Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome joined the Biden-Harris Administration in June 2022 and is serving as the first Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Under her leadership, the Office of Environmental Justice is working hard to deliver on President Biden’s ambitious environmental justice agenda, including implementing the new Environmental Justice Executive Order, advancing the Justice40 Initiative, the first-ever government-wide EJ Scorecard, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, and elevating environmental justice work across the federal government and beyond through the White House Campaign for Environmental Justice.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dr. White-Newsome has tackled environmental challenges from a wide range of positions and perspectives, including in the grassroots environmental justice movement, environmental philanthropy, state government, private industry, and academia. Dr. White-Newsome earned a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Southern Methodist University, a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University, and a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.
Before joining the White House, Dr. White-Newsome founded and led Empowering a Green Environment and Economy, LLC (EGE2), a strategic consulting firm that focused on transforming communities by using people-centered solutions to combat climate change, improve public health, pursue environmental justice, and advance racial equity. She also served as the first Director of Federal Policy for WE ACT for Environmental Justice, managing their federal policy office in Washington, D.C. Dr. White-Newsome’s early environmental justice advocacy and research has focused on air pollution, climate-driven extreme heat and flooding, and improving the health of low-income, communities of color. She is a proud wife and mother of her daughters, Arielle and Jeannelyn.
