Protecting Public Employees

Executive Director

Tim is PEER’s Executive Director, with more than 30 years of experience working on environmental issues with governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. Prior to joining PEER, he was a senior attorney at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was head of the Law and Policy Program at the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation in Montreal, Canada. He has worked as a consultant for companies on environmental compliance issues, and with nonprofit organizations focusing on clean energy issues. Most recently, he was executive director of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, a health advocacy group working to address climate change, toxics pollution, and nuclear disarmament issues. Tim’s interest is in the intersection of science, policy, and civil service. He believes in protecting employees who raise concerns about their workplace and in exposing undue influence on government for private gain. He holds a JD and BA from Emory University and an MA from New York University.

When Government Silences Its Own Workers, We All Lose

by Tim Whitehouse | February 27, 2026
If agencies are allowed to punish speech they don’t like — especially when it touches on identity, science, or environmental protection — silence becomes the norm. And when silence becomes normal, everyone loses ...

Webinar | Public Employees, Free Speech, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

by PEER | January 30, 2026
Join public employees and legal experts for a timely examination of the increasingly complex legal, political, and social landscape impacting federal and state employees’ free speech rights ...

Trump admin clips EPA oversight amid deregulatory blitz

by Cornershop Creative | January 28, 2026
In a complaint filed last April, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility accused EPA of violating federal law by idling some workers indefinitely because of their purported connection to environmental justice work. The group asked the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an ...

Federal Employee First Amendment Lawsuit Advances

by PEER | January 12, 2026
Right of Federal Workers to Engage in Off-Duty Activism at Stake ...