Our Experts

Sujatha Bergen

Director, Health Campaigns, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

Sujatha Bergen campaigns for changes in corporate and regulatory policies that protect public health—from eliminating toxic chemicals in everyday products to cutting subsidies to the fossil fuel industry to promoting climate healthy menus. Prior to working at NRDC, she was…

Lena Brook

Acting Director, Food and Agriculture, People & Communities Program

Lena Brook uses her expertise in advocacy and communications to influence decision makers of all types, from elected officials to CEOs. Her work centers on advancing a sustainable, healthier, and more equitable food system for all by leveraging a wide…

Margaret Brown

Senior Attorney, New York Regional, People & Communities Program

Margaret Brown advocates for more just and sustainable food systems in New York and other regions around the United States. In particular, she brings legal and policy tools to partnerships working to improve school food, develop the growing field of…

Lara Bryant

Deputy Director, Water & Agriculture, Nature Program

Lara Bryant promotes soil health practices and policies that protect water quality, use water more efficiently, and help farms to be more resilient to climate change. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked on sustainable agricultural policy at the National Wildlife…

Yvette Cabrera

Director, Food Waste, People & Communities Program

Yvette Cabrera focuses on building a better food system for people, the climate, and the environment. Cabrera oversees engagement on federal and state food waste policy and cutting-edge research on food waste. She also manages the Food Matters project, through…

Andrea Collins

Senior Specialist, Sustainable Food Systems, People & Communities Program

Andrea Collins focuses on making our food system more efficient, sustainable, and equitable. She is helping to create strategies that can be implemented at various stages throughout the supply chain, including on farms, within cities, and by companies. Previously, she…

Irene Gutierrez

Senior Attorney, Nature Program

Irene Gutierrez protects our oceans by promoting sustainable fisheries, fighting illegal fishing practices, preventing dirty energy development, and supporting policies to curb climate change. Prior to joining the Oceans division, she was an attorney on NRDC’s Climate and Clean Energy…

Darby Hoover

Senior Resource Specialist, Food Waste Initiatives, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

Darby Hoover specializes in issues related to food waste reduction, composting, anaerobic digestion, plastics, zero waste, recycling, paper industry reform, and sustainable packaging. Her primary focus at NRDC is helping to create strategies to improve the efficiency of the food…

Allison Johnson

Senior Attorney, Health & Food, People & Communities Program

Allison Johnson focuses on sustainable food systems with a broad lens, recognizing that we need a massive shift toward diversified and health-promoting agriculture—and away from harmful pesticides, soil degradation, and antibiotic use. She advocates for policy change at federal, state…

Matthew Kaplan

Senior Attorney, Nature Program

Prior to joining the Water and Agriculture team, Matthew Kaplan worked in the U.S. House of Representatives for the chair of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, as an attorney advisor at the Department of Justice, and for the…

Avinash Kar

Senior Attorney and Senior Director, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

Prior to his current role, Avi Kar served as director of state health policy, working with NRDC teams and external coalitions to pass key legislation and advance policies to reduce exposures to toxics, with a focus on California, New York…

Madeline Keating

City Strategist, People & Communities Program

Madeline Keating is a core member of the Food Waste team, where her work is focused on implementation of city-level solutions and strategies for food waste prevention, surplus food rescue, and food scrap recycling. Keating approaches food waste work with…

Molly Masterton

Director, U.S. Fisheries and Staff Attorney, Oceans Division, Nature Program

Molly Masterton works to promote sustainable fisheries management and the application of ecosystem-based management tools to ocean resources in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining NRDC, she clerked for the Maine supreme judicial court, served as a graduate…

Claire O'Connor

Director, Water & Agriculture, Water Division, Nature Program

Claire O’Connor focuses on the crucial relationship between water and agriculture, emphasizing solutions to water-resource challenges that will benefit both farmers and their non-farming neighbors. Her own family has operated a farm in rural Nebraska for five generations, which informs…

Anya Obrez

Program Assistant, Food Waste, People & Communities Program

Anya Obrez provides technical and advocacy support to the Food Waste team and the Food Matters initiative, through which NRDC partners with cities to achieve meaningful reductions in food waste with comprehensive policies and programs. Prior to joining NRDC, Obrez…

Bianca Oden

Senior Congressional Strategist, Government Affairs

Erik D. Olson

Senior Strategic Director, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

With more than 35 years of experience working at the intersection of public policy and consumer advocacy, Erik D. Olson currently is a senior strategist and advocate for NRDC’s initiatives on health, food, and agriculture, including campaigns on drinking water…

Addie Rolnick

Attorney

Addie Rolnick has worked on cases to ensure access to safe drinking water, safeguard marine mammals, and protect communities from pollution. Prior to joining NRDC, she clerked for Judge Cheryl A. Krause on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…

Miriam Rotkin-Ellman

Senior Scientist, People & Communities Program

Miriam Rotkin-Ellman researches industrial air pollution, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals, as well as the links between public health and global warming. Since joining NRDC, she has studied the effects of the 2006 California heat wave, Hurricane Katrina in New…

Nina Sevilla

Program Advocate, Food Waste & Food Systems, People & Communities Program

Nina Sevilla works to ensure we have a sustainable, healthy, and equitable food system for all. She facilitates learnings across cities by sharing successes and lessons learned from NRDC's Food Matters project to a network of partners across the nation…