Denise Patel serves as the National Organizing Director at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, coordinating the work of the national Environmental Justice Leadership Forum and connecting frontline environmental justice communities and voices to our federal policy work. She has previously led national organizing work at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and the Divest Invest Network, and currently serves as the co-chair of the Environmental Justice Committee at the American Public Health Association. Her personal and professional work has focused on grassroots organizing, building coalitions, and leading advocacy campaigns at the local, state, and federal level to address occupational and environmental health impacts of climate change, fossil fuel extraction and use, and toxic chemicals. She holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University with a focus on Climate and Health and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Miami.
