The founder and director of the Environmental Justice & Health Union, Max Weintraub, worked for more than a decade with various environmental justice and environmental health groups. He found that, though both groups possess valuable insights about the causes of the relatively high incidence of environmental disease in low-income communities of color, many barriers hinder the ability of the two groups to work together to create better solutions.

In 2001, Max became a fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP). ELP provided funding and support to start the Environmental Justice and Health Union. Shortly thereafter, the Environmental Justice and Health Union became an independent project of the Center for Environmental Health. Under the guidance of an advisory board of environmental justice activists and environmental health professionals, the Environmental Justice and Health Union provides up-to-date information about funding, partnerships, research, policy and other tools through a monthly newsletter Catalyst and a regularly updated website.

Max Weintraub, Director

Max Weintraub has worked on toxics issues at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center, and Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. He has also served on the board of directors for Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health, taught at San Francisco State University and the USDA Graduate School, and contributed to journals ranging from Race, Poverty and Environment to the American Journal of Public Health. Max received his M.S. in environmental advocacy from the University of Michigan. He currently resides in Emeryville, California.