Charlotte Brody is a left-of-center political activist who is currently vice president of health initiatives for BlueGreen Alliance (BGA). ¹ Brody has a long history of left-of-center activism, working for organizations including Planned Parenthood, Health Care Without Harm, Carolina Brown Lung Association, and Green for All. ² She has given speeches, co-signed releases, written regulations, and signed onto a number of left-of-center policy proposals regarding women’s rights, civil rights, and the environment. ³

Career

Charlotte Brody received a nursing education at the University of Tennessee at Nashville. Her first job was providing care to women and children as a public health nurse in the Appalachian region of Georgia. In 1974, Brody joined the Carolina Brown Lung Association as a chapter organizer in Roanoke Rapids where she coordinated screening clinics, referred people for appropriate follow up care, and assessed worker health. In 1982, Brody became the state public affairs director for Planned Parenthood affiliates in North Carolina after moving to Charlotte. She did this for 12 years until she eventually became executive director of Planned Parenthood’s North Carolina affiliate. ⁴

Brody left Planned Parenthood to get involved in founding Health Care Without Harm⁵ a left-of-center international coalition of hospitals, academic institutions, healthcare systems, and environmental organizations that works on environmental issues associated with health care. ⁶ In 2005, Brody assisted the launch of the Luminary Project, a web-based tool used to promote the work of nurses who are advocating for hospital safety and increased chemical regulations. ⁷

In January 2010, Brody joined BlueGreen Alliance and worked her way up to becoming vice president of health initiatives, a position that she holds as of June 2021. ⁸ Prior to becoming a member of the BlueGreen Alliance, she was the national field director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a left-of-center organization that works to increase regulations on the chemical industry. She was also the director of programs for Green for All and the executive director of Commonweal. ⁹ She is the national director of Healthy Babies Bright Futures, an alliance of nonprofit organizations, donors, and scientists that works towards reducing children’s exposure to neurotoxic chemicals in early development. ¹⁰

Other Activity

In November 2011, Brody submitted testimony before the U.S Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health in support of the Safe Chemicals Act, which proposed new chemical regulations. ¹¹  In 2016, Brody assisted in writing new regulations for California refineries. ¹²

Brody is a signatory on the Principles for Alternatives Assessment, which is a collection of principles for determining alternatives to the use of certain chemicals. ^{13 14} She also co-signed a news release from Coming Clean and Environmental Justice for All condemning the right-wing protests in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. ¹⁵

1. “BlueGreen Alliance | Charlotte Brody.” BlueGreen Alliance |. Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/about/team-staff/charlotte-brody/.
2. Charlotte Brody: Nurse and Environmental Activist.” North Carolina Nursing History | North Carolina Nursing History | Appalachian State University. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://nursinghistory.appstate.edu/biographies/charlotte-brody.
3. “News Release.” Workgroup for Public Policy Reform. Accessed May 29, 2021. https://ej4all.org/news-and-media/news-releases/story?pid=473.
4. Charlotte Brody: Nurse and Environmental Activist.” North Carolina Nursing History | North Carolina Nursing History | Appalachian State University. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://nursinghistory.appstate.edu/biographies/charlotte-brody.
5. “Charlotte Brody: Nurse and Environmental Activist.” North Carolina Nursing History | North Carolina Nursing History | Appalachian State University. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://nursinghistory.appstate.edu/biographies/charlotte-brody.
6. “Health Care Without Harm.” MacArthur Foundation – MacArthur Foundation. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/health-care-without-harm-10085659/.
7. “New Project to Spotlight Nurse Environmental Heroes.” University of Maryland School of Nursing. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://www.nursing.umaryland.edu/media/media-archive/news-4-29-05-LuminaryProject.pdf.
8. “BlueGreen Alliance | Charlotte Brody.” BlueGreen Alliance |. Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/about/team-staff/charlotte-brody/.
9. “BlueGreen Alliance | Charlotte Brody.” BlueGreen Alliance |. Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/about/team-staff/charlotte-brody/.
10. “IC2 Webinar: Healthy Babies Bright Futures.” IC2. Last modified March 24, 2016. https://www.theic2.org/ic2_webinar_hbbf#gsc.tab=0.
11. https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5/1/5190b5d6-2a15-4057-877e-b9bb9a49a304/01AFD79733D77F24A71FEF9DAFCCB056.111711hearingtestimonybrody.pdf
12. Thebault, Reis. “New Regulations in the Pipeline for California Refineries.” Richmond Confidential. Last modified December 12, 2018. https://richmondconfidential.org/2016/09/19/new-regulations-in-the-pipeline-for-california-refineries/.
13. “The Principles for Alternatives Assessment.” BizNGO. Accessed May 29, 2021. https://www.bizngo.org/alternatives-assessment/commons-principles-alt-assessment.
14. “Signatories.” BizNGO. Accessed May 29, 2021. https://www.bizngo.org/alternatives-assessment/signatories.
15. “News Release.” Workgroup for Public Policy Reform. Accessed May 29, 2021. https://ej4all.org/news-and-media/news-releases/story?pid=473.