BIO
Background and Education
Ann McCampbell, MD was born and raised in California. She was a healthy active child who loved sports. She was voted the most athletic girl at her high school. She went on to play competitive beach volleyball and was a drummer in many rock bands. See My MCS Story.
Dr. McCampbell graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in math and obtained her medical degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1978. She did post-graduate training in internal medicine, then practiced in the field of women’s health, until she developed severe multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) in 1989.
She became too sick to practice medicine, but almost from the beginning of her illness, Dr. McCampbell dedicated herself to trying to raise awareness about MCS and to help others who have it – even when she was living in a car, tent, or yard.
She wrote the first version of her MCS booklet (link) in 1992 and has been a leading MCS advocate for the past 25 years.
Dr. McCampbell is currently Co-Chair of the MCS Task Force of NM.
“New Mexicans have been the beneficiaries of your countless hours of hard work and your continuous dedication on behalf of the chemically sensitive. As a result of your efforts, I have personally learned a great deal about the issue of chemical sensitivity …”
GARY JOHNSON, Governor of New Mexico, January 11, 2002
Advocacy Experience
Dr. McCampbell moved to New Mexico in 1993 to live in a healthier less-polluted environment. Some say Santa Fe has not been the same since her arrival. Here are some of her most notable accomplishments:
• Co-founded the non-profit Healthy Housing Coalition (1993)
• Organized a Town Hall Meeting on MCS for state staff (1996) (Click to view Issues Paper)
• Led successful effort to get Governor’s Proclamation of MCS Awareness Week (1998) (Click to view)
• Wrote an MCS brochure in collaboration with the NM Department of Health (2000) (Click to view)
• Led successful effort to get NM Board of Education to pass a regulation directing public schools to eliminate routine pesticide spraying and provide notification of pesticide use (2000)
• Led successful effort to get the City of Santa Fe to pass an integrated pest management (IPM) ordinance that bans the use of pesticides in city parks, streets, and buildings (2001)
• Published article “MCS Under Siege” (2001) (Click to view)
• Was a major contributor to the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Report funded by the federal Access Board (2006) (Click to view)
Dr. Ann McCampbell received the 2001 “Activist of the Year Award”
from the Chemical Injury Information Network
As coordinator of the NM Environment & Health Coalition for many years, Dr. McCampbell has also worked on broader environmental health issues such as reducing mercury emissions and promoting the precautionary principle. She has given several presentations on pesticides at the NM Public Health Association annual meeting.
She was also a major contributor to the writing and production of a report entitled Healthy Hospitals, Controlling Pests Without Harmful Pesticides (2003). (Click to view)
Dr. McCampbell continues to work on behalf of people with chemical sensitivity, with a special focus on reducing pesticide use and promoting least toxic pest management. This includes trying to stop the use of toxic pesticides in fish restoration projects, as well as reduce the use of insecticides and herbicides by businesses, government agencies, and the public.
Her most recent area of concern is the adverse health impacts associated with electropollution, especially from the escalating use of wireless technology, including wireless utility meters, cell towers and antennas, “smart” phones, and other wireless devices.