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Elisa Boxer-Cook has come full circle. Formerly the main anchor at Portland, Maine’s ABC affiliate, WMTW, the Emmy award-winning journalist spent years covering the important story of the day, until she found herself in the struggle of her life — recovering from illness resulting from the chemicals in the materials in what she thought was her family’s brand-new “dream house.”

Having found her passion — advocating for the environmental health and safety of children and their families — Elisa is once again informing others. She uses her time, her talent and her story to educate families about everything from the toxic chemicals in everyday consumer goods to the health risks associated with wireless radiation.

Elisa was nominated by her husband; here is what he wrote:

"My wife Elisa Boxer-Cook is a force of nature when it comes to protecting the health and safety of children. She is fueled by sheer passion, motivated by love and equipped with a reporter’s dogged determination to find and share the truth. Elisa has dedicated her time and her heart to getting laws passed that reduce the toxic burden on Maine families.

A former television news anchor, she found herself covering the most important story of her life in the aftermath of building what we thought was our “dream house.“

After she and our newborn son got sick from the chemicals used in the materials that go into a home, Elisa worked tirelessly to learn all she could — not only about the chemicals that had threatened her health and that of our son, but also about potentially dangerous chemicals that all of us encounter in everyday consumer products.

Elisa’s research led to her life's mission of donating her time and energy to become an advocate for protecting children's environmental health. Organizations throughout the state have enlisted her help in passing laws promoting safer chemical policy.

Elisa has gone up against the chemical industry and testified before state legislative committees on seven issues relating to safer chemical policy, including bills to help schools adopt green cleaning practices, banning a class of particularly toxic flame retardants in favor of safer alternatives and fighting for stricter pesticide notification laws.

Elisa was recognized with the Natural Resources Council of Maine's Environmental Award for helping to pass the Kids Safe Products Act, an ongoing law to phase out toxic chemicals from children's products in Maine, and for which Elisa testified at several hearings at which chemical companies tried unsuccessfully to overturn the law.

In presenting the award, the NRCM executive director said of Elisa, “She is setting an example for people everywhere.”

Elisa has been asked to join several environmental health-related boards and committees, including the Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine Chapter. Elisa is on their newly formed Toxics Advisory Committee, whose goal is raising awareness among pediatricians and pediatric nurses about the links between chemicals and children's health.

Earlier this month, Elisa testified before Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection in support of a bill that would ban bisphenol A (BPA), a compound found in certain plastics, in children’s products.

Elisa has been invited to speak at conferences and on panels about environmental health and safer-chemical policy and toxics reform.

Elisa is not a paid lobbyist, though her expertise on these matters rivals that of anyone hired to do such work. For her, this work is a labor of love.

She took the horrible personal experience of her toxic exposure and turned it into a positive vehicle for change. Every day Elisa is raising awareness about the dangers of toxins and helping people make safer, healthier choices for their families in everything from toys and personal care products to cleaning supplies and building materials.

Elisa left behind her job as an Emmy award-winning television journalist, but her work continues in earnest. She is committed to the goal of making the world a safer place for children, and does so with a wonderful combination of qualities uniquely suited for this new, more meaningful work.

Elisa is a brilliant writer and an eloquent speaker whose words, whether on the page or in a hearing room, are at once grounded and lifted ever higher, by one of the strongest forces on this earth — a mother’s undying love."

Sincerely,

Doug Boxer-Cook
Scarborough, Maine

Want to know how to nominate that special mom, or yourself for 2011?

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