2025 Force of Nature Celebration
Please join us on March 6th at Affirmation Arts in New York City to celebrate the accomplishments of our 2025 Force of Nature Honorees, Jaclyn Bowen, Catherine Lufkin, and Kathryn Huarte.
You will also learn about the profound impact that pollution has on maternal and child health and how women around the globe are leading the effort – crafting solutions in government and policy making, private entrepreneurship, and community-level interventions. Celebrate International Women’s Day with a sampling of international foods and cocktails, and finish the night with desserts from Magnolia Bakery!
Pure Earth’s 2025 Force of Nature Honorees
The Force of Nature Awards recognize the strength and achievements of our honorees as well as countless women the world over working every day to solve pollution, protect their families and communities, and advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable. Learn more about our 2025 honorees:
Jaclyn Bowen MPH, MS, Executive Director Clean Label Project
Jaclyn Bowen MPH, MS is a food safety and quality systems engineer and executive director of Clean Label Project, a US-based national non-profit and consumer advocacy organization with the mission to bring truth and transparency to food and consumer product labeling. Through data, science, and benchmarking, Clean Label Project uses retail sampling and testing to benchmark product quality and purity of best-selling food and consumer products and award Clean Label Project’s coveted evidence-based Purity Award. Bowen was the researcher and co-author behind the largest academic peer-reviewed study ever conducted on lead and cadmium in baby food and infant formula which was published in the international multidisciplinary journal, Science of the Total Environment. The capstone of her career (to date) was presenting before the 63rd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotics in Vienna, Austria on Clean Label Project’s study on the levels of industrial and environmental contaminants in cannabis products in 2020. Before coming to Clean Label Project, Jaclyn held numerous technical, standards development, food safety, quality, and executive roles within the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, NSF International.
Kathryn M. Huarte, Treasurer, Pure Earth Board of Directors
Kathryn Huarte is a Senior Business Development Executive with over 20 years of experience in internet, finance, and government. She develops and executes strategies to launch and grow organizations. As the founder of Huarte Advisors, Ms. Huarte consults start-up stage Internet companies on financing and operations, revises business plans, professionalizes marketing materials, recommends fundraising sources; advises on partnerships, business development, and operational growth plans. Her clients include ArtSpace Marketplace; Plan Elements; ReFashioner.com; Chairsh.com; ArtandCulture.com. Ms. Huarte contributed to legislation and to form coalitions to grow San Francisco Internet Industry. Her experience ranges from Ebay and the United States Senate to NASA and Wooden Toy Distributors LP. She worked collaboratively with Budget, Tax, Small Business and Technology Departments.
Catherine Lufkin, Senior Director, Global Point of Care at Meridian Bioscience, LLC
Catherine Lufkin is an accomplished sales and marketing executive with over 15 years of experience in B2B healthcare, point-of-care medical devices, and marketing consulting services. As the Senior Director of Global Point of Care at Meridian Bioscience, she leads strategic initiatives to expand market reach, drive revenue growth, and strengthen the company’s global footprint in the diagnostics point-of-care sector. Prior to her current role, Catherine held several leadership positions at Meridian Bioscience, including National Sales Director for Point of Care and Director of POC Marketing Strategy. Her expertise in market opportunity analysis, pricing strategies, and segmentation has been critical to the company’s continued success in point-of-care diagnostics. Catherine’s career spans various industries, including diagnostics, healthcare, and talent management. Passionate about driving innovation in healthcare, she continues to shape the future of diagnostics through her leadership and strategic vision.
Hear from this year’s honorees, Jaclyn Bowen, Catherine Lufkin, and Kathryn Huarte, about what the award means to them.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized with Pure Earth’s Force of Nature Award. Ensuring access to accurate and reliable blood lead testing is critical in the fight against lead exposure and its devastating health effects. This recognition highlights the importance of collaboration in protecting vulnerable communities, and I am grateful to work alongside organizations dedicated to creating a healthier, lead-free future,” said Catherin Lufkin.
“Being recognized as a Force of Nature by Pure Earth is both humbling and motivating. The real force lies in the communities, advocates, and everyday heroes working relentlessly to create a cleaner, safer world. I am grateful to stand alongside so many agents of change working to protect the vulnerable and shaping a healthier future for all,” said Jaclyn Bowen.
“All children worldwide deserve a ‘Pure Earth’ free from toxic pollution. That’s why I have been proud to support Pure Earth as Treasurer of the Board for the past seven years. I am very honored to accept this ‘Force of Nature’ Award alongside Catherine Lufkin and Jackie Bowen, trailblazers in environmental health,” said Kathryn M. Huarte.
2025 International Women's Day Webinar
Toxic Exposures and Women’s Health: Emerging Research and Global Solutions
March 13, 2025 at 9am EST
In honor of International Women’s Day 2025, join us for an enlightening webinar on the critical issue of pollution’s impact on women’s health. Leading researchers from Columbia University, Universidad Iberoamericana, and the Clean Label Project will present new data on the impacts of heavy metal exposure on pregnant and breastfeeding women.
About Pure Earth’s Women’s Environmental Health Initiative (WEHI)
Pollution is a women’s health issue. Toxic pollution poses a unique threat to women’s health because of the reproductive impacts and likelihood of exposure to various toxic substances at the workplace and at home. Exposures to dangerous chemicals have a multigenerational impact on women and families.
Through the Women’s Environmental Health Initiative (WEHI), Pure Earth prioritizes women’s health through gender-informed programming. Pure Earth includes cohorts of pregnant and breastfeeding women in its health surveillance and is identifying new sources of exposure to lead and mercury and developing risk mitigation strategies specifically for women.
Previous Force of Nature Honorees
2024
Awardees included:
Graciela Montaño – The Executive Chef and Founder of Aura Mexican Cooking and a Pure Earth Ambassador. She is also the author of a collaborative project with Pure Earth, Pure Earth’s Kitchen Cookbook.
Allison Charalambous – The VP of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at Brilliant Earth.
Andrea José Castro – A jeweler and the Founder, Creative Director, and CEO of Casa Collab, a collaborative design lab for jewelry and wearable products founded in Peru. Through her company, Andrea has achieved a significant milestone by facilitating the first sales of responsibly mined gold from the Peruvian Amazon to both national and international markets.
Vilma Contreras – The President of the AMATAF Mining Association and Women’s Mining Association of Madre de Dios, Peru. Vilma epitomizes grassroots leadership and environmental stewardship. Her commitment to mercury-free mining and reforestation initiatives underscores the transformative power of community-driven action.
Read more about our 2024 Force of Nature honorees on the Pollution Blog.
2023
Awardees included:
Dani Cutler — A leader in responsible sourcing in the jewelry industry, top supplier of mercury-free arstisanal gold and key to the Pure Earth Pure Gold Auction.
Karen Mathiasen — Former Acting Executive Director, World Bank Group; Commissioner, The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, raising the profile of pollution on global development agenda.
Alicia Ogawa — Pure Earth Board Member committed to encouraging companies and investors to include pollution in their ESG initiatives.
2022
Awardees included:
Carol Browner — the longest serving Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is currently Senior Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP. She has demonstrated a lifelong dedication to protecting vulnerable populations and promoting environmental equity.
Christina Malle — a former human rights lawyer turned goldsmith and advocate for a traceable and transparent jewelry supply chain.
Dr. Netzy Peralta — an anthropologist by training, and also a member of the Nahua community, the largest indigenous group in Mexico. Her personal connection to the indigenous community and insight into local cultural traditions is critical to Pure Earth’s work transitioning artisanal potters to using safe, lead-free glazes under the Barro Aprobado program.
