41. George Deabold

This East Islip father fought so doggedly for his daughter’s right to an environmentally safe school and appropriate special education classes that at one point administrators banned him from district meetings and school grounds. Some saw him as crazy, and dismissed his calls for reform, but he roused enough other parents that they eventually forced the district to deal with its mold and special education issues. He’s an example of the power citizen-parents can wield in education and public health.