About
Global Ambassadors are committed to carrying out Plastic Ocean Project's (POP) mission in their local area.
Ambassadors may choose to:
Ambassadors may choose to:
- Start POP chapters with their schools and universities
- Host community clean ups
- Recruit new Ocean Friendly Establishments (OFE)
- Complete a research project
- Fundraise for POP
Meet our Newest Ambassadors
Zijun Huang
Cerritos, CA about
Zijun Huang is a 17-year old environmental advocate with career goals driven by a passion for both law and animal conservation, influenced deeply by her current project of writing a children's book on plastic pollution. Zijun says "Meeting with Ms. Bonnie Monteleone was an experience that provided me with profound insights into conservation efforts and the urgent need for environmental stewardship. This encounter has strengthened my resolve to pursue a career that combines advocacy for environmental sustainability with legal expertise." Through her work on the children's book with Tanisha Batta, she aims to educate children about the detrimental effects of plastic pollution on our planet's ecosystems and inspire them to take action in preserving our natural world. This project has fueled her commitment to promoting conservation awareness and implementing effective policies to mitigate environmental degradation. Simultaneously, Zijun's interest in law stems from a desire to enact meaningful change through policy and legislation. She envisions leveraging her legal education and advocacy skills to champion environmental causes, advocating for stronger regulations against plastic pollution and promoting sustainable practices across industries. To sum up, Zijun aspires to contribute to the intersection of law and animal conservation, working towards a future where legal frameworks prioritize environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. She is determined to make a positive impact through her career by advocating for the rights of both humans and wildlife, ensuring a harmonious coexistence with our natural environment for generations to come. |
Tanisha Batta
Cerritos, CA about
Tanisha Batta is a 16-year old environmental advocate from Cerritos, CA. She has campaigned with prospective political candidates who support pro-environmental policies. Additionally, she is proficient in three languages including English, Spanish, and Hindi. Tanisha's volunteer experience at the Cerritos Library, with over 100 hours in the children's section, has provided her access to their resources to spread POP's message in other libraries in the SoCal area. Using these resources, she aims to effectively and efficiently reach a larger audience with POP's materials, and with her own children's book in the future. |
Tonia Lovejoy
St. John, US Virgin Islands ABOUT
Tonia Lovejoy shares her love for the ocean and all that it has taught her through the Beautiful Nation Project, an online social network for educators designed to connect students with Earth and each other. She currently lives with her family on a sailboat in St. John, U.S.V.I and works as the development director for Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. She helped to establish the two community action groups, Get Trashed St. John and Plastic Free Island St. John, which celebrate the mission of POP by applying its best practices at the grass-roots level. Tonia enjoys any sort of celebration that involves costumes. |
Getro Deliscas
Les Cayes, Haiti ABOUT
Getro was born in Les Cayes on April 8th, 1986. He studied Civil Engineering at American University of the Caribbean in Les Cayes and has been working with an US NGO named BuildOn, which is headquartered in the USA. Getro has also taught in more than six local high schools. He has motivated lot of organizations, schools and churches within Haiti and is interested in working/getting involved in anything to help better our environment, our society through education or any other educational stuff. 'The Plastic Ocean Project project is extremely convenient for Haiti, that's why I put myself totally available for it.' Donate here: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTIzMTUz |
Jude Armstrong
Wilmington, NC ABOUT
Jude Armstrong is the youngest ambassador of the Plastic Ocean Project. Jude lives with his mom, dad, brother Rocco, and dog Ringo. He seven years old and goes to school at The International School at Gregory. Jude has volunteered at his church to help people. At his first Plastic Ocean Project event, Jude was walking down the beach when he saw an area that was full of trash. There was so much trash that he collected over 200 pieces. Jude hopes in the future there will be no trash in the ocean. Jude hope to engage other young ocean activists in the mission of the Plastic Ocean Project. Check out the ArmstrongTribe Youtube channel for inspiration and tips on how you can be a part of the environmental movement. |
Tammy Bleier
Rochester, NY ABOUT
Tammy graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2014 with a B.S. in Marine Biology, and has worked with Plastic Ocean Project on a myriad of ventures. But, after learning that three million pounds of plastic enter Lake Ontario every year, Tammy decided to focus her efforts on preventing and reducing plastic pollution in her hometown, Rochester, NY. She is currently working with the community to raise awareness on this issue through outreach and beach sweeps. She hopes to start a local division of POP, Plastic Lakes Project, which will address freshwater systems (they all drain to the ocean after all!). This fall, Tammy will begin her masters in Environmental Science & Ecology at SUNY Brockport, researching the impacts that plastic pollution is having on Lake Ontario. |
Justin Farrow
Tampa, FL ABOUT
Justin Farrow is a graduate student at Patel College of Global Sustainability at University of South Florida, finishing a Masters Degree in Sustainable Tourism/Entrepreneurship and a phD in Applied Anthropology. He is the Lighthouse Keeper and Curator for Beautiful Nation Project and Communications Director/Webmaster for BLUE Ocean Film Festival. He is also the creator of Land Surveyors United Community, Survey Earth in a Day, on the Board of Directors for BLUE Community and assists many non-for-profit organizations with web development. Justin builds communities online which inspire real world change, enjoys making maps, street art photography, coding experiments and other geeky stuff like that. Connect with Justin on Linkedin, through his resume or his project site. |
Sara Melick
Scranton, PA ABOUT
Growing up in Pennsylvania, Sara has always been passionate about environmental conservation. As a graduate student at UNC-Wilmington, Sara worked with Bonnie to analyze and enter data for over 500 samples from a beach litter project. Focusing specifically on the number of cigarette butts found before and after implementation of the Wrightsville Beach Smoking Ban showed the ban reduced totals found on the beach. Sara enjoyed this opportunity to continue to shed light on the issue of marine debris. Working in California at the San Francisco Bay Water Board only strengthened Sara’s passion for living an intentional lifestyle, and desire to educate others on the effects of plastic pollution. Sara is excited to be working closer to home as a Lecturer at Marywood University. She is looking forward to sharing POP's mission and goals with the campus community this upcoming school year! |
Sam Burdick
Outer Banks, NC ABOUT
Samantha grew up on the northern Outer Banks and has always been drawn to the beauty of the coast. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Mars Hill University, is a masters student at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, and works as a researcher for the North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve. Samantha is studying Coastal Environmental Management and has studied the topic of marine debris throughout her time at Duke. She actively participates in local beach cleanups and has been a strong advocate for the plastic bag ban on the Outer Banks. She plans to engage with her community to organize cleanups, implement Boomerang Bags and educational outreach programs, and support the Ocean Friendly Establishments, Hope Spot: Hatteras, and Fishing4Plastics POP initiatives. |
Sierra Koehler
Long Island, NY ABOUT
Sierra Koehler grew up on the south shore of Long Island, New York. She spent her childhood in the ocean as a junior lifeguard and since then has been one of 500+ Jones Beach ocean lifeguards. She attends UNCW studying Environmental Science, Biology and Spanish. Koehler and the lifeguards witness plastic pollution at their workplace everyday and make it a daily ritual to pick up what they can. When Koehler joined UNCW POP she was inspired to bring similar initiatives and events to her home. At UNCW she has camped overnight for cleanups and educated elementary students on plastic pollution. She tries to make a difference however and wherever she can while also running track and field for UNCW. |
Kara Nunnally
Chapel Hill, NC ABOUT
Kara is a native of Virginia but spent the majority of her summers growing up on the coast of North Carolina. While earning her Bachelor of Arts in History at James Madison University, Kara served as both a Coastal Education intern and Nautical Archaeology intern with the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort. During that time, she developed lasting relationships and made impactful discoveries about coastal management. It is because of these experiences combined with her love of the sea that she strives to be a positive force for change with the Plastic Ocean Project. Kara is currently earning her Master of Business Administration from Elon University while working in fundraising and development at the institution. She resides in Chapel Hill and visits the Crystal Coast as often as possible. |
Annelie Miller
Mill Valley, CA ABOUT
Annelie Miller is from Mill Valley CA. and is currently attending Cornell University. She has lived in Mill Valley her whole life and growing up so close to the ocean and with many pets has really inspired her love for nature and for animals! She first became involved with POP when she was 12 years old (in 2012) by donating money that she raised from selling her own paintings! Since then she has painted note cards and t-shirts to sell as well. She is part of the Ocean Conservation club at her school and volunteers at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA caring for injured marine mammals. She is incredibly inspired by Bonnie and the whole team at POP to do her part to help preserve our beautiful Ocean and try to raise awareness whenever she can! |
Ellie Jones
Eugene, OR ABOUT
Ellie has been in love with the ocean her whole life, working towards a career in marine biology since she was in seventh grade. She is currently an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, studying at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. She plans to use her degree in marine biology to work in research, attend graduate school, and obtain a doctoral degree. She is mostly interested in researching microplastics and marine debris, invertebrates (especially sponges, cnidarians, and tunicates), and the effects of ocean acidification. She hopes to use her degree to educate others about marine science as either a professor or working as a public educator with a non-profit organization. In the meantime, Ellie started a social media community called Everblue (@oceaneverblue on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) that she and her team uses to promote scientific literacy and ocean-minded living. |
Kevin King
Jacksonville, NC ABOUT
Kevin was born and raised in South Florida, and has had a life-long love-affair with the ocean. First certified in 1990, he has amassed over 2,000+ dives and risen as a PADI Master Instructor. Retired from the Navy in 2008 after serving 20 years, Kevin now teaches a wide range of scuba courses, near full-time, where he provides focused, valuable training in fun and exciting ways. Although a new-comer to the Morehead City area, he has quickly grown to love the waters, wrecks, and sharks found here, where you will see him in his “off” time shooting underwater photos. As a staunch supporter of Project AWARE and the Plastic Ocean Project, Kevin offers training and mentorship centered on environmental activism and conservation. He hopes to attend the 2019 PADI Course Director Training Course, and offer an entirely new level of professional training and opportunities shortly thereafter. Kevin, a Project Management Professional (PMP), holds two Master of Science Degrees in Engineering and Project Management, and lives with his wife Jody in Jacksonville, North Carolina. |
Alexandra Spoto
Miami, Florida ABOUT
For Alexandra, it all started when we moved from NYC to Miami. While enjoying the beautiful south Florida beaches, she could not help but notice the amount of bottle caps that washed up on shore. She wondered why there were so many caps on the beach instead of shells and it sparked research into recycling during her "pursue your passion" class. What she quickly realized was that up to 80% of landfill material could have been recycled. Armed with this information and her desire to educate and solve this problem for change, she asked if she could start LIDSOFF.ORG. The mission of Lidsoff.org is to raise awareness on recycling as well as educate people on the need for common recycling standards. As it stands, each municipality in the United States has its own rules regarding recycling. Alexandra imagines a world where regardless of where you are, knowing what and how to recycle helps fuel increased recycling and a reduction of recyclables in the landfill. Her passion for the ocean and love of water, shells and nature keeps this initiative in focus. Her determination continues to grow and she is more inspired each day to solve for solutions and help increase education and awareness on recycling. Join her movement! lidsoff.org |
Jonathan Fisher
Pittsburgh, PA ABOUT
Jonathan is a musician and writer from Pittsburgh, PA. Considering himself to still be quite the environmental novice, Jonathan attributes his passion for growth and outreach to many of the documentaries he has watched since his first interaction with POP. “Our band was looking for a way to give back, and we found a cause that was near to James’ [Drakes] heart and moved forward with it. After meeting Bonnie and seeing the research and work being done at UNCW, I knew there was really no looking back.” Since then, Jonathan and his bandmate James have focused their outreach around their music. Most recently, having the opportunity to play at Jonathan’s High School Alma Mater where he and James discussed plastic pollution with the students and even had them help sing what has become the band’s POP theme song, “Home.” Jonathan hopes that music will be the catalyst for further outreach and sees it as an opportunity to integrate with an audience that may otherwise not be reached. He says he has always wanted to use his music to make a difference in the world, and this is another wonderful opportunity to see that dream come to fruition. In 2018, Jonathan co-founded “Follow These Rivers Festival” with band-mate James Drakes, as a plastic free event to raise funds and awareness for the current crises our environment faces. The event even started with a local river clean-up off the shores of the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh. The festival was a success and the duo hope to continue with the event annually. |
Kristina Bell
Crystal Coast, NC ABOUT
Kristina Bell attends NC State, and attended Croatan High School in Newport, North Carolina, right near both Bogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. She has lived near the beach her whole life, and her frequent trips to the beach throughout her life have contributed to a great appreciation for the ocean and all it provides. She first became involved with POP when she worked at the North Carolina Youth Ocean Conservation Summit and met Director of Chapters Sam Athey. Since then, Kristina has became greatly involved in marine and environmental biology, working with programs such as the Sea Wolves 4-H club, the Plastic Ocean Project, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and even formed her own chapter of NC State University’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) club at her high school. Kristina is particularly interested in the effects of plastic pollution and microplastics on aquatic health and marine biomes, and is currently working on writing an analytical thesis with the help of POP founder Bonnie Monteleone. Next fall, Kristina intends to transfer with her Associates in Science degree to a four-year university, where she will study marine and molecular biology. She hopes to bring greater awareness to the effects of plastic pollution on the marine environment and its organisms, as well as humans, to as many people as she can. |
Jenny Tato
Washington, DC ABOUT
Jenny was raised in a military family that moved to a new place every few years. This upbringing instilled a sense of adventure in her. It was through her time as a child roaming and exploring the hills of southern Germany that she knew she would spend her life protecting similar wild places. Throughout the past six years, this love of nature has been the source from which she has pulled from in her work as an environmental educator, environmental justice activist and conservationist. Jenny has a varied background working in indigenous rights, diversity, equity and inclusion, environmental education and waste reduction. In her most recent experience she served as the International Coastal Cleanup (Macomber) intern at Ocean Conservancy where one of her jobs was to manage the Trash Free Seas team’s TIDES database, the largest collection of citizen science data on marine debris worldwide. Throughout her career her passion in conservation has grown with her interests expanding in plastic pollution and its impacts on coastal community resilience. Looking to the future, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in marine policy with a focus on human dimensions, specifically of indigenous coastal communities. She is currently working on a personal project called 365 Days of Plastic where she has been collecting her plastic waste as a call to action for government, consumers and companies to address the growing plastic pollution issue. This project started May 2018 and will culminate in a final art display May 2019. You can follow updates on this project through her Instagram @trash.less.oceans and Youtube Channel; TrashLessOceans. |
Anamika Das
Bangladesh ABOUT
I am Anamika Das Kona, studying the 3rd-year B.Sc(Hon’s)course at the Department of Oceanography at the University of Chittagong. I am 23 years old. Since my childhood ocean has always been a place of peace to me. In 2016, I was working on my field trips in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The beaches looked unfamiliar to me. I could see that my place of peace has become a global dustbin. Then, I focused on this perspective. In each field trip, I worked as a team member of local cleanups in the coastal areas. I have stopped using straws and encouraged my friends to avoid plastic straws. Besides this, I am working on a research project entitled “Marine Spatial Planning on Sustainable Coastal Management and Economic Development of Maheshkhali Island: Planning For Blue Economy (03/2020 – Present)”. I would like to engage myself in the research projects of the Plastic Ocean Projects. I would like to work on microfiber pollution and litter pollution. My Initiatives:
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James Drakes
Pittsburgh, PA ABOUT
James is a musician, writer and environmentalist based in Pittsburgh, PA. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Environmental Science, with a focus on waterways and wetlands. He finds solace and inspiration at the beach or when surrounded by nature. After beginning a career in music, he wanted to continue working to battle environmental issues and connected with the Plastic Ocean Project. Portions of his album sales and live performances are donated to POP. He hopes to continue combining his strong science background with his musical abilities and audience reach to educate people about the issues our waterways face, especially plastic pollution. In 2018, James co-founded “Follow These Rivers Festival” with band-mate Jonathan Fisher. FTR Fest is a plastic free event that raises funds for nonprofit groups battling environmental issues and promotes awareness to these issues they face. The focus of the festival is to showcase the impact of inland pollution on our oceans. The day begins with a river clean-up, and is full of art, music and community. The duo hope to continue with the event annually. |
Kim Beller
Wilmington, NC USA ABOUT
Ethan Cruz
Bronx, NY About
Ethan Cruz is an 18 year-old apprentice in the environmental science program at Rocking the Boat. He is the principle investigator on their water quality project, specifically looking into the pollution caused by the combined sewage overflow (CSO) at multiple locations on the Bronx River. Ethan takes weekly samples from the Bronx River testing for enterococcus and other water quality parameters. He is interested in a suspected leak at one of the sites that discharges raw sewage even in the absence of a rain event. In addition, Ethan works on a number of other projects including monitoring microplastics, air quality, shorebirds and urban coyotes. He also helps with the seaweed (Gracilaria tikvahaie) farm a the mouth of the Bronx River and on several wetland restoration sites along the river. Ethan is an incredibly bright and driven researcher. You can always count on him to be the first one to stick his hands in the mud, pull up a line or do any task a given project may require. Because of his commitment to environmental activism, Ethan's Global Ambassador work with Plastic Ocean Project will be collecting microplastic samples in the North Atlantic Gyre this April. He will be comparing the microplastics he find in the Bronx River to what we find in the North Atlantic Subtropical gyre. Welcome aboard Ethan. We look forward to expanding your knowledge base. |
Mohamed Mansaray
Freetown Sierra Leone, West Africa ABOUT
Mohamed mansaray was born 6 March 2003 in Masilmany wharf, Lokomasama chiefdom Portloko District. A Sierra Leonean, by nationality, Mandingo by tribe and Muslim by religion, Mohamed attend St. Peter the Fishermen Catholic pre- & primary school Tombo Western Area Peninsula. He grew up playing football (soccer) as defender and is also a high school graduate from Comprehensive international high school Freetown. Mohamed was also once a group leader for a school health initiative, CAWEC. Mohamed started his ocean plastics project in March 2021. His first beach clean up, in the Mahera beach community, has eighteen volunteers and collected 298 kg (656 lbs) of ocean bound plastics. Since then now, the group has done various beach cleaning events for the past year and are presently trying to establish efforts within five coastal communities: Mahera beach, Masilmany wharf, bailor wharf, Mama beach an Kissi town wharf. The group, led by Mohamed, is working tirelessly to construct some PLASTICS PARKING POINTS for the benefits of securing and maintaining collected ocean plastics. Since March 2021, Mohamed and his team of volunteers have collected over 2,178 kg (4,802 lbs). Mohamed mission is to focus on beach cleaning, communities outreaching, schools educational teaching program an agricultural activities. 
Laura and Paul Barrows
Rochester, NY About
Laura and Paul Barrows of Rochester, NY are spreading the POP mission in western, NY through outreach, community clean sweeps, and setting up OFE's. In their hometown and beyond, they look to work with local communities, schools, and businesses to raise awareness of plastics and trash found in the freshwater of Lake Ontario, tributary waterways, and the finger lakes regions. The oceans are not the only places where plastic is found. All freshwater flows, in some way, to the oceans. Laura has a B.S. degree in Marine Biology with concentrations in Computer Science, Horticulture, and Customer Service. She has worked on green initiative projects in several local businesses, is an advocate for color your community green, established an OFE at her current employer, has been part of eXXpedition seamester program, and sponsored a local senior internship for POP. Laura loves to ski, travel, garden, photography, and learn about birds, pollinators, and animals. Paul has an A.S. degree in Environmental Science/Photography and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. He has also worked on green initiatives, is involved in the Rochester youth climate coalition, and set up a program where bicycles were recycled-reused and sold to low-income families. Paul also likes to ski, travel, photography, and participate in triathlons. |
Maddie Newson
Western NC USA ABOUT
Maddie Newsom, now 13, became a young POP Ambassador at age 11 advocating for “no plastic straws.” Not only did she get her school reducing single use plastics through her "Sip with me and save the sea" reusable straw fundraiser, it spread to the NC Aquarium where they sell her stainless steel straws with a silicone tip and printed sleeves (on recycled plastic thread). She donates the proceeds to POP. These efforts help protect the environment and also help in her mission. Today, she is running cleanups around the state of North Carolina either at the beach or in the mountains, with a group of friends or by herself. She is also promoting reusable washable craft paper American Ad Bags - reducing plastic bag use, and reusable tumblers in an effort to get people to stop using single use water bottles. Maddie understood that it's not how old you are, but how determined you are to make a difference. Maddie is making a huge difference and she is doing it one single use item at a time, one cleanup at a time. |
Fill out the application to learn more about becoming
a global POP ambassador
Bye Bye Plastic Bags
After the plastic bag ban repeal Plastic Ocean Project’s OBX Ambassador, Sam Godwin, started a program to certify local shops who took the pledge to go plastic bag free as Ocean Friendly Establishments. A brilliant idea!
Interested in becoming an OFE? Contact [email protected]. Thank you to our partners for the OBX OFE program Surfrider Foundation, Outer Banks Chapter and Jennette's Pier. |
Former Plastic Lakes ProjectTammy Bleier, our NY Ambassador has started a POP initiative to address the plastic pollution problem in the Great Lakes through education, research and outreach, the Plastic Lakes Project!
Tammy had an amazing turnout to our first Ontario Beach cleanup as part of the Plastic Lakes Project! Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers that turned out to remove litter from beautiful Lake Ontario. In total the 26 volunteers removed 109 lbs of trash! Tammy will be organizing these monthly cleanups in her Great Lake community. To learn more about the Plastic Lakes Project and find a PLP team near you visit the PLP website! |
