Len Perry, PhD, MPH, CPH, REHS

Len has been a board member of the Mahoning County Public Health Department for 41 years and has been involved in the environmental health and safety profession for over 50 years. His undergraduate degree from Youngstown State University (YSU) was in biology with a concentration in microbiology and cell biology. He received a Masters of Public Health degree with a concentration in environmental health from A.T. Still University School of Health Management and a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences from YSU. He is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist, a Registered Professional Industrial Hygienist, a Certified Safety Professional and is also Certified in Public Health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners. He is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Ohio Public Health Leadership Institute. 

Dr. Perry was the director of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety at YSU having retired in 2004 after 33 years of service. Upon retirement he was conferred the title Administrator Emeritus by the University Board of Trustees. Currently Dr. Perry serves as an adjunct undergraduate and graduate faculty member at YSU in the Department of Health Professions and the Department of Graduate Studies in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and is also an adjunct faculty member at Kent State University in the College of Public Health. In addition, he serves as an adjunct faculty at the Northeast Ohio Medical University in the Masters of Public Health program. He is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the National Safety Council Ohio Chapter and a member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee for Mahoning County where he serves as a consultant to the county’s Hazardous Materials team. He is a member of the National Environmental Health Association and serves on the certification board of the World Safety Organization. Besides authoring in the journal Cytobios and co-authoring a laboratory manual, Microbes in Focus, he is contributing author in other microbiology texts. 

Dr. Perry has presented over 150 workshops and seminars to many professional groups on topics related to environmental health, occupational health and safety, and emergency preparedness. In addition, Dr. Perry has received the Medallion Award from the Safety Council of Northern Ohio---the highest award given by this organization. He has also been awarded a Certificate of Academic Excellence in the graduate program in public health from A.T, Still University’s School of Health Management. He is the recipient of both the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award and Alumni Recognition Award for his contributions to the Bitonte College of Health and Human Service of Youngstown State University. He is the recipient of the Donald E. Rhodes Award presented by the World Safety Organization. Len is a retired high school football official with the Ohio High School Athletic Association retiring after 28 years of officiating.

Len and his wife Mary, have been married for 54 years and have two daughters and three grandchildren. In his spare time Len enjoys woodworking, and collecting and identifying mushrooms. He loves to spend time in his backyard which is a certified wildlife habitat with the National Wildlife Federation and of course hanging out with his family on vacations and other family functions.