Meet Jill Stein

Jill Stein is a physician and health advocate who is nationally known for her work to protect children from toxic exposures.

Jill was founder and recent past president of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, a non-profit organization that helps inform and empower citizens to build real democracy and the healthy, just, sustainable future we deserve. She is a board certified internist, and was a staff physician at Simmons College Health Center and an Instructor in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School for over 15 years.

As a spokeswoman for Physicians for Social Responsibility, Jill has served as an expert witness on Beacon Hill and in countless communities on behalf of citizen groups seeking to protect their communities and health from pollution and harmful over-development - including trash incinerators and toxic waste sites. Jill's appearances on the Today Show and 20/20 News Magazine helped move the FDA and EPA to strengthen protections for children from harmful mercury and pesticide pollution.

For this and other work, Jill received the "Friend of the Earth and Champion of Public Health Award" from Salem State College, for "taking the lead in your profession and in politics to put people and their health first." She is also the recipient of Clean Water Action's Children's Health Hero Award, Not in Anyone's Backyard Award, and the Toxic Action Center's Citizen Award.

Jill is co-author of an influential report, "In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development", which sounded the alarm on the effects of toxic exposures on children's learning and behavior. The report has been offered as a conference at leading medical schools from Boston University Medical School to Stanford University, and has been translated into Spanish, Japanese, Arabic and Thai.

Jill's involvement in politics grew out of her attempts to keep needed health-protection from being blocked by powerful corporate lobbying forces on Beacon Hill. She became involved in the movement for Clean Elections and other democracy reforms which she understood as essential for improving health and the environment. This led her to run for political office for the first time as the 2002 candidate for Governor of Massachusetts under the Green-Rainbow Party label.

Jill's candidacy was praised by the Newton Tab as "the bolder, brighter and better choice." According to the Needham Times, "Based on her past public policy experience...Stein possesses the ability to work with the state legislature and the bureaucrats to galvanize a new era of policy activism and to inspire a new group of voters." Joan Venocchi of the Boston Globe described Jill's debate performance: "In the midst of the madness, the candidate who spoke the most clearly was Green Party candidate Jill Stein."

Jill currently serves on the Board of Directors for Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and MassVoters for Fair Elections. She is a graduate of Harvard College (1973, Magna Cum Laude) and Harvard Medical School (1979). She is married to Richard Rohrer, also a physician. They have two sons, (one in college and one recent graduate), and live in Lexington, Massachusetts.


Jill and family