Staff
Executive Director John Charles Meyer spent his 20s toiling in the Washington DC political media trenches of several major campaigns, including Clinton/Gore '96, Gore/Lieberman '00, Bloomberg '01, and Kerry/Edwards '04. After moving to Los Angeles in his early 30s, he found work as an actor in dozens of films and TV series. In 2015, he produced the feature film Dave Made A Maze, which has been distributed in more than 75 countries and translated into more than a dozen languages. In 2020, he launched Plastic Free Restaurants. He lives in Glendale California with his wife and two kids.
This is a volunteer position.
Email John at contact@plasticfreerestaurants.org
Photo: Bettina Niedermann
Our SEO and Customer Experience Guru is Matt Tutt, an SEO consultant who works with purpose-driven and sustainable businesses to help them get found online. Starting off his career studying Marine Conservation at Plymouth University, he then opted to use his skills in digital marketing and SEO to try and help those worthy organizations and businesses to become more visible online. Having lived in the UK, Ireland, Germany and now Spain, where he is permanently settled with his partner and 2 daughters, he enjoys spending time tending to his fruit orchard and has ambitious aims to be as self-sufficient as possible. He likes to contribute his spare time volunteering with nonprofits and other charities, assisting with their digital marketing efforts.
This is a volunteer position.
Board of Directors
Each member of our Board of Directors commits to raising a minimum of $2,000 per year.
Board Members are listed below in the order that they joined, with longest-serving members first.
Erick Mullen has nearly three decades of public service and consulting experience in Washington, DC. Having worked on Capitol Hill for such Democratic luminaries as Leon Panetta (CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD), John Dingell (MI) and Chuck Schumer (NY), Erick has developed a strong elite-level personal and professional network and will provide us valuable advice and insights on a wide range of challenges and opportunities in public affairs and public policy. Erick currently provides services to clients including crisis management, litigation support, reputation protection and government relations. Erick was selected by House and Senate leaders from both parties to produce the historic Joint Session of Congress at Ground Zero commemorating the first anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. Erick lives with his wife and kids in Washington, D.C where he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Lowell School and is a member of the John Carroll Society.
Erick is currently serving as the Board’s Secretary.
Kate Damon, principal of Kaze Design in Washington DC, is passionate about color, community, politics, sustainable gliTTer, futbol, art and culture (and how they influence social movements), voting rights, and saving the ocean.
Kate is currently serving as the Board’s Co-Chair, along with Eva Holman.
Charles Leisenring is a Los Angeles based filmmaker and disability rights activist who has created fully accessible Media Arts Programs for the NYS Service for the Handicapped's Camp Oakhurst (now Rising Treetops at Oakhurst) and United Cerebral Palsy of NYC (now the ADAPT Community Network). In 2014 he received his MFA in Film Production from the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts and in the time since has produced several independent features and a variety of web content including for the Disney Digital Network. In 2017 Charles and Caisy Lun co-founded Purple Sandbox Studios, a production company focused on progressive causes and positive content. Together their work has included clients such as Operation Walk, the FSH Society, Dreams from Drake and Soka University.
Kenneth Suarez is a writer, consultant and entertainment professional. His diverse career path spans several industries and professions including advertising sales, executive recruiting, professional actor, talent agent, business consultant & writer. During a decade-long stint as co-owner of BrickHouse Talent, he represented talent of all ages on national, regional, and digital commercials. Fueled by a lifelong passion for the arts and advocacy, Kenneth has been asked to lend his voice and insight to numerous Q&A's, workshops and industry events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Lexington and beyond.
Kenny is currently serving as Chair of the Board’s Grants Committee.
Actor Travis Schuldt originated the role of "Ethan Crane" on the NBC soap opera Passions, and appeared in four seasons of the ABC comedy Scrubs as "Keith Dudemeister." He has had recurring roles in Big Little Lies, The Detour, Splitting Up Together, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Heathers, General Hospital, Community, and more. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Natalie Zea, and their daughter.
Travis is currently serving as the Board’s CFO.
Jody Foldesy is a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Los Angeles. He is the global lead for BCG’s Corporate Finance practice area and has assisted BCG clients on topics related to corporate, portfolio and growth strategy for the past 14 years. He has helped many clients understand long-term disruptive scenarios as a result of technological, regulatory and societal changes, and specifically he has analyzed scenarios for single-use plastics and the alternatives that may develop in the coming years. Jody holds B.A. in Journalism from American University and an M.B.A. with High Honors from the University of Chicago (Booth) Graduate School of Business. Previous to BCG, Jody worked as a journalist at The Washington Times. He won several awards and broke a variety of major stories while covering the city's #1 sports beat, the Washington Redskins.
Eva Holman is a passionate environmentalist and climate advocate with a background in plastic reduction policy and campaign development and implementation, She has worked with the city of San Francisco to pass policies banning PFAS, straws, styrofoam, plastic water bottles, and disposable plastic foodware and is working with bay area cities on reusable foodware policies for restaurants and reusable foodware in schools. She is the co-founder of Goods Holding Company, a San Francisco based small business that makes reusable glass jars for bulk food shopping, and she is on the Board of the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters. She is slowly and lazily writing a vegan and low climate impact cookbook.
Eva spends her free time hiking, biking, laughing, and cooking with her husband John, son William, and spunky chihuahua Curry. You can follow her adventures @bakerbeachsf.
Eva is currently serving as the Board’s co-Chair, along with Kate Damon. She is also chairing the Board’s Fundraising Committee.
Vanessa Williams is Founder and Principal Consultant of Pivotal Hotel Advisors, LLC a female, minority-owned hospitality asset management consulting firm. Prior to founding Pivotal Hotel Advisors in 2018, Ms. Williams spent six years working in real estate private equity as an asset manager. Most recently, she served as Director of Hotel Asset Management for Building and Land Technology’s real estate funds group, where she provided asset management oversight for a $1.1B hotel portfolio with 61 hotels. Ms. Williams also held asset management roles with leading private equity, investment and management groups including Highgate Hotels, after beginning her career as a valuation and feasibility consultant for HVS in Singapore.
Ms. Williams earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Babson College.
In her free time, she is an avid distance swimmer and spends a considerable amount of time in her favorite place, the ocean. It is through her swimming endeavors that she has witnessed the impact of the plastic crisis firsthand and has developed a growing passion for sustainable and long-term solutions.
Vanessa also serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Dancewave, a Brooklyn-based dance education nonprofit championing the accessibility of the arts for NYC youth.
Chris Walton started American River Restoration in 2016, cleaning up local rivers due to the massive amount of plastic and Styrofoam choking the wetlands of Virginia. A.R.R. became a public charity in 2018, and has since removed over 800,000 pounds of the poison we call plastic in five states, with hundreds of wonderful and amazing volunteers. In 2020, A.R.R. started writing children’s books about plastic pollution; their third book, A.K.A./Bad Smoke will be out soon. In 2021, A.R.R. invented a device, called the GEN120, to catch surface pollutants in the rivers, and it will hopefully be available for distribution once the federal permitting process has been completed.
In 2022, after years of trying to convince the local restaurants to ditch the Styrofoam, and haring every excuse imaginable for why it wasn’t possible to operate a restaurant without the use of single-use plastic, A.R.R. created kitchen33.org, where environmental responsibility and fresh local food meet. Sadly, we are the only ocean-friendly restaurant in the state of Virginia (the #1 trash importer in the United States).
Please visit arrusa.org/programs for our latest work. Chris is very excited to be joining PFR, and will help grow their mission.
Amy Retzinger spent over two decades as a literary agent, where she was well-known for championing female and diverse directors. As a partner at Verve, she was instrumental in building the company into a full-service talent agency, while eliminating its use of single-use plastics along the way. Retzinger joined Verve from the Gersh Agency where she had been a senior member of the agency’s TV literary department, after starting her career in documentary television production in Boston. Along with her husband and brother-in-law, she recently started ReBuild, a plastics reclamation startup based in Brazil that is working on manufacturing building materials from ocean-bound plastics.
Oliver Tenlen is an Associate at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Los Angeles, working alongside business leaders in a variety of industries to develop their strategies. He became involved with Plastic Free Restaurants through a pro-bono engagement with the goal of scaling the non-profit’s impact. He is passionate about advancing environmental causes, with a particular interest in circularity.
Maria Lampasona has been an attorney for almost 15 years and is a founding shareholder of the small Oakland CA civil litigation defense firm Rankin, Shuey, Mintz, Lampasona & Harper. Her practice includes the defense of general liability, access, and employment-related claims. She represents clients in the medical transport and hospitality industries, as well as various public school districts, community colleges, and the University of California. She also advises and represents owners and tenants of large facilities, stadiums, and ballparks regarding general liability matters, access issues, and compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. After moving to California, she became interested in recycling and composting and was surprised by the vast difference between Northern California and her suburban Massachusetts hometown regarding zero waste priorities and opportunities. She is eager to find opportunities to encourage others to stop using single-use plastics, and hopeful about influencing clients to reconsider their practices. She earned her BA from UC Davis and her JD at the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Carrie Lazar is an actress, director and conservationist. Her passion for the for the environment has always been a driving force in her life and career. She began her professional career as a photographer on animal conservation and environmental documentaries. She transitioned from photography to acting, and began to work more on commercial films and television projects as an actress, As she built her acting career she also developed a keen interest in directing and storytelling. She not only tries to tackle powerful and thought-provoking films that tackle social and environmental issues, but she uses her voice to raise awareness about environmental conservation and sustainability. She is a dedicated environmentalist who is actively involved in various conservation efforts and organizations, using her voice to advocate for a healthier planet.
Associate Board
Our Associate Board members are invited to attend and participate in our Board of Directors meetings, but they do not have a vote and are not held to any fundraising minimums. Each Associate Board member agrees with the statement
“I support PlasticFreeRestaurants.org’s efforts to eliminate single-use petroleum-based plastic from schools and restaurants.”
One aim with the Associate Board is to harness the passion and perspective of younger generations.
Associate Board Members are listed below in the order that they joined PFR, with longest-serving members first.
Murphy Moon* studied design at the prestigious Harrington Institute in Chicago, and went on to train at some of the best design firms in Chicago and Los Angeles. In 2008 she joined forces with Carol Abbott to establish Abbott Moon Design in Los Angeles. Her move to Austin Texas in 2014 generated the launch of Murphy Moon Design, a boutique, full-service interior design studio.
Rachael Berkey* is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in organic community building and finding unique voices to break through the social media horde. With a background in education, politics, non-profit management, and entertainment, she helps clients take their content and conversation to their fans and community, turning casual enthusiasts into brand evangelists. Her clients have included the New York City Mayor's Office, BBC America, and the New York Public Library. She lives in New York.
An attorney, licensed and board certified alcohol and drug counselor, author, advocate, and thought leader, Patrick R. Krill* is recognized globally as a leading authority on addiction, mental health, and well-being in the legal profession. He serves as a trusted advisor to large and midsize law firms throughout North America and Europe, educating them about and helping them navigate addiction, mental health, and well-being issues on a daily basis. He and his company, Krill Strategies, are based in Minnesota.
Harry Bainbridge* worked in politics for more than 20 years. Beginning as an issue & opposition researcher, he continued as a media consultant for national organizations as well as federal, state, and local candidates around the country. Currently, Harry serves as a Board of Trustees Member and Treasurer for the Lowell School in Washington DC. He lives in Washington with his wife and three kids.
A native Angeleno, Melissa Aguayo* has always held the ocean close to her heart. She discovered environmental activism while studying international development at UCLA. She then worked at Heal the Bay, overseeing the Coastal Cleanup Day, Beach Programs and Speaker's Bureau programs as Educational Outreach Manager. Melissa has presented to thousands of people, from preschools to senior centers, corporations to churches, classrooms to assemblies, in both English and Spanish. Her passions are education, youth empowerment, and helping to protect the ocean she loves. She is currently the US Member Engagement Officer at Break Free From Plastic.
Co-founder of Punkvoter.com, Rock Against Bush, Artists for Obama, Artists for Bernie, DailyAction, CreativeMajority, and LadyPartsJustice, Scott Goodstein* has built impactful programs that have changed the world in which we live. In 2009, Goodstein founded Revolution Messaging, which would grow to become America's leading progressive digital agency, awarded Digital Agency of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants and Best Global Presidential Campaign by the European Association of Political Consultants, both in 2016. Prior to launching his own firm, Goodstein was External Online Director for Obama for America, creating the 2008 campaign's groundbreaking social networking, mobile and lifestyle marketing strategies; this was widely seen as the biggest, most effective grassroots organizing campaign of modern history, and a watershed moment for the use of digital technology in politics. His ability to take on uniquely challenging projects has seen him assist national efforts on international campaigns, including several in Brazil, Canada, France, Iraq, Mexico, and Uruguay. ScottGoodstein.com
Melanie Renfroe* is a former Casting Director living in Los Angeles. She is active in her community as a member of the Burbank Volunteer Program, which has programs and provides assistance across the city; she also serves as the Vice Chair of the Burbank Board of Library Trustees. She is a mom to two rambunctious boys, a wife to an amazing partner, and is pursuing a professional transition into Directing full time.
Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Kim Estes* was born and raised in Los Angeles and attended college at CSU, Cal Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA and the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. He joined the US Merchant Marines and the US Navy upon graduation. After sailing for 14 years, he became a Chief Engineer on oceangoing vessels. Estes also worked as the corporate head of the Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability group for a major fortune 500 company. He has served as a consultant and special investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board and has worked on Environmental & Safety disasters across the globe. He lives in Los Angeles.
Maria Campbell* began life as a biomedical scientist, but the sea called and she pursued a Master of Oceanography at the National Oceanography Center, Southampton. She then joined the Marine Biological Association of the UK and delved into the world of ecotoxicology. She was offered a plankton analyst position with the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) and worked in this field for nine years. She is now an Adjunct Professor at Northern Arizona University, Vice President of the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, and a board member, researcher, and K-12 curricula consultant for the Azulita Project.
Sara Leikin* has been active in the education world for over twenty years. She began as a high school French teacher (and golf coach and drama director) for ten years in Ohio and Georgia. Wanting to make a larger impact on the lives of students and their families, Sara moved to New Orleans in 2007 where she became certified in school leadership and ultimately became a charter writer and Founding Principal of two new schools that continue to thrive, the International High School of New Orleans and the Homer Plessy Community School. In 2014, she was asked to join a USAID education project in Egypt and spent 4 years as the Director of professional development activities for The Franklin Institute. In her role, she was responsible for the training and support of over 300 Egyptian teachers and school leaders as they worked to create a parallel public school system focused on student-centered and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning. When that project ended, she joined the National Math and Science Initiative and currently serves as their Director of Business Development and Partnerships. Sara is particularly interested in the intersection of formal and informal institutions of education and how local education systems can access services through an asset-based approach. She received her BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College, her M.Ed in Secondary Education from John Carroll University and is currently completing a dissertation for her Ed.D at the University of South Florida. She makes time for family, cooking, travel (in non-pandemic times), and practicing landscape and food photography at her home in New Mexico.
Lia Leilani Webb is a life-long environmentalist, starting as an avid recycler at age 4. Her parents inspired her to engage and integrate the spheres of science literacy and outreach through fun and artistic outlets. She spearheaded and chaired the “Ocean Friendly Garden Program” on north coast of CA for the Surfrider Foundation, adopting the philosophy “From the Mountains to the Sea” to motivate inland growers to eliminate use of toxins and connecting the dots, "for what we do inland flows to the sea", with effects to our fabulous oyster beds and critical resources. She connected with the Rise Against Plastics movement and became obsessed with eliminating single use plastics and disposables. Lia ran away to the mountains and resides near Mammoth Lakes CA, where she is the Green Business Coordinator for High Sierra Energy Foundation as part of the California Green Business Network. She works with businesses to reduce their impact on climate and greenhouse gases in the categories of waste, water, energy, transportation, plus+. She is initiating a Reusable To-Go pilot project with area restaurants. She is passionate about dance/aerial arts/multi-media with a meaning, plans and hosts environmental and storytelling events, and celebrates mountain culture and the environment in any way possible.
Lia holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Soil Science from Humboldt State University, and has 19 years of experience as an environmental consultant and non-profit project management.
Janis Parthun* is an experienced finance and risk management executive based in San Francisco. She is a thought leader on finance and risk related emerging issues, and a frequent speaker and presenter at industry specific events or activities. Passionate about environmental, social, and governance issues, and she is currently the sustainability reporting consulting leader at RGP, a mid-sized global consulting company, focusing on helping clients address strategic or regulatory reporting demands around ESG.
Janis is currently serving as Chair of the Board’s Governance Committee.
Kareena Desai has a group called Perform for Change which you can read more about at performforchange.org. She became involved with stopping plastic pollution in November of 2021 after watching "The Story of Plastic" documentary. She is currently working to help her school to be plastic-free. She enjoys dancing, singing, reading, and knitting.
Nyala Honey lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado and has long been passionate about protecting our planet. She loves to sing and act, as well as play sports including softball and volleyball. She is also a writer, and she has self published her first novel, "Coven of the Silver Moon," on Amazon.
Erika Bond* currently works at City of Hope National Medical Center, where she advises executive level clients to enable large scale, system-wide transformation initiatives. She leads project teams focused on communications, change and journey management, and organizational culture strategy. Prior to her work at City of Hope, Erika served as a consultant, supporting projects for non-profits, state departments, and healthcare systems. In addition to her work experience, Erika is also an avid tennis player, and coaches at the Rose Bowl. She also holds a Master's degree in Public Health and Health Administration from the University of Michigan.
Vanessa Pope, Harvard '07 and USC '15, is a passionate educator with experience as both a teacher and administrator. She helped Perch Cafe in Oakland become the first plastic-free cafe in the United States, before creating her own zero-waste cafe and grocery store (MudLab), along with a plogging group called "Fit4Good" a year later. While MudLab is no longer in business, the dream lives on as Vanessa seeks to help schools and businesses convert to more sustainable methods. She is currently working in the mainline Philadelphia area where she recently helped The Agnes Irwin School adopt composting on a school wide level and return to reusables following the pandemic. She loves to run, hike, paint, and support local businesses. She is the author of a book about sustainability called "15 Minute First Dates", with the tagline "Fall in the love. . . with the planet".
Jace Furman is a high-schooler living in California with a huge passion for the environment. In his down-time, he enjoys performing in theatre productions and hanging out with his friends, and at school his favorite subjects include Physics and English. Although he recognizes the many environmental troubles of the planet, he joined Plastic Free Resaurants because he is optimistic for the future and believes it is never too late to start forging a greener path forward.
Sean Winn spent most of his career in Asia in the finance industry with Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank. He’s held a variety of roles, the longest of which was Chief Operating Officer of a distressed investments fund. Since leaving banking, he’s gone back to school and published in numerous literary journals but was gradually pulled towards giving back to society. Most of his time is now spent on environmental projects. He is Co-Founder of the Plastic Reduction Project, an Austin-area 501(c)3 nonprofit seeking to reduce plastic waste in its many forms.
*Former member of the Board of Directors