News

Rachel Morello-Frosch joins White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council

March 29, 2021
By: College of Public Health
photograph of Rachel Morello-Frosch
Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and the School of Public Health Rachel Morello-Frosch

Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and the School of Public Health, has joined the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). The council will provide recommendations and advice to the Biden Administration on how to confront current and historic environmental injustices.

Established by President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, WHEJAC confronts long-standing environmental justice issues and works to ensure that historically marginalized communities and communities facing high levels of pollution are more involved in federal policies and decisions. Morello-Frosch joins 25 other experts on WHEJAC, representing a wide set of geographic regions and specializations.

“I’m excited to support the Biden Administration’s efforts to address current and historic environmental injustice, and to collaborate with so many outstanding people who have dedicated their lives to advance environmental justice in communities across the country,” says Morello-Frosch. “We have a lot of work to do.”

She adds that she would like to see concrete strategies that integrate sustainability and environmental justice goals into policy, and that improve environmental quality in air, water, access to green space, climate change mitigation, and other areas—particularly focused in communities of color and low-income communities.

Morello-Frosch is an expert in environmental health and environmental justice. Her research focuses on how race and class affect distributions of health risks in the United States, the causes and consequences of health inequalities and environmental disparities, and how research can create opportunities for intervention and prevention. In particular, her lab focuses on addressing challenges faced by communities of color and low-income communities with high exposures to environmental hazards and the toxic effects of pollution.

For more information on the Council and its members, visit the United States EPA’s WHEJAC website.