Elected Member
Elected October 2008
Term Ending: November 2012
swm@vt.edu
Susan West Marmagas, MPH is the Director of Health Programs with the Collaborative on Health and the Environment at Commonweal where she co-leads the Women’s Health and Environment Initiative – an emerging national network of health, women’s and environment leaders and organizations undertaking collaborative projects to improve the health of women in the US and globally. Based in Blacksburg, VA, West Marmagas recently returned to her rural roots to also help improve local public health in southwestern Virginia and Appalachia. She currently advises the Appalachia Community Cancer Network to address potential environmental determinants of cancer in the region.
West Marmagas has over fifteen years of experience in the public health field, most notably in the area of Children's and women's environmental health. She joined Commonweal after serving as the Director of Environment & Health Programs at Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) in its national office in Washington, DC. In this position, she led PSR's national environmental health program, focusing on toxics and children's health, clean air and climate change, environmental public health tracking, and the emerging links between the environment and chronic disease. She has also held senior positions with the Children's Environmental Health Network and the National Environmental Education Foundation.
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. 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.
West Marmagas has been an APHA member for 15 years. She currently serves on the Governing Council, chaired APHA's 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.