Barbara Gottlieb guides Physicians for Social Responsibility's national work on climate, energy and air quality. She is the lead author or coauthor of PSR’s major reports on the health implications of fossil fuels, including Too Dirty, Too Dangerous: Why Health Professionals Reject Natural Gas; Coal Ash, The Toxic Threat to our Health and Environment, and Coal’s Assault on Human Health.
Previous to serving as the program director of Environment & Health, Gottlieb served as deputy director for Code Black, PSR’s program to close coal-fired power plants. Her prior work encompasses several decades in the nonprofit sector, where she carried out grassroots organizing, advocacy, fundraising and communications. At the Women’s Edge Coalition, she conducted outreach to women’s organizations around the world and mobilized members to take action on international assistance policy. As the deputy director of the Center for Media Education, she helped design, and then managed, research on youth use of electronic media for civic engagement. Earlier, Gottlieb directed a nonprofit that raised funds for grassroots development projects in Central America. She also lived in Guatemala for five years where she worked for an indigenous organization, raising funds and conducting grassroots training in sustainable development.