OUR IMPACT
2007: National Is It In Us? Report published through Coming Clean highlighted the presence of toxic flame retardants, phthalates, and bisphenols in the bodies of people across the country. We coordinated testing in New York, data analysis, and report writing.
Our testing of children’s products and jewelry using a hand-held XRF device created the tidal wave of national outrage about lead and phthalates in children’s products that lead to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
2010: County and State bans on BPA (bisphenol A), a known hormone disruptor, in baby bottles and sippy cups
2012-16: Thousands of child care providers, especially in the Great Lakes Basin (western NY) were trained to avoid toxic chemicals, with funding support from the US EPA and NYS Pollution Prevention Institute
2015: Albany, Suffolk, Westchester, and Schenectady Counties pass bans on heavy metals in children’s products.
2016: New York State’s action on toxics is critical to Congress passing the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the first revision to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, 40 years after its creation in 1976.
2020: NYS creates the Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products Act, which bans some of the worst toxic chemicals in children’s products, and requires disclosure of many more.
2021: NYS passes first-in-the nation ban on flame retardants in electronic display enclosures, and leading policy bans on these toxic chemicals in furniture and bedding.
2022: New York bans PFAS in clothing, and enacts a nation-leading policy requiring consideration of the Cumulative Impacts of polluting facilities on communities, especially those already disproportionately harmed.
Clean+Healthy's mission is to build a just and healthy society in which toxic chemicals are unthinkable. Our work changes laws, shifts markets, and empowers people to advance innovative solutions and create a sustainable economy. We envision a clean, safe, and healthy world where all people are free to grow and thrive. We are implementing our 2021-2026 Strategic Plan. You can read here.
OUR HISTORY
Founded in 2006, Clean+Healthy is a New York State-based advocacy group that started as a partnership of two seasoned environmental health advocates. Kathy Curtis and Bobbi Wilding saw the urgent need to "turn off the tap" on toxic chemicals by cleaning up toxic waste sites, as well as to prevent the creation of any further sites. Their belief that people should not be poisoned in their jobs, homes, schools, and environments became the cornerstone of Clean+Healthy.
In 2010, the organization was formalized with the creation of Clean and Healthy New York, Inc. with its own independent tax-exempt status. Clean+Healthy has the singular objective of building a just society in which toxic chemicals are unthinkable. C+H is also a strategic partner in multiple state and national coalitions, and provides key leadership for the JustGreen Partnership, Lead-Free Kids NY, and Getting Ready for Baby.
OUR VALUES
COLLABORATION
Our motto is: together we win. Core to our strategy and mission is working with a broad and diverse array of people, communities, organizations, and sustainable businesses, sharing information and resources to empower our common efforts to eliminate toxic chemicals from all aspects of our lives. See some of the organizations that we collaborate with here.
AUTHENTICITY
We follow scientific evidence and do not spin or slant it. We are truthful and transparent with the public and everyone with whom we work and expect the same of others. We put the public interest above all other concerns. Read Clean+Healthy’s key reports here.
FORESIGHT
We take the long view, looking ahead to see how decisions in regulation, manufacturing, and the marketplace, could have future impacts. We are thoughtful about unintended consequences as well as the full life cycle of materials, products, and policies. We strive to turn off the tap on toxic chemicals before they harm people and communities. Read our Roadmap here.
JUSTICE
We are committed to an equitable, just, and inclusive society. We are intentionally anti-racist and oppose gender oppression. In all of our decisions, we consistently ask ourselves: Who is most impacted? Who is left out? Who is empowered? Whose voices are not yet being heard? We center justice in our decision-making and aim to dismantle structures of inequality and discrimination.
FEARLESSNESS
To make toxic chemicals and products unthinkable, we speak truth to power, reimagine what’s possible, push for bold change, and are innovative, tenacious, and persistent.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Janet Gray, PhD
BOARD CHAIR she/her/hers
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Alexandra McPherson
VICE CHAIR
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Gavin McIntyre
TREASURER he/him/his
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Patricia Jenny, MRP
SECRETARY she/her/hers
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Penny Fujiko Willgerodt
she/her/hers
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Alexandra Zissu
she/her/hers
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Christine Appah, Esq.
she/her/hers
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Giada Lubomirski, BFA
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Aaron Mair
he/him/his
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Hyacinth Burrowes
she/her/hers
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
In January 2023, Clean+Healthy established our Science Advisory Board to review our materials and ensure we uphold the highest standards in accurate, scientifically-sound communications and policy approaches.
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![Janet Gray PhD]()
Janet Gray, PhD
SAB CO-CHAIR
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![Philip J. Landrigan, MD MSc]()
Philip J. Landrigan, MD MSc
SAB CO-CHAIR
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![Aderonke Akinkugbe]()
Aderonke Akinkugbe, PhD, MPH
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![Sheila Butler MD, MPH, FACOEM]()
Sheila Butler MD, MPH, FACOEM
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![Maida Galvez, MD MPH]()
Maida Galvez, MD, MPH
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![Molly Jacobs MPH]()
Molly Jacobs MPH
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![Katrina Smith Korfmacher, PhD]()
Katrina Smith Korfmacher, PhD
OUR COLLABORATORS
