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About CFE

About Us

We believe the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the products we use, and the places where we live, learn, work, and play should not make us sick.

Yet, that is exactly what is taking place on a daily basis in the U.S. and around the world. Toxic chemicals are being put into the places we live, learn, work and play and the products we use, keeping us sick and stuck with preventable diseases like cancer. 

Informed by the latest science, and common sense, at CFE we believe the best way to avoid the devastating social and economic impacts of cancer on our families and communities is to PREVENT cancer, whenever and wherever possible, from occurring in the first place. 

That’s where the Cancer Free Economy comes in. We are a dynamic collaborative multi-sector network, led primarily by leaders from BIPOC and disproportionately impacted communities, seeking solutions that are broader and deeper than what we can accomplish on our own. Our strategies are derived from an in-depth cross-sector analysis of the “system.”

We found that our economy is entrenched in a co-dependent relationship with hazardous chemicals. This process led us to a common goal:

Within our generation, we will lift the burden of cancer and other diseases by driving a dramatic and equitable transition from toxic substances in our lives, our communities, and our economy to safe and healthy alternatives for all.

Together, we can move beyond incremental changes and bring about a just transition to a cancer-free economy that works for all people and the planet. Find out more…

Our Vision

The Cancer Free Economy (CFE) is a network cultivating an inclusive movement to promote healthy environments where no one gets sick because of toxic chemicals where they live, learn, work, and play.

We believe that cancer is an all-too-common diagnosis that devastates families and communities, for which a key opportunity for prevention has been largely left on the sidelines: hazardous chemicals in the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the products we use.

We believe everyone’s health matters, and that the most effective change comes from a holistic approach that engages new voices and strengthens existing movements.

Our History

Since 2014, the Cancer Free Economy has built a dynamic collaborative network among a diverse set of teams and stakeholders working together to  accelerate progress towards a healthy, regenerative economy.

The Cancer Free Economy proposal was submitted by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, Breast Cancer Fund (now Breast Cancer Prevention Partners), BlueGreen Alliance, Jenifer Altman Foundation and the New York Community Trust on January 1, 2014, and was chosen for multi-year funding from the Garfield Foundation’s Collaborative Network’s Initiative. A leadership team formed from this partnership and began the multi-year systems mapping process that has deeply guided our formation, and influences how we work today.

 

 

 

How We Work

Our strategies are derived from an in-depth multi-year process to analyze the “system” that has created an economy that depends on hazardous chemicals. This process gave us strategic insights and built a spectrum of productive, on-going relationships with a common goal—to lift the burden of cancer within a generation—and a shared understanding of how to achieve that goal effectively. 

The network is organized into working groups, teams that address different strategic pathways to a safer materials economy including:

Building Power, Health & Science, Shifting the Market, and Policy & Legal.

Our work is grounded in and guided by these Equity Principles.

CFE LEADERS

Network Council

Members of the Network Council's Executive Committee:

Network Council Members:

Roxana Amaya Fuentes

Roxana Amaya Fuentes

Health + Science Node Leader

Children's Environmental Health Network

Maryland

Emily Carroll

Emily 
Carroll

Policy + Legal Node Leader

Green the Church

California

Saleem Chapman

Saleem 
Chapman

Policy + Legal Engagement Manager



Pennsylvania

Jessica Conrad

Jessica
Conrad

Capacity Building
Manager



Washington

Debora Gonzalez

Debora
Gonzalez

Building Power Node Leader

National Day Laborer Organizing Network

Connecticut

Katie Huffling

Katie
Huffling

Equity Team Representative

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

Maryland

Molly Jacobs Headshot

Molly 
Jacobs

X-Node PFAS

Lowell Center for Sustainable Production 

Vermont

Nsedu Witherspoon

Nsedu
Obot Witherspoon

Fundraising Chair

Children’s Environmental Health Network

Maryland

Paula Torrado

Paula Torrado Plazas

At-Large

Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles

California

Kareem Scales

Kareem 
Scales

Building Power Node Leader

NAACP

Michigan

Veronica Ung-Kono

Veronica 
Ung-Kono
Emerging Leaders Cohort Representative

Vermont

Anayana White

Anayana 
White
Communications 
Manager


Alaska

Makenzie White

Makenzie 
White
Strategic Projects 
Manager


Pennsylvania

Dani 
Wilson

State Cancer Plans

CENSWPA

Pennsylvania

Emerging Leaders Cohort

Emerging leaders include:

Afua Asabea Amoabeng Nti

University of Ghana

Ghana, West Africa

Ashleigh
Angel

Vermont Law and Graduate School

Vermont

Augustine Appah Acquah

University of Ghana

Ghana, West Africa

Boebin 
Park

Vermont Law and Graduate School

Maryland

Kara
Rubio

Building Equity and Alignment

Pennsylvania

Project Leads + Coordinators

Additional project leads and coordinators include:

David 
Levine

Childhood Cancer Prevention Initiative Lead

American Sustainable Business Network 

New York



Abby 
Maxwell

Childhood Cancer Prevention Initiative Coordinator

American Sustainable Business Network 

New York



Ana Gonzalez Romero

Household Cleaners Health & Safety Lab Coordinator

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

New York

our 60+ Members reach
over a million people

The Cancer Free Economy Network is expanding the movement to protect people from harmful chemicals, uniting advocates and scientists working on cancer, public health, fossil-fuel reduction, and economic justice to name a few.

learn more about our work

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