Executive Director, Defend Our Health
Mike Belliveau has advanced public health, environmental justice, and sustainable development for more than forty years as a policy advocate, science translator, nonprofit leader, coalition builder and social entrepreneur. He’s led successful chemical policy reform campaigns in California, Maine and federally, most recently passing a state law to disclose and phase out all uses of PFAS by 2030. He’s helped major corporations in the retail, food, and beverage industries to phase out chemicals of high concern and slash plastic pollution. He’s mapped the supply chain impacts of petrochemical plastics that harm human health, racial justice and climate progress. To fight global warming with a just transition, Mike launched a trade association to promote renewable chemicals made from waste wood rather than from fossil oil and gas. He formerly served as executive director of Communities for a Better Environment in California. He received the Frank Hatch Award for Enlightened Public Service from The John Merck Fund. Mike graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in environmental science.