Executive Director
Washington, D.C.
Chair of the Board
Virginia
Vice Chair of the Board
Oregon
Secretary of the Board
Alaska
Treasurer of the Board
Georgia
Innovation and Grants Senior Expert
Missouri
Board Member
Washington D.C.
Board Member
Massachusetts
Board Member
Oregon
Board Member
Alaska
Board Member
Virginia
Board Member
Hawai’i
Clare Romanik
Executive Director
Washington, D.C.
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.
Carrie A. Thompson
Chair of the Board
Virginia
Carrie Thompson has extensive government and international relations experience coupled with time working in the private sector. She served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer for three decades in Latin America, Africa, Asia and in Washington DC, providing executive leadership on a range of environmental, economic development and human rights issues. She holds Masters degrees in international business, trade and economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and in national security strategy from the U.S. National War College. During the latter part of her government career, she was charged with senior oversight of U.S. foreign assistance efforts worldwide on marine debris prevention, sustainable fisheries and climate change and represented U.S. government priorities at ocean conservation forums. Prior to her public service, Carrie worked in international trade and finance and, later, as an external adviser to McKinsey & Co on climate change. Carrie lives in Arlington, Virginia where she has been active in civic leadership roles, including as chair of the County’s Solid Waste Management Committee and co-chair of its Climate, Energy and Environment Commission.
Nicholas Mallos
Vice Chair of the Board
Oregon
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.
Ginny L. Eckert, Ph.D.
Secretary of the Board
Alaska
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.
Jenna Jambeck, Ph.D.
Treasurer of the Board
Georgia
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.
Sherry Lippiatt, Ph.D.
Innovation and Grants Senior Expert
Missouri
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 St. Louis, Missouri with her husband and infant twins.
Neil Jacobs, Ph.D.
Board Member
Washington D.C.
Dr. Neil Jacobs is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. In this role, he provides strategic direction and oversight for more than $6 billion in annual spending, including investments in space innovation, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, deep-sea exploration, and numerical weather prediction, while developing industry partnerships to study the oceans, address the seafood trade imbalance, and support U.S. commercial and recreational fishing. Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Chief Science Advisor for the Unified Forecast System within the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Dr. Jacobs also previously served as both Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction. He has held multiple positions in both the private and academic sectors. Dr. Jacobs is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the recipient of the Society’s 2023 Kenneth C. Spengler Award for leadership in fostering community collaboration across the weather, water, and climate enterprise. He holds B.S. degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of South Carolina and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in air-sea interaction and numerical weather prediction from North Carolina State University.
Scott Cassel, MCP
Board Member
Massachusetts
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
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
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
Richard Formato 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.
Miki Tomita, Ph.D.
Board Member
Hawai’i
Miki Tomita, Ph.D., 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.
Emma Maxtutis
Alaska Sea Grant Fellow
Alaska
Emma Maxtutis is a 2026-2027 Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow working with the Marine Debris Foundation and the Alaska Center for Marine Debris. She has completed research on community wildfire preparation, recycling and waste management, conservation management, and hazard management. She has training in mapping and GIS, remote sensing, grant writing, and policy analysis and has worked with environmental, transportation, and environmental education organizations. Emma received her BA in psychology and public health from Macalester College and her MS in environmental policy and planning from Tufts University and is now based in Juneau, Alaska.