{"id":23950,"date":"2026-05-11T11:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?post_type=press-release&p=23950"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:02:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:02:37","slug":"jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Orange County honored for its efforts to protect residents from extreme heat<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Orange County, FL<\/strong> \u2013 Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings has been recognized as a leader of one of the \u201cTop 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health\u201d by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.<\/p>\n

Orange County was honored in the Extreme Heat category for its targeted, data-driven efforts to protect residents and strengthen long-term environmental resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis recognition reflects our commitment to protecting residents and investing in sustainable, resilient communities,\u201d said Mayor Demings. \u201cWe will continue pursuing innovative solutions that improve environmental health and quality of life across Orange County.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Mayor Demings\u2019 leadership, Orange County is advancing an urban tree planting and resilience strategy focused on low- and moderate-income communities impacted by Hurricane Ian and vulnerable to future severe weather. The initiative aims to expand tree canopy to reduce extreme heat, improve public health outcomes, support property value recovery, and strengthen climate adaptation.<\/p>\n

This work is supported by the County\u2019s multi-award-winning update to its Tree Preservation Ordinance, which prioritizes tree conservation and ensures that when tree removal occurs, funds are reinvested back into the community to support urban forestry and resilience efforts.<\/p>\n

In addition, Orange County has taken steps to improve air quality through its \u201cWhere There\u2019s Smoke There\u2019s Air Pollution\u201d public education campaign. The initiative reinforces the County\u2019s prohibitions on open burning and urges residents to minimize smoke from recreational fires like barbecues and fire pits.<\/p>\n

The national initiative highlights cities making meaningful progress in addressing environmental health challenges, including air quality, extreme heat, and infrastructure improvements. Selected cities will be featured in an ongoing campaign showcasing local leadership and solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orange County honored for its efforts to protect residents from extreme heat\u00a0 Orange County, FL \u2013 Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings has been recognized as a leader of one of the \u201cTop 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health\u201d by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-23950","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMayor Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Top 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health recognized Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings as a leader by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mayor Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Top 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health recognized Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings as a leader by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OCFL Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T15:02:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"648\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mayor Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T15:02:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-11T15:02:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"Top 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health recognized Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings as a leader by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png\",\"width\":648,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Press Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/media-advisories\\\/press-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/\",\"name\":\"OCFL Newsroom\",\"description\":\"Orange County, Florida | Government Newsroom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Orange County Government Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png\",\"width\":504,\"height\":504,\"caption\":\"Orange County Government Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/OrangeCountyFlorida\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/OrangeCoFL\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/ocfl\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/orange-county-government\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCff6MZzeWNpXg6TCU3jdxbA\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mayor Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership","description":"Top 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health recognized Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings as a leader by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mayor Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership","og_description":"Top 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health recognized Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings as a leader by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.","og_url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/","og_site_name":"OCFL Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/","article_modified_time":"2026-05-11T15:02:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":648,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@OrangeCoFL","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/","name":"Mayor Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png","datePublished":"2026-05-11T15:02:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-11T15:02:37+00:00","description":"Top 12 AAMA Cities to Watch on Environmental Health recognized Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings as a leader by the Community Data Health Initiative in partnership with the African American Mayors Association.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png","width":648,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/05\/jerry-l-demings-recognized-for-environmental-health-leadership\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Press Releases","item":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings Recognized for Environmental Health Leadership"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/","name":"OCFL Newsroom","description":"Orange County, Florida | Government Newsroom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization","name":"Orange County Government Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png","width":504,"height":504,"caption":"Orange County Government Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/","https:\/\/x.com\/OrangeCoFL","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ocfl\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/orange-county-government","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCff6MZzeWNpXg6TCU3jdxbA"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/23950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}