflections on Community (Journal of Environmental Health, vol. 80, no. 6, 2018)
The Value of Environmental Health Services report and fact sheet (both PDF)
A Blueprint for Environmental Health — October 2012

Events

Achieving Environmental Justice in the 21st Century: The Way Forward
Investing in a Robust Environmental Health System (recorded webinar)
The Value of Environmental Health Services (recorded webinar)

Achieving Environmental Health Equity: The Need and Opportunities for Public Health Action (PDF)

Achieving Environmental Health Equity: Opportunities for Public Health Action - 2 pages (PDF)

Achieving Environmental Health Equity: Opportunities for Public Health Action - 1 page (PDF)

Inclusion and Diversity for Equitable Advancement in Environmental Health Award

Three attendees at APHA2022 posing with an award At APHA's 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo, the collaborative presented the 2022 IDEA EH award to Backyard Basecamp, a Baltimore nonprofit.