Deirdre Imus
Encyclopedia
Deirdre Coleman Imus is the founder and president of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center, part of Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack University Medical Center is a 775-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital located seven miles west of New York City, in Hackensack, New Jersey, providing tertiary and healthcare needs for northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area...

 (HUMC) in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. She is also a cofounder and codirector of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer
Imus Ranch
The Imus Ranch is a working cattle ranch of nearly 4,000 acres located in Ribera, New Mexico, southeastof Santa Fe. It was founded in 1999 by long-time radio personality Don Imus and his wife Deirdre as a charitable organization that seeks to ensure the continuity of the lives of children who are...

, 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
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...

 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... [convincing] 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
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

 are harmful and she calls for "environmentally responsible" ways to clean around the house. She appeared on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 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
Watchers Reborn
Watchers Reborn is the 1998 sequel to the Canadian horror film Watchers. Starring Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill, the film is loosely based on the novel Watchers by Dean Koontz.-Plot:...

and One Tough Cop, a movie about New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 detective Bo Dietl. In 2001, she had a role in Directing Eddie.

On May 24, 2007, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Doctor of Humane Letters
The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters is always conferred as an honorary degree, usually to those who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science, government, literature or religion, which are awarded degrees of Doctor of Science, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, or Doctor of...

 degree by Pace University
Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...

 in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of children’s environmental health.

Personal life

In 1994, she married American radio and television personality Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...

 and frequently appears on his program Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....

. They have one son, Frederick Wyatt (nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

d Wyatt, born July 3, 1998) from their marriage. (Don Imus has four daughters from a previous marriage). She is a vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...

, as is her husband.

In 1999, Don and Deirdre Imus founded the Imus Ranch
Imus Ranch
The Imus Ranch is a working cattle ranch of nearly 4,000 acres located in Ribera, New Mexico, southeastof Santa Fe. It was founded in 1999 by long-time radio personality Don Imus and his wife Deirdre as a charitable organization that seeks to ensure the continuity of the lives of children who are...

, a working cattle ranch near Ribera, New Mexico
Ribera, New Mexico
Ribera is a small unincorporated community in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Located in the northern part of the state, it is next to Villanueva State Park at the foot of Rowe Mesa and along the Pecos River, 50 mi...

, 50 miles southeast of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

. The Imus Ranch is a charitable organization for children with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

, as well as siblings of SIDS
Sudden infant death syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome is marked by the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected by medical history, and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation. An infant is at the highest risk for SIDS during sleep, which is why it is sometimes...

 victims. They maintain three residences, one in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, another in Westport
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....

, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, and one in Ribera, New Mexico.

Deirdre Imus graduated from Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

.

Books

  • Imus, Deirdre, The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys. Rodale Press, 2004. (ISBN 0-87596-919-4).
  • Imus, Deirdre, Greening Your Cleaning. New York: Simon & Schuster, April, 2007. (ISBN 1-4165-4055-5)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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