WASHINGTON, DC, April 06, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Claire L. Barnett has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Marked by her unwavering commitment to advancing environmental public health for children in educational settings across the United States, Ms. Barnett has led an impactful career spanning over three decades. She currently serves as a senior adviser at Healthy Schools Network — a nonprofit organization she founded in 1995 — where she created a national movement to promote healthier school buildings, enhancing education and enriching communities for children and their families --and continues to provide strategic guidance. During the week of April 13, 2026 Healthy Schools Network will be celebrating National Healthy Schools Day with "Healthy Schools at 30: The Path Forward" featuring a national speaker series and expert panels focused on past progress and future directions.

During her three decades with Healthy Schools Network, Ms. Barnett transformed what was initially an ad hoc New York State-wide steering committee in the third largest K-12 system nationally and the nation's largest school district into a nationally recognized, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring environmentally safe schools throughout the United States.

The development of the healthy schools call to action was personal. When her younger son became critically ill after toxic exposures at school, she sought assistance from state agencies. But she found little recognition of the significance of children's exposures; she also encountered major obstacles in getting state agency information about regulations on hazards in schools.

Undeterred, Ms. Barnett leveraged the local parent organization and connections with members of the New York State Board of Regents and presented evidence at a Regents' hearing that led to the establishment of a Regents' study committee — the first such body in the United States — to address school environmental conditions. In 1994, the committee issued a landmark report, Environmental Quality of Schools, which was adopted in 1995 with guiding principles that began by affirming every child's right to environmentally safe and healthy school. The same year, the US GAO published its report School Facilities: Condition of America's Schools, finding some 13 million children at risk due to poor environmental conditions.

Rallying support from nonprofit organizations such as the American Lung Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council and key state constituencies including teachers' unions, facility directors, occupational health groups, and concerned parents, she catalyzed action by New York and other state agencies. Within months, NGOs in multiple other states began requesting help from the young Network.

Healthy Schools Network prioritizes children's environmental health concerns, a perspective often overlooked in school facility decisions — even though children's developing bodies and behaviors make them particularly vulnerable to environmental health hazards. A robust body of scientific evidence now documents the effects of these threats on children's health, thinking and learning. Still, across the country, schools expose children to hazards every day, which can be a result of poor siting or construction, deferred maintenance, the use of toxic products, lack of knowledge, or underfunding.

Ms. Barnett's leadership has united stakeholders — including public health and environment experts, educators, and parents — into a broad coalition that has propelled legislative and regulatory changes. In 2001, she assembled the Coalition for Healthier Schools to incorporate a growing set of national partners; in turn the Coalition pushed through new program and funding authorizations for the US Department of Education and for US EPA. Ms. Barnett is also the co-founder of National Healthy Schools Day, an initiative launched by the Network in 2002 that continues to raise awareness about environmental health in schools nationwide.

Even as she championed the role of federal agencies, Ms. Barnett prioritized work in the states, recognizing their pivotal role in school funding and policy. She urged US EPA funding for state-led programs as well as for local schools: for example, the NYS Health Department's statewide School Environmental Health Program. Her efforts have led to the drafting and passage of multiple laws in New York State, and in collaboration with organizations across multiple states, she supported new indoor air quality (IAQ) and integrated pest management (IPM) laws for schools. She championed the use of certified green cleaning products in educational institutions, with those efforts resulting in new requirements in 10 states and voluntary efforts elsewhere. The project also expanded to include safer disinfectants, art supplies, and other certified green products.

Ms. Barnett has also contributed significantly through publications and presentations including the Healthy Schools Network biweekly news and organizing summits such as Eliminating Lead in Schools and Child Care Facilities. She also commissioned, drafted, or oversaw reports like "Schools of Ground Zero: Early Lessons Learned in Children's Environmental Health", "Towards Healthy Schools: Reducing Risks to Children", "Environmental Health at School: Ignored Too Long", and conferences on "COVID, Climate, Children, and Schools".

In 1998, Ms. Barnett created the Network's online Information and Referral Clearinghouse. No agency or scientific body was producing accessible information on children's vulnerability to school hazards for parents and communities. To fill this gap, the Clearinghouse commissioned and developed dozens of fact sheets, guides, and other publications to help them navigate the issues. By 2005, half of all schools earning Indoor Air awards from US EPA came from communities that tapped the Clearinghouse.

Ms. Barnett's outstanding work in enhancing school health and safety for children has been recognized through numerous accolades. She was presented with the Mount Holyoke Alum Association Achievement Award in 2025 and received the David P. Rall Award for Science-Based Advocacy in Public Health from the American Public Health Association and the William K. Reilly Award for Environmental Leadership from American University's School of Public Affairs in 2017. Additionally, she has been honored with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Indoor Air Quality Champion recognitions, a certificate of appreciation from the Walter L. Cohen Alumni Association (New Orleans, LA) in 2016, the Green Apple Award from Collaborative for High Performance Schools in 2007, and National Partner Award from Green Seal. She also testified twice before the US Senate on school environments.

Recent service: she is member of US Health and Human Services/Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response's National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters. Since 2014, Ms. Barnett has served as a member of the National Coordinating Committee on School Health and Safety for the US HHS Health Resources Services Administration. She is a Subject Matter Expert for the Collaborative for High Performance Schools since 2011, supporting efforts to improve school environments through sustainable design, siting, and construction practices.

She is also a past member of the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and served on the Asthma Committee for the School District of Philadelphia (PA). She also served on US EPA School Air Toxics project), seeking to understand impacts on children from schools located in high-pollution areas.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Barnett was the Special Projects Director at the Economic Development and Technical Assistance Center at State University of New York at Plattsburgh, NY, from 1984 to 1991, where she led initiatives to advance sustainable rural development in New York's Adirondack North Country. Those efforts resulted in a gubernatorial appointment to the Commission on the Future of the Adirondack Park in the Twenty-first Century. From 1974 to 1981, she served as the administrator at Essex County Mental Health Agency in Elizabethtown, NY, expanding services for outpatient clients with mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities.

Ms. Barnett began her professional journey as a post-college summer intern with the Louis Harris poll on an innovative project with IBM and CBS Network News to project election might winners. She then moved to researching and reporting for TIME magazine in New York City from 1968 to 1972. During this time, she advocated women's rights and contributed to journalistic coverage on business, law, and medicine, and earned six mentions in Publisher's Letters.

Ms. Barnett's academic background laid a strong foundation for her advocacy work. She earned a Master of Business Administration (health finance) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 1984. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (psychology) at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. Her husband, Timothy Barnett who died in 2022, was the founding director of the Adirondack Nature Conservancy and Land Trust; the couple's two sons and six grandchildren live in Colorado.

Looking ahead, Ms. Barnett is committed to advancing collaboration across federal and state agencies to address children's health and the school facility hazards that impact children's health, thinking, learning, and behavior. On behalf of Healthy Schools Network, she aims to ensure progress on expanding healthier school environments nationwide Her legacy is defined by visionary leadership, collaborative spirit, and steadfast dedication to safeguarding children's health through systemic change in educational environments across the United States.

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