Heather Sarantis, Director
Heather has worked in social change movements for more than two decades. She began working at Commonweal in 2006, and since then she established the Environmental Health Primary Prevention training program, was a core strategist and researcher for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and currently co-leads QuickStart, a capacity building training for community-based participatory research focused on breast cancer prevention.
Prior to Commonweal, she worked on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at Breast Cancer Fund and on sustainable forestry, fishing and agriculture at The Natural Step. She did anti-death penalty organizing for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. She also co-directed the Boycott Mitsubishi campaign at Rainforest Action Network, which successfully shifted Mitsubishi’s global logging practices to be more sustainable and respectful of human rights.
She holds a B.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana. She is a Doris Duke Fellow for Conservation Leadership and was recently named a Changemaker Fellow at the Pacific School of Religion where she is exploring practices to keep social change work grounded in spirit and the art of making street altars dedicated to social justice issues.
Partners
California Breast Cancer Research Program is the largest state‐funded breast cancer research effort in the nation whose mission is to eliminate breast cancer by leading innovation in research, communication, and collaboration in the California scientific and lay communities.
Plumbline Coaching and Consulting is a community‐engagement consulting firm that specializes in public policy and participatory research training programs, and organizational and leadership development.