Staff and Board of Directors

Clare Romanik - Executive Director Executive Director Clare Romanik received her MPA from Princeton University and has two decades of experience in leading systems change to complex challenges. As the architect of the Save Our Seas Initiative to implement the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, she oversaw a $138 million program portfolio including 100 grants to local organizations for innovative solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. One of her most rewarding achievements has been developing and managing “Clean Cities, Blue Ocean,” which increased waste collection and advanced circular systems in 31 cities across 10 countries, mobilized $21 million in investments, and supported 81 innovations, 250 partnerships, and 125 policies at the national and subnational level. Clare also developed a blended finance partnership with catalytic investor Circulate Capital, leveraging a $106 million fund of private sector investments. She had the privilege to serve as a representative to the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) and the global plastics treaty negotiations.
Ginny L. Eckert, Ph.D. - Chair of the Board | Alaska Chair of the Board | Alaska Areas of Expertise: Ocean and coastal resource conservation science or policy. Dr. Ginny L. Eckert is the Director of Alaska Sea Grant and serves as a leader in the marine science community within Alaska, the west coast, and the US. She has over two decades of experience as a professor of Fisheries at the University of Alaska. Dr. Eckert is broadly trained in coastal ecology, with a MS from the University of Florida and a PhD from the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on issues of importance to coastal communities in Alaska, including conservation and management of top predators and sustainability of subsistence, sport and commercial fisheries.
Nicholas Mallos - Vice Chair of the Board | Oregon Board Member | Oregon Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris. Post-consumer materials management or circular economy. Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. Ocean and coastal resource conservation science or policy. Nick Mallos has diverse and extensive global experience working on marine debris at the nexus of scientific research, corporate sustainability, and public policy. His marine debris work has taken him to more than 25 countries and into the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” and in front of the U.S. Senate, United Nations, and APEC. Nick conducted undergraduate work at Dickinson College and earned his graduate degree at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. He is a frequent media commentator on marine debris, and lives in Portland, Oregon where you’ll find him surfing, snowboarding, or hiking when not talking plastics.
Sherry Lippiatt, Ph.D. - Treasurer of the Board | California Board Member | California Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris. Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. Ocean and coastal resource conservation science or policy. Dr. Sherry Lippiatt is an ocean scientist who works at the intersections of research, innovation, and sustainability. With 15 years of experience spanning diverse ocean issues—including marine debris, aquaculture, and marine carbon dioxide removal—she brings a multidisciplinary approach to ocean health and climate solutions. Sherry currently serves as the Partnerships Lead at [C]Worthy, a research nonprofit dedicated to accelerating ocean-based climate solutions through innovative software and rigorous scientific research. Previously, she spent 11 years with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, where she served as California Regional Coordinator and led the program’s flagship citizen science project. Sherry earned her Ph.D. in Ocean Science from the University of California Santa Cruz and B.S. in Environmental Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She lives in Livermore, California with her husband and infant twins.
Miki Tomita, Ph.D. - Secretary of the Board | Hawai’i Board Member | Hawai’i Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris. Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. Ocean and coastal resource conservation science or policy. Miki has spent the last 20 years in formal and informal education as a teacher, administrator, curriculum developer, and researcher. She works at the intersections of education, innovation, and indigenous knowledge systems, with a sharp focus on placing youth at the center of transforming society’s challenges into opportunities for learning and invention in service of thriving communities. Born and raised on Maui, Miki earned a B.S.E. in Biosystems Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi, and a Ph.D. in education at Stanford University. Student to many renowned traditional and contemporary scholars, her greatest teacher is her daughter, Mayumi.
Scott Cassel, MCP - Board Member | Massachusetts Board Member | Massachusetts Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris. Post-consumer materials management or circular economy. Scott Cassel, CEO and founder of the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), has 35+ years of experience tackling waste management issues in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Prior to PSI, he served as director of waste policy and planning for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. With PSI, Scott develops policies to advance the circular economy for more than 25 consumer product categories, including plastics and packaging. He holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and dispute resolution from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in geology and environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Katie Conlon, Ph.D. - Board Member | Oregon Board Member | Oregon Areas of Expertise: Post-consumer materials management or circular economy. Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. Katie Conlon, Ph.D., researches waste streams from the perspective of reconnecting an awareness of waste with social and ecological systems, re-envisioning waste narratives, and closing the loop on waste externalities. Conlon has worked across Asia on waste and sustainability issues, is interested in bridging the social-ecological divide, and finding ways to reconnect with nature. Conlon first became interested in ‘waste as a global issue’ as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa. She is a National Geographic Explorer; a Fulbright Research Fellow; a National Science Foundation Fellow; with a Ph.D. from Portland State University; Masters in International Peace Studies from Notre Dame; and B.A. from the University of San Diego in International Communications and Peace & Justice Studies.
Julianne Curry - Board Member | Alaska Board Member | Alaska Areas of Expertise: Ocean and coastal resource conservation science or policy. Julianne Curry is a born and raised fourth generation Alaskan and fourth generation commercial fisherman who started in the seafood industry at age five on her family fishing boat. With over 15 years of policy and regulatory experience in Alaska’s commercial fisheries, Julianne is committed to Alaska’s seafood industry and protecting access for commercial harvesters and processors by advocating for sustainable fisheries management and healthy coastal communities. Prior to her current role as the Public Affairs Manager for Icicle Seafoods, Julianne was the Executive Director and lobbyist for United Fishermen of Alaska, the statewide commercial fishing trade association representing 36 member organizations and over 400 individual members.
Richard Formato - Board Member | Virginia Board Member | Virginia Areas of Expertise: Governance, strategy, development, and negotiation. Richard is an entrepreneur from rural Southwest Virginia. He is a private investor who commercialized the drugs Vyvanse in 2007 and Viibyrd in 2011 and was involved in the IPO of Intrexon in 2013, now listed as Precigen on Nasdaq. He founded Sales Edge, a company providing third party services to America’s leading growth retailers, and Klick, a gig economy company providing at-home product installation for Costco and Amazon. Richard sold Klick in 2021 to ANGI. Richard is an avid conservationist. He was appointed to the Virginia Board of Recreation and Conservation by Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and served as a trustee of the Shenandoah National Park Trust. He is the principal of the Formato Land Trust, which owns and manages sensitive watersheds and habitats in five counties in Virginia. Richard is also a passionate fly fisherman. A former member of Fly Fishing Team USA, Richard now guides fresh- and saltwater fishing expeditions. He is a Member of the Young Presidents Organization and a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and Harvard Business School.
Jenna Jambeck, Ph.D. - Board Member | Georgia Board Member | Georgia Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris. Post-consumer materials management or circular economy. Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. International trade or foreign policy. Dr. Jenna Jambeck is a Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Environmental Engineering at the University of Georgia, Founder of the Circularity Informatics Lab in the New Materials Institute and was a National Geographic Fellow from 2018-2021. She has been conducting research on solid waste issues for over 25 years and marine debris for 21 years. Her work has been recognized by the global community and translated into policy discussions by the High Level Panel for the Ocean, testimony to Congress, in G7 and G20 Declarations, and the United Nations Environment program. She has conducted public environmental diplomacy as an International Informational Speaker for the US Department of State since 2017. She lives in Athens, GA with her family where they love spending time outdoors and traveling with their camper.
Neil Tangri, Ph.D. - Board Member | California Board Member | California Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris. Post-consumer materials management or circular economy. Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. International trade or foreign policy. Neil Tangri is the Science and Policy Director at GAIA, a global network of more than 800 organizations in 90 countries working toward zero waste and environmental justice. A climate scientist and oceanographer by training, Neil has worked on a variety of issues including municipal water supply, lead poisoning, marine plastic pollution, climate finance, carbon markets, informal sector inclusion, PVC and mercury bans, waste incineration, chemical recycling, and zero waste systems. He has a Ph.D. from Stanford University and holds a captain’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Carrie A. Thompson - Board Member | Virginia Board Member | Virginia Areas of Expertise: Assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of marine debris outside the United States. Ocean and coastal resource conservation science or policy. International trade or foreign policy. Carrie Thompson is an international development expert with significant experience in climate change, biodiversity protection and marine debris prevention. Among other roles, she served as a senior official and climate change coordinator with the U.S. Agency for International Development during her 30-year career in the Foreign Service. She worked also as an external adviser to McKinsey & Co. and for international trade and finance firms. She holds a BA from Northwestern University, a Master of Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a MS in National Security Strategy from the National War College. Carrie lives in Arlington, Virginia where she volunteers in civic leadership roles, including as chair of the County’s solid waste committee and co-chair of its climate, energy and environment commission.
Aubrey Taradash - Alaska Sea Grant Fellow | Alaska Alaska Sea Grant Fellow Aubrey is a 2025-26 Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow working with MDF on developing the Genius Prize and other grantmaking opportunities. She is trained broadly in marine biology, ecology, and ocean sciences, with extensive experience conducting field research and in marine science education. Her work has included collaborations with state and local government agencies as well as a variety of nonprofit environmental organizations in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Aubrey earned her BS and MS at the University of Oregon and now lives in Juneau, Alaska.

The Marine Debris Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable partner of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States’ lead government agency addressing ocean plastics and debris. Contact: info@marinedebrisfoundation.org

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