Our Experts

Zanagee Artis

Fossil Fuels Policy Advocate, Nature Program

Zanagee Artis is a founding member and executive director of Zero Hour and has worked in the youth climate movement advocating for the need to transition away from fossil fuels. He is outspoken about the climate crisis and was a…

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…

Dr. Marilee Shelton Davenport

Senior Director, Capacity and Collaboration, Science Office

Marilee Shelton Davenport focuses on growing NRDC’s scientific capacity by strengthening the organization’s connections with the external science community, while also supporting NRDC’s work at the intersection of climate and health. She brings two decades of experience working with scientists…

Kate Donovan

Senior Attorney, People & Communities Program

Kate Donovan works on a range of environmental and health issues, including working to get toxic chemicals out of consumer products, federal pesticides policy, and solving our solid waste and plastics crisis. Previously, Donovan served as the deputy director of…

Tom Hucker

Manager, Eastern Campaigns, Center for Policy Advocacy

Tom Hucker brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his job as an advocate for safer chemicals, having worked as a community organizer, nonprofit entrepreneur, and a state and local policymaker. As a state legislator, Hucker sponsored successful legislation…

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…

David Lennett

Senior Attorney, Western Toxics, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

Much of David Lennett’s legal advocacy focuses on global and domestic mercury pollution. He helped develop a global treaty for reducing mercury pollution, co-authored the authoritative guide to the treaty’s text, and is currently assisting governments in their treaty ratification…

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…

Dr. Katie Pelch

Scientist, People & Communities Program

Katie Pelch envisions a world free of harmful chemicals, where communities have access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water and safe consumer products. She brings her expertise in human health evidence synthesis to her projects at NRDC. Her work…

Daniel Raichel

Acting Director, Pollinator Initiative, Wildlife Division, Nature Program

Daniel Raichel focuses on protecting our nation’s bee populations from the ever-growing threats to their health and existence—in particular, the use of bee-toxic pesticides. Before joining the Nature Program, Raichel was co-director of NRDC’s Community Fracking Defense Project and an…

Gina Ramirez

Manager, Midwest Outreach, Center for Policy Advocacy

As a Midwest outreach manager at NRDC, Gina Ramirez works to further sustainable land use and zoning rules that can provide crucial protections to areas of Chicago, like the Southeast Side, that are burdened with cumulative industrial pollution. Ramirez is…

Dr. Anna Reade

Senior Scientist, People & Communities Program

Anna Reade works at the intersection of science and policy to reduce and eliminate harmful exposures to toxic chemicals for the safety of people and the environment. As NRDC's lead scientist on PFAS, she conducts research and develops innovative scientific…

Daniel Rosenberg

Director, Federal Toxics Policy, People & Communities Program

Daniel Rosenberg works to ensure that federal and state authorities have the ability to regulate toxic chemicals and that industries cannot block or weaken public health or environmental initiatives. Prior to his current role, Rosenberg served as environmental counsel to…

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…

Dr. Jennifer Sass

Senior Scientist, Federal Toxics, Health and Food, People & Communities Program

Jennifer Sass brings to her job a highly specialized expertise in U.S. chemicals policy. Much of her work is focused on understanding and explaining the science behind toxic chemical regulation and on advocating for regulations that are consistent with science…

Dr. Veena Singla

Senior Scientist, People & Communities Program

Veena Singla, who is also an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University, seeks to address health disparities linked to harmful environmental exposures using an interdisciplinary approach incorporating environmental health, exposure science, public health, and policy expertise. Her research investigates how…

Charlotte Steiner

Research and Communications Specialist, International Program

Charlotte Steiner specializes in research and media that advance clean energy, health, and equity around the world. She works with the India and Global Strategies teams to support NRDC's international policy agenda—including efforts to promote clean energy, improve air quality…

Alexandra Stubblefield

Manager, Operations, People & Communities Program

Alexandra Stubblefield focuses on environmental health and justice and works to secure clean, safe drinking water for all. She assists the toxics and drinking water team and the food waste team through research and data analysis. Stubblefield received her bachelor's…

Yiliqi

Scientist and Project Manager, People & Communities Program

Yiliqi focuses on reducing the use of toxic chemicals in consumer goods and manufacturing. She works to ensure that corporations take responsibility for the environmental impact of their products' whole life cycle, with a particular focus on international production and…