Moms Clean Air Force, a program of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), is delighted to announce the appointment of Isabel González Whitaker as Associate Vice President for Public Engagement. She will work on behalf of Moms Clean Air Force and as Director of EcoMadres leading media initiatives, overseeing membership growth, and spearheading website development. She will also serve as an advocate, representing Moms Clean Air Force and EcoMadres to legislators on the Hill and various agencies, particularly the EPA.
“Isabel will use her many skills—and her deep passion for achieving justice through civic engagement—to become a powerful voice with legislators and community members alike in our fight against climate and air pollution and toxic chemicals on behalf of our children’s health,” said Dominique Browning, Director and Co-Founder of Moms Clean Air Force.
Isabel González Whitaker was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of All in Together, a leading nonprofit dedicated to advancing women’s leadership through civic participation. Previously she was Principal Advisor, Executive Strategic Communications, for ALSAC, the $2B+ annual fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital headquartered in Memphis.
Isabel moved to Memphis from New York City where she was Deputy Editor of Billboard and prior to that Features Editor at InStyle. During her 18-year career as a journalist and editor, she wrote numerous cover stories and produced features on President Joe Biden, Sec. Hillary Clinton, President Bill Clinton, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Representative Veronica Escobar, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Derek Jeter, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, as well as news stories on major events such as the World Trade Center attack and the Bataclan and Pulse tragedies. Isabel continues to freelance as a writer covering a wide array of topics with her work appearing most recently in Elle. Other bylines include Time, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, and Refinery29.
In 2018, Isabel was selected to be a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a social impact leadership program established by the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. As a scholar, Isabel designed and opened a multi-purpose park named after her mother, the Sara J. González Memorial Park, which is the first memorial and park in the State of Georgia to be named for a Latino individual. Of the park, President Clinton wrote “it will have a lasting positive impact on the community [and] inspire all those who visit it in the years to come.”
Born in Cuba, Isabel’s mother Sara arrived in the US in 1960 having fled threats against her family during the Cuban Revolution. Sara dedicated her life to the ideals of democracy and became a leading immigrant and Latino rights advocate in the South. The award-winning park Isabel established is dedicated to the values inspired by her mother’s work: diversity, inclusion, dignity, and equity. These themes are demonstrated through pan-generational, community-centric programming and all-abilities green space features that improve social and health outcomes of the community the park serves. For her efforts with the park, Isabel was named a Trust for Public Land Hero.
“My mother’s commitment to uplifting others was inspired by her journey of sacrifice, vulnerability, and ultimately achievement” says Isabel, who first explored advocacy as a teen through the lens of environmental action, specifically participating in community efforts against the use of polystyrene foam as a single use plastic. “From an early age, I saw my mother fight for her children, for women, and for the voiceless, committing herself to the actualization of equality and equity before those words became the rallying cries they are today. It’s that bold history and my dedication to children’s health and civic engagement that I bring to my role fighting for clean air and a stable climate at Moms Clean Air Force.”
Isabel was the Scholar in Residence at Rhodes College 2018-2019, is currently a CoGenerate senior fellow, and in 2023 gave a TedXAtlanta Talk on the power of civic engagement to improve community and sustain democracy. She is also the co-author of the cookbook Latin Chic: Entertaining with Style and Sass (HarperCollins) and executive producer of the documentary short “Women in Music: Inspiring a Generation” featuring former First Lady Michelle Obama. In 2019, she co-edited the anthology and contributed the essay “Finding La Reina in Queen Bey” to Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (St. Martin’s Press).