Project Team
Holly Kaufman
Co-founder & Director
Climate change, plastics and sustainability expert, recognized thought leader, relationship-builder, policy strategist, and project designer and manager. Holly is a Senior Fellow at World Resources Institute (WRI), a Nominator for Prince William's Earthshot Prize, and a member of the California Senate Bill 54 Implementation Working Group. She managed the climate change & national security portfolio at the U.S. Department of Defense as a President Clinton appointee, and was a strategy expert on the UN climate treaty negotiations team at the State Department, where she received a Superior Team Honor Award.
Dr. Alice (Xia) Zhu
Co-founder & Research Director Emeritus
Environmental analytical scientist specialized in the plastics lifecycle, climate change, marine debris, and oceanography. Alice led the scientific research and was lead author of the Project's peer-reviewed paper published in Frontiers in Environmental Science. She is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Memorial University in Newfoundland studying the fate of microplastics in the Atlantic Ocean, and a member of the UNEP/European Commission's Project on Plastic Pollution Toolkit Working Group.
Pamela Wellner
Communications Strategist
Chief Strategist and founder of Amplify Eco, a communications and program management consulting practice dedicated to advancing climate, sustainability, and human rights initiatives. With over 30 years of experience, she has led integrated communications and campaign strategies for mission-driven organizations including Greenpeace, ClimateWorks, Health Care Without Harm, and the Rainforest Action Network.
