Pamela Pugh, DrPH, MS has spent nearly three decades working to improve the health and education of children and the environments in which they live, learn, and play. A public health scientist, engineer, education policy leader, author, and public servant, her career has been rooted at the intersection of public health, education, environmental health, civil rights, and systems change.
Dr. Pugh was elected to the Michigan State Board of Education in 2014 and reelected in 2022, receiving more than two million votes and the highest vote total in both elections. As President of the State Board, she has been a leading voice for adequately and equitably funded public schools, educational opportunity, civil rights, student health and safety, and every child’s access to a safe, inclusive, high-quality public education.
An advocate for educating the whole child, Dr. Pugh has consistently connected academic success with the physical, social, emotional, and environmental conditions in which children develop. Her academic research included development of an assessment tool to identify household, neighborhood, and psychosocial factors that pose environmental health risks to children.
Dr. Pugh spent 14 years with the Saginaw County Department of Public Health and has long been at the forefront of efforts to prevent childhood lead poisoning. Through partnerships with families, faith-based and community organizations, academic institutions, policymakers, and government agencies, she helped secure millions of dollars to strengthen lead-poisoning prevention and improve environmental health conditions for children and families.
During the Flint Water Crisis, Dr. Pugh served as the City of Flint’s first Chief Public Health Advisor from 2016 to 2019. Working alongside residents, researchers, health professionals, community organizations, and government agencies, she helped guide the city’s public health response and advance a Health Equity in All Policies approach as Flint confronted the immediate and long-term consequences of lead exposure and other environmental threats.
For Dr. Pugh, environmental health has always been a civil rights issue. Working alongside the Michigan State Conference NAACP and other civil rights, public health, and community leaders, she helped lead efforts calling for racism to be recognized as a public health crisis in Michigan and for policymakers to confront institutional and structural conditions contributing to disparities in health and life expectancy.
That commitment has also shaped her leadership in public education. In the historic Right to Literacy litigation brought on behalf of Detroit schoolchildren, Dr. Pugh supported the student plaintiffs despite being named as a defendant in her official capacity as a member of the State Board of Education. She has also opposed efforts to diminish civil rights history in Michigan’s academic standards and has consistently advocated for children whose rights and educational opportunities are too often marginalized by public systems.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Pugh raised early concerns about the health risks posed by aging school infrastructure, particularly for children in historically under-resourced communities. She also helped initiate what became the University of Michigan’s InPACT at Home initiative, helping provide Michigan students and families with free opportunities for physical activity while schools were closed.
Her work beyond government has included community health improvement, healthy homes, climate resilience, environmental justice, and community development. Through Regeneration LLC, her consultancy firm, and her leadership with local and national organizations, she has built cross-sector partnerships designed to improve health, strengthen community infrastructure, and expand opportunity in communities that have experienced generations of disinvestment.
Dr. Pugh previously served on the Board of Directors of Healthy Schools Network and on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), where she chaired the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Her leadership and service have earned numerous honors, including the 2025 Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Unbought & Unbossed Award, the 2025 MI-ACE Contemporary Public Policy Pioneer Award, the 2024 Detroit United Nations Association Humanitarian Award, and two NAACP Dr. Montague Cobb Awards recognizing her contributions to health education, social justice, and public health.
Dr. Pugh is also the author of The Cost of Silence: A Witness and a Record, a memoir and public reflection exploring leadership, institutional power, faith, survival, and the cost of speaking with conviction inside systems that often reward preservation. Drawing from her experiences in public health, education, environmental justice, and public service, she examines what happens when institutions prioritize the preservation of power, position, and relationships over the people they were created to serve.
Dr. Pugh earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Florida A&M University and both a Master of Science and Doctor of Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She is also a proud graduate of Saginaw High School and Delta College.
Deeply rooted in Saginaw, Michigan, the community she calls home, and grounded in faith and service, Dr. Pugh is a member of World Outreach Campus Church of God in Christ and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She remains guided by a simple conviction: leadership must ultimately be measured by whether it improves the lives of the people one is called to serve.
Jennifer Lemon, MS, Deputy Executive Director, joined Healthy Schools Network in January 2026 and took on the Acting Director role on April 1st, 2026. She is a seasoned communications strategist and partnership leader with 30 years of experience advancing public health, environmental protection, and children’s health initiatives across federal, nonprofit, and consulting sectors. Most recently Jennifer served as a program manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she led national communications, stakeholder engagement, and change management efforts supporting environmental stewardship and risk reduction. Jennifer has designed and executed large-scale outreach campaigns, managed multimillion-dollar initiatives, and built trusted relationships with government agencies, schools, healthcare organizations, and nonprofit partners. Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from The George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
John E. Reeder, MA, now Healthy School Network’s Senior Policy Consultant was the Executive Director from March 2025 to April 2026. He leads national efforts to improve indoor air quality, eliminate toxic exposures, and promote safe, resilient school environments for children nationwide. Before joining HS Network, Reeder served as Vice President for Federal Affairs with the Environmental Working Group, a leading national environmental advocacy organization. Reeder’s career is deeply rooted in public service, including over 30 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he held career Senior Executive Service positions including Deputy Chief of Staff, Director of Congressional Affairs, and head of the cleanup program for federal Superfund sites. Following his government service, he taught environmental policy and conducted research on emerging environmental challenges as an Executive-in-Residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs. Prior to attending college, Reeder deployed overseas with the U.S. military and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. He later earned a B.S. in applied economics from the University of Minnesota, and an M.A. in public affairs from the University’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Joel D. Scheraga, PhD, Senior Advisor for School Resilience, is a nationally and internationally recognized authority on the risks that climate change poses to public health, the environment, and the economy. He served as the Senior Advisor for Climate Adaptation in the Office of Policy within the Office of the Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2010 through 2024. In this role, he led development of EPA’s Climate Adaptation Framework to integrate climate considerations into the agency’s programs, policies, and operations. Joel played a key role in shaping the government-wide National Climate Resilience Framework and earlier the federal Climate Action Plan. Joel was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and was honored with a Presidential Rank Award as a member of the federal Senior Executive Service. His decades of work emphasize preparing schools, communities, and vulnerable populations for climate-related disruptions while protecting health, particularly for children and those in underserved communities. Joel received an A.B. degree in geology-mathematics/physics from Brown University in 1976, an M.A. in economics from Brown University in 1979, and a PhD in economics from Brown University in 1981. Prior to joining EPA, Joel was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Rutgers University from 1981-1987, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Princeton University from 1985-1986.
InihAbasi Sunday, MS, Research Assistant, is a graduate of Georgetown University with a Master of Science degree in Environmental Metrology and Policy. Originally from Chesterfield Township, New Jersey, in the Greater Philadelphia area, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Earth and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Biology from Boston University in May 2024. His professional experiences include internships with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Built Environment Plus, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant position at Georgetown University. A member of the Society of Toxicology and a volunteer with the American Heart Association, he has served the public interest by advancing public health through community engagement and advocacy.
Nancy Vorsanger, MA, Editor, has worked in writing, editing, and fundraising for more than 30 years, with a focus on environmental and health issues. She has a BA from Williams College and an MA from Columbia University. She has worked with Healthy Schools Network for more than fifteen years.
Jeff Jones, Communications and NYS Policy, is an Albany-based consultant, strategist and advocate for environment and health, clean energy, progressive labor groups and causes. He is a founding board member of Healthy Schools Network and has served as its state policy consultant for over ten years. He also serves on the boards of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the Capitol District chapter of the New York League of Conservation Voters and John Brown Lives!
Claire Barnett, MBA, Senior Adviser, is the founder and former Executive Director of the Healthy Schools Network. Under her leadership, Healthy Schools Network established its Information and Referral service for parents and others focused on protecting children’s environmental health and learning. Also established: the national Coalition for Healthier Schools; a collaboration on chemical policy reform in schools; NewsSlice, an online news service for the healthy schools community; National Healthy Schools Day, a day to encourage healthier facilities; and National Healthy Schools Hero Awards.
In 2017, she received the William K. Reilly Award from American University School of Public Affairs for Environmental Leadership, and the American Public Health Association’s David P. Rall Award for contributions to public health through science-based advocacy. The Network has received awards from US EPA for IAQ; a Green Apple Award from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools; a National Partner Award from Green Seal; and recognition from New Orleans’ Walter A Cohen Alumni Association for saving the historic African American high school from demolition post-Katrina. In 2025, Barnett received the Mount Holyoke College Alum Association Achievement Award for instituting sweeping policy changes in New York and nationally. She received her BA (psychology) from Mount Holyoke College and MBA (health systems) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She lives in upstate New York; her two sons and their families are in Colorado.
Marquis Who’s Who Honors Claire Barnett for Excellence in Environmental Health 2026
Wayne Higdon, 25th Hour Accounting Solutions, Bookkeeping