No Fear: A Whistleblowers Triumph - Marsha Coleman-Adebayo

Speaking out against discrimination and other problems in the workplace has long incurred intimidation and the threat of job loss. But today whistleblowers can be less fearful thanks to Coleman-Adebayo, former senior policy analyst for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Coleman-Adebayo faced intense personal difficulties at EPA when she served as the liaison to the White House on the Gore-Mbeki Commission, a Clinton administration foreign policy program involving South Africa. Reporting that an American company exposed their African miners to deadly vanadium dust, she was relieved of her responsibilities on the commission. Her investigative efforts were stifled and she was subjected to personal abuse.

In 2000, Coleman-Adebayo won an historic lawsuit against EPA for violating her civil rights on the basis of race and gender, and creating a hostile work environment. She subsequently testified before Congress on two occasions. As a result, the Notification of Federal Employees Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act (No FEAR) was introduced by Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Senator John Warner. Along with the No FEAR Coalition, she ushered the No FEAR Bill through Congress. President George W. Bush signed the No FEAR Act into law, directly benefitting thousands of federal workers.

Coleman-Adebayo, who holds a PhD from MIT, currently serves on the board of directors of the National Whistleblowers Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to protecting the rights of employee whistleblowers.

The event was held on February 20, 2013.