Are You Passionate About Environmental Health?
Want to change the rampant poisoning of our planet?
Our mission is advancing systemic change in Maryland toward a sustainable pesticide-free Chesapeake region.
Maryland Pesticide Education Network (MPEN) is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2012; preceded by Md Pesticide Network, a coalition that was established in 1998.
Do you want to be part of a team that’s making a difference?
Our organization is known for passing first in the nation legislation that protects Maryland’s babies, bees and the Bay from the adverse impacts of pesticides, including the IPM in Schools law, which mandates common sense protections for school children, the Pollinator Protection Act banning bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides from consumer garden products, a total ban on brain-damaging chlorpyrifos, among other legislative wins.
We establish and facilitate groundbreaking collaborations among diverse stakeholders to solve pesticide challenges:
(1) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Health Care Facilities Project, since 2008 we have been working with facilities to help implement IPM practices to protect patients and staff from adverse impacts of chemical pesticide exposures;
(2) MPEN’s Pesticide & the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Project, now in its 15th year, remains the first such initiative in Maryland dedicated to reducing the occurrence and risks of pesticides in the Bay watershed in order to protect water quality, aquatic life, wildlife, and public health;
(3) the 100+ member Smart on Pesticides Coalition, has been hailed by national organizations as “the most effective pesticide coalition in the country” for our policy and education work;
(4) the Marylanders for Food & Farm Worker Protection coalition leverages the strengths of farmworker advocacy groups, environmental organizations, and labor experts to win basic health and safety protections for agriculture workers rendered vulnerable by our industrialized food system.
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MPEN’s programs achieve these goals:
- Encourage the adoption of pest and land management practices that are safe for people, pollinators, pets, food supply, our Bay ecosystems, and support climate change mitigation.
- Promote/support right-to-know programs, policies, and laws regarding a) pesticide use, exposures, and impacts and, b) eliminating reliance on hazardous pesticides.
- Serve as an educational resource for the public, policymakers, and professionals working in pest and land care management, health care and public health, the agricultural community, and waterkeepers, regarding pesticide exposure hazards and implementation of safer alternatives.
- Achieve increased use of safer organic practices and products by the public, the health care industry, schools, local and state government agencies, and businesses.
- Effectively collaborate with local, state, and federal agencies and private organizations to achieve these objectives.
We are hiring for these positions:
Project Coordinator, Pesticides and the Chesapeake By Watershed Project
Don’t see a position that fits your skills and qualifications, lets talk – please send your resume and a general letter of inquiry about your interests to info@mdpestnet.org.
Working at Maryland Pesticide Education Network
We are a small, passionate and mighty team at Maryland Pest Education Network. Our staff works in a hybrid fashion. While much of our work can be done remotely, in-person visits to facilities throughout the state of Maryland and meetings with MPEN staff are also essential. We are not siloed. In many regards we work hand-in-hand with one another across all of our initiatives. We believe in striking a balance between life and our organization. As such, our expectations of the quality and quantity of time spent on MPEN initiatives is based on outcomes and timelines, with the flexibility of how work is accomplished at your discretion.
We Value:
- A rigorous, scientific-based approach to our organization’s work for systemic change to pesticide-free lifestyle, policies, and laws
- Creative thinking and taking individual initiative
- Team collaboration
- Diversity in our staff, board members, and MPEN-led coalition members
- Strategic partnerships
- An environmental and social justice lens in implementing and assessing our work
- Being accountable to each other and those who support our work
- Welcoming constructive criticism and better ideas
- Operating from open and honest communication, mutual respect, and optimism
- Curiosity, lifelong learning and skills development
- A diligent and responsible work ethic
- Passion and commitment to our shared mission
Our Vision:
The use of toxic pesticides are replaced by safer alternatives and policies in our state and nation.
