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e x p e r t s
Kathleen Rest
Executive Director
Statement
“We have known for centuries that the quality of our environment has a profound effect on individual and public health. The general public understands this link and expects environmental policies that will protect their own health and the health of their families and communities. Through its rigorous scientific analyses, creative solutions, and effective partnerships, I believe UCS can effectively address both environmental problems and their related public health effects.”
Expertise
Public Health
Occupational and environmental health policy
Worker Health and Safety
Profile
As UCS’s Executive Director, Dr. Kathleen Rest manages the organization’s day-to-day affairs, supervising all program departments on issues ranging from climate change to global security. Dr. Rest is also leading UCS’s Coordinated Climate Solutions Campaign.
Dr. Rest came to UCS from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), where she was the Deputy Director for Programs. Throughout her tenure at NIOSH, she held several leadership positions, including serving as the Institute's acting director over the period of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax events that followed.
Prior to her work with the federal government, Dr. Rest was an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health. She has extensive experience as a researcher and advisor on occupational and environmental health issues in countries such as the Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Canada, and Greece.
Dr. Rest was a founding member of the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), a national nonprofit organization committed to improving the practice of occupational and environmental health through information sharing and collaborative research. She also served as the Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). Dr. Rest earned her Doctorate in health policy from Boston University and her Masters degree in public administration, with a focus on health services, from the University of Arizona.
Kathy lives in Brighton, MA. In her free time, she enjoys reading, walking, spending time with family and friends, and improving her Greek.
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