Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH

Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, serves at the Executive Director for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), where her responsibilities include successfully organizing, leading, and managing policy, education/training, and science-related programs. For the past 14 years, she has served as a key spokesperson for children’s vulnerabilities and the need for their protection, conducting presentations and lectures across the country. She is a leader in the field of children’s environmental health, serving as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Environmental Health Sciences Roundtable, and Co-Chair of the Leadership Council for the National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures. She is a member of the Friends of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and a Strategy Advisor for the California Breast Cancer Prevention Initiatives (CBCPI) Project. Ms. Witherspoon is also a Board member for the Pesticide Action Network of North America and serves on the Maryland Children’s Environmental Health Advisory Council. Ms. Witherspoon has held past appointments on the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Board for the American Public Health Association. She is a past member of the National Association of Environmental Health Sciences Council and past Coordinator of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences Public Interest Partners. Ms. Witherspoon has a variety of publications and has the distinct honor of having one of CEHN’s leadership awards, the Nsedu Obot Witherspoon (NOW) Youth Leadership Award, named in her honor. She is also the recent recipient of the William R. Reilly Award in Environmental Leadership, from the Center for Environmental Policy at American University. Ms. Witherspoon has a B.S. in Biology Pre Med from Siena College and an M.P.H. in Maternal and Child Health from The George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services. A mother of three children, Ms. Witherspoon is a passionate advocate for all children today and tomorrow.