27. Patti Wood
2008 Power List
In an attempt to educate the public about the dangers of exposure to toxins common to our environment, Patti Wood and her husband Doug Wood founded Grassroots Environmental Education in 2000 in Port Washington. The organization has identified the causes of 90 percent of the harmful toxins children are exposed to at school, and Wood has been advocating for safer cleaning products, the elimination of pesticides and the adoption of a “no-idling” policy for school buses. Port Washington became the first school district in New York State to adopt the policy, one that has since gone national. Wood, a visiting scholar at Adelphi University, preached “green” long before it became trendy, and the organization continues to provide invaluable information on toxins.