Deirdre Coleman Imus (born August 4, 1964) is an American author, health advocate and radio personality and the founder and president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center, part of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in New Jersey, United States. She is also a co-founder and co-director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer, and the author of two books, Greening Your Cleaning and The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys.
The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center conducts research into the possible links between various cancers and environmental hazards. The center received the "Quality New Jersey's Environmental Award" on May 8, 2006.
On May 7, 2007, she was named to the board of directors of the National Autism Association. and on May 22, 2007, the National Audubon Society announced that Deirdre Imus was one of four women to receive the Society's annual Rachel Carson Award for Women in Conservation. In making the announcement, the Audubon Society cited her as "a pioneer inspiring parents and schools to clean using non-toxic products ... [persuading] more than 200 institutions nationwide to switch to green cleaning products and her work has led directly to three 'Green Cleaning' executive orders that will vastly improve the health of millions of children."
Deirdre Imus has expressed concern over the chemicals used in commercial cleaning products and her book Greening Your Cleaning, published in April 2007, advocates the use of alternative cleaning products. Greening Your Cleaning contends that chemicals such as ammonia are harmful and she calls for "environmentally responsible" ways to clean around the house. She appeared on the NBC Today Show on April 6, 2007, to demonstrate the cleaning methods discussed in her book. A scheduled book tour was postponed, however, in the wake of the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the Imus in the Morning show.
Beginning in the late 1990s, she had some small acting roles as Deirdre Coleman, appearing in Form, Space & Murder in 1997. The following year, she appeared in Watchers Reborn and One Tough Cop, a movie about New York City detective Bo Dietl, who ironically is a frequent guest on her husband's show. In 2001, she had a role in Directing Eddie.
On May 24, 2007, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Pace University in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of children's environmental health.
In 2007, Deirdre was awarded the prestigious Rachel Carson Award by the National Audubon Society.
Personal life
In 1994, she married American radio and television personality Don Imus and frequently appears on his program Imus in the Morning. They have one son, Frederick Wyatt (nicknamed Wyatt, born July 3, 1998) from their marriage. (Don Imus has four daughters from a previous marriage.) She is a vegan, as is her husband.
In 1999, Don and Deirdre Imus founded the Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch near Ribera, New Mexico, 50 miles southeast of Santa Fe. The Imus Ranch is a charitable organization for children with cancer, as well as siblings of SIDS victims. They maintain three residences, one in Manhattan, another in Westport, Connecticut, and one in Ribera, New Mexico.
Deirdre Imus graduated from Villanova University and is Roman Catholic.
Books
- Imus, Deirdre, The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys. Rodale Press, 2004. (ISBNÂ 0-87596-919-4).
- Imus, Deirdre, Greening Your Cleaning. New York: Simon & Schuster, April, 2007. (ISBNÂ 1-4165-4055-5)
References
External links
- Hackensack University Medical Center â€" website
- Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology â€" website
- Deirdre Imus â€" AOL Kids and Family Coach
- Deirdre Imus on IMDb
