Witherspoon, Nsedu Obot
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon is the Executive Director for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN). She organizes, leads, and manages CEHN’s policy, education and training, and science-related programs. For the past 14 years, Witherspoon has given presentations and lectures nationwide advocating for children’s vulnerabilities and the need for their protection. She is a leader in children’s environmental health. Witherspoon is a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Environmental Health Sciences Roundtable and Co-Chair of the Leadership Council for the National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures. She is a member of the Friends of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and a Strategy Advisor for the California Breast Cancer Prevention Initiatives (CBCPI) Project. Witherspoon is on the Pesticide Action Network of North America’s board and the Maryland Children’s Environmental Health Advisory Council member.
“I was just trying this out after graduate school because it had a preventive health component with children at hand, but I’ve found it to be a passionate cause and work.” - Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, 2005.
Amoah, A.O., Witherspoon, N.O., Pérodin, J. and Paulson, J.A., 2016. Findings from a pilot environmental health intervention at early childhood centers in the District of Columbia. Journal of Public Health, 38(3), pp.e209-e217.
Gilden, R., McElroy, K., Friedmann, E., Witherspoon, N.O. and Paul, H., 2015. Evaluation of the children’s environmental health network’s environmental stewardship checklist responses. Journal of Environmental Health, 77(7), pp.22-29.
Witherspoon, N.O., Trousdale, K., Bearer, C.F. and Miller, R.L., 2012. The public health and policy implications of epigenetics and pediatric h
Witherspoon, N.O., 2009. Are we really addressing the core of children’s environmental health? Environmental Health Perspectives, 117(10), pp.A428-A429.
McCurdy, L.E., Roberts, J., Rogers, B., Love, R., Etzel, R., Paulson, J., Witherspoon, N.O. and Dearry, A., 2004. Incorporating environmental health into pediatric medical and nursing education. Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(17), pp.1755-1760.
Nsedu Obot Witherspoon was born on March 23, 1975, and is the eldest of three children. A native of New York, Nsedu was born and raised in Buffalo. Her parents, Otu and Carol Obot, remain in New York, where Mrs. Obot is a counselor at the Lakeview Shock Facility in western New York. Mr. Obot, currently a law school student, runs a wine store in Buffalo. Witherspoon has roots in the United States and Nigeria, where her father is from. When she was one year old, Witherspoon spent a year in Nigeria before her family moved back to the U.S. Being there, she says, taught her to have respect for culture, not to take anything for granted, and to count every day as a blessing. Undoubtedly, Witherspoon’s work as a professional in the environmental field reflects these values.
Witherspoon began her higher education as a premed student at Siena College in central New York. After graduating in 1998, Witherspoon attended graduate school at George Washington University in Washington D.C. There, she studied maternal and child health before she obtained her Master’s in Public Health in 2000. At George Washington, she first became interested in the environmental field.
Witherspoon began taking environmental courses. She became interested in how specific environmental issues were related to children’s health outcomes. Witherspoon’s love for children and her understanding of their vulnerability led her to consider a career that could help make their environment a better place. She felt that environmental preventative measures helped her connect her interests well.
Witherspoon’s first job was at the Transplant Recipient International Organization (TRIO) as a membership coordinator. It is a non-profit, member-driven organization that promotes education and awareness around organ transplant issues. Transplant recipients, family members, and donors can access the organization’s resources for a small annual fee. Initially, Witherspoon began as a graduate assistant in the organization and was promoted to the membership services coordinator position during her second year of graduate school.
Witherspoon says her job was gratifying because “I was personally involved in trying to relieve some of the financial and emotional stress that occurs during the transplant process.” Even though her work experience with TRIO was not environmental, it had a public health focus.
In 2000, Witherspoon started working as a community outreach specialist for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN). Founded in California, CEHN is a national non-profit organization promoting a safe and healthy environment for all children. Their definition of environment, says Witherspoon, “includes the built, biological and chemical.” At CEHN, Witherspoon’s commitment to children’s health combines with environmental awareness and safety. In 2000, CEHN’s executive director moved to Washington, D.C., and Witherspoon moved with them. The headquarters for CEHN ultimately moved to Washington, D.C.
By Witherspoon’s second year at CEHN, in 2001, she was promoted to assistant director. The executive director offered the position to Witherspoon and soon began to prepare her to take on the director position eventually. He felt that this would broaden the staff structure for the organization. Witherspoon recalls that the executive director was the spokesperson for the organization and would regularly speak at conferences, workshops, and seminars. As important as this task was, it was also very demanding, and he did not want to continue to do it alone.
He began to coach Witherspoon to take on this responsibility to prepare her to become director of the organization. Three years later, she became the Executive Director for CEHN, a position she still holds.
Witherspoon’s initial decision to go into the environmental field was tentative. She says, “I was just trying this out after graduate school because it had a preventive health component with children at hand, but I’ve found it to be a passionate cause and work.” Witherspoon feels that even as a young professional, she has made a difference in her field and people’s lives. However, she concedes that working for non-profits can be a challenge. Sometimes, the pressure of financial constraints can burden her and the staff. For example, she says, “Not knowing if a grant will come in to help our program and staff can be very stressful.” Luckily, she has the help and support of her colleagues. “These are the ones,” Witherspoon says, “who are in the trenches, networking and joining together – they are all supportive, positive and intelligent people.” It makes the difficulties easier to deal with in the face of overwhelming support and dedication to the cause.
More importantly, Witherspoon appreciates how rewarding it is to have the opportunity to meet with and help families and communities going through environmental health struggles. “Just seeing them smile when we’re able to help them and bring them resources makes a huge difference.”
Witherspoon says her most significant achievement is being an assistant executive director before age thirty. “It’s amazing. In the course of my career path, I haven’t had a position that I haven’t enjoyed. I like challenging myself to raise the bar.” Witherspoon was also one of the youngest chairs of the American Public Health Association’s Environmental Section. She served a two-year term from 2004 to 2006.
Witherspoon has had influential mentors along the way. The first is her grandmother, who Witherspoon describes as strong, spiritually focused, driven, and career-oriented. Witherspoon’s grandmother was raised in Nigeria, giving her the benefit of a multicultural perspective. Witherspoon says, “She’s helped me prioritize things in the course of my life. In addition to my parents, she has set me on a career path that is ethically and morally fulfilling.”
The second person to help Witherspoon in her career is the executive director who hired her for the Children’s Environmental Network. She says that he has “showed me a passion for the field through his own example and has connected me with other colleagues in the field. He was also one of the first people to tell me that any of us at any time could have been making three times what we’re making now, but the reality is that few of us can say that we love our jobs.”
In Witherspoon’s environmental justice work, she crossed paths with a reverend with the United Church of Christ, a woman who Witherspoon says “took me under her wing from day one and continued to look out for me. Not just in terms of providing part-time consulting opportunities, but in helping to find ways of involving faith-based entities in our kind of work.” Overall, Witherspoon believes this woman has helped her advance her professional development.
Since becoming an assistant director, Witherspoon has mentored graduate student assistants and medical school fellows. She has mentored people from Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) and volunteers from the AmeriCorps program. As a result of her guidance, she says, “There are a lot of young professionals who come through our office and say that they really appreciate and enjoy their time with us” (2005).
Witherspoon’s advice for other minorities interested in the environmental field is, “Don’t be discouraged when you don’t see too many of us, especially black women– we are here. True, there are toxicologists and biologists who come in, and they are mostly male, but there are many of us who are out here as well doing this work. I’ve also found that there is a great supportive community of minority professionals who are involved and will provide guidance and help” (2005).
CEHN. n.d. Nsedu Obot Witherspoon. Retrieved June 23, 2023 from https://cehn.org/about/board-of-directors/witherspoon/.
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.