Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome

Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome joined the Biden-Harris Administration in June 2022 as the Senior Director for Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Under her leadership, the Environmental Justice Team is working to deliver on President Biden’s ambitious environmental justice agenda, including implementing the recently signed Environmental Justice Executive Order, releasing the first-ever Environmental Justice Scorecard, advancing the Justice40 Initiative, and launching the White House Campaign for Environmental Justice. Dr. White-Newsome became the first-ever Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer in 2023.

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. 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. 

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. She is a proud wife and mother of her daughters.