Susan West Marmagas, MPH

Susan West Marmagas, MPH returned to her rural roots in Blacksburg, VA in 2006 to help improve local public health in Southwest Virginia and Appalachia. She is Assistant Director of Virginia Tech’s new Master of Public Health Program and Research Fellow with Tech’s Institute for Community Health. She is also working with the Appalachian Community Cancer Network to consider potential environmental determinants of cancer in the region. In addition to her position on the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association, she also serves on the Board of the Virginia Public Health Association and the New River Valley’s Partnership for Access to Healthcare.

Ms. Marmagas has over fifteen years of experience in the national public health field, most notably addressing how environment factors affect the health of women and children. She has held leadership positions with the Collaborative on Health & Environment at Commonweal, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the National Environmental Education Foundation, and the Children’s Environmental Health Network.  Her career has focused on engaging health professionals and scientists in protective public policy, facilitating strategic planning discussions across the health field, and implementing evidence-based policy campaigns.  West Marmagas has testified before the US Congress and has served as media spokesperson on national issues such as fish consumption, mercury pollution, and children’s health.  She served on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee and co-chaired its Regulatory Work Group.  She is a Site Visitor for the Council on Education for Public Health and a Fellow with the National Public Health Leadership Institute. She received her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Education from the University of California at Berkeley and her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Earlham College. 

West Marmagas has been an APHA member for 15 years.  She has served on Governing Council, chaired the Nominating Committee, chaired the Environment Section and received it's Distinguished Service Award, and co-chaired the joint MCH-Environment subcommittee on children's environmental health.