Cafeteria Culture (CafCu) Team
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Andreya D. Matthew, Media Assistant, is an up and coming Cinematographer. She's shot two short films, “Too Much Love” and “Humanity,” and has been 2nd Camera on the short film, “A Prelude to.” She uses these skills to engage and educate students participating in Cafeteria Culture programs in the classroom, cafeteria, and community. She also edits CafCu's promotional videos and assisted with editing on the feature documentary, Microplastic Madness. Through all this, she is able to continue to learn the craft and develop her creative eye. |
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Atsuko Quirk, Executive Director of Cafeteria Culture, is a documentary filmmaker, environmental advocate, and 21st-generation member of a Samurai family from northern Japan, now happy to live in New York City. She directed and produced Microplastic Madness, Cafeteria Culture's feature documentary, and also served as cinematographer and editor. Her short documentary, School Lunch in Japan – It’s Not Just About Eating (2010), has garnered over 37 million views on YouTube. Atsuko's dedication and expertise in filmmaking, education, and environmental advocacy have been key to shaping CafCu's mission since its inception. She also designed and directed detailed cafeteria waste audits, allowing for evidence-based recommendations to the NYC DOE and accurate analysis of CafCu’s innovative waste reduction interventions. (more about Atsuko ->) |
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Daniel Ramos, Multi-media Assistant and Lead Animator/Visual Effects Designer for Microplastic Madness, is a Brooklyn native, born and raised in the neighborhood of Williamsburg. Since childhood, he has had a passion for computer and digital technology, having constructed his own computer as a teenager. This led him to the field of film and media, earning a BFA in Radio and Television production at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), broadening his interest in visual effects and animation. Currently, his many roles at Cafeteria Culture include filming, editing, and creating animation and digital effects for the Microplastic Madness movie and resources. Daniel is excited to continue developing his After Effects and animation skills with the goal to become a motion graphics animator expert. |
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Debby Lee Cohen, Former Executive Director and Founder and Zero Waste educator. She is the Co-Director and Producer of Cafeteria Culture's feature documentary, Microplastic Madness. In partnership with NYC school food directors, she led the Styrofoam Out of Schools campaign, resulting in the elimination of half a billion plastic styrofoam trays per year from landfills, incinerators and student meals in NYC and 15 other cities. She taught design at Parsons the New School and has been developing and piloting pre-K-8 environmental education for the past 12 years. Debby Lee received the Lifetime Achievement Award (2022) from NY State Association for Reduction, Reuse, & Recycling (NYSAR3,) a Proclamation from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (2018) for her zero waste efforts, and is a board member of Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (MSWAB.) She has designed scenery, puppets, and animation for theater, parades, film and television, including design for HBO shows, "Classical Baby" and "Saving My Tomorrow.” (more about Debby Lee ->) |
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Hiroko Furuichi, Special Project Liaison for Global Partnerships, is leading CafCu’s Japanese outreach in New York City. Her extensive work experience includes supporting Japanese corporations and start-ups in the US, with 17 years at the Japan External Trade Organization in NYC. Hiroko has been a member of the Executive Committee of the United Nations Forum since 2019 and is also the President and Chief Sustainability Officer of NY Marketing Business Action, Inc, creating business strategies that align with the SDGs and ESG practices. Hiroko is a published writer and columnist who writes for Japanese companies in the US on SDG strategy. She holds an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the City University of New York and is currently researching SDGs at the UN Institute of Advanced Sustainability.
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Jenny Davies, MD MPH JD, CafCu Public and Environmental Health Director, lives in Portland, Oregon. She received a political science degree from Duke University (1981), an MD and an MPH from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1990), and a JD in environmental law from Lewis & Clark Law School (2021). She researches, writes, and speaks about the need to think differently about plastic: a chemically and biologically active substance that poses an existential threat to our species and to all species on the planet. |
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Mariana Cardoso, Data Advisor, is a neuroscientist by training and an enthusiast of using data to inform decision making. She spent several years in US academic institutions; at Columbia as a graduate researcher, and at UCSF and NYU as a postdoctoral researcher. Mariana’s keen interests in sustainability, environmental and social justice, mental health, and education were sparked by the contrasting experiences between her native Portugal and vibrant life in New York City. She aspires to continue leveraging her analytical skills to serve societal well-being and contribute positively to these critical areas.
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Marjorie Duverge, Administrative Coordinator, is a born and raised Queens native, has always been fascinated with film as a means of sharing interesting and thought-provoking stories. Growing up, she loved immersing herself in the worlds of a Disney or Ghibli film, with their engaging and lovable characters, from the comfort of her couch. Years later, Marjorie earned her Bachelor's in Media Studies from Queens College, and soon after interned with Insignia Films, an esteemed documentary company. At the moment, she is using her administrative and writing skills to help Cafeteria Culture set up screenings of their award-winning film, Microplastic Madness , to schools and organizations across the country and around the world. Having already done and learned so much during her time with the CafCu team, Marjorie is eager to see what comes next!
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Nicholas Guillem, Teaching and Media Assistant, is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in New York City. His primary interests are music production and graphic design but he also enjoys playing tennis, DJing, and doing anything in nature. In 2020, Nicholas became interested in the intersection of the climate crisis and human rights infringement and decided to launch a digital publication called Save the World Magazine to learn more about environmental justice while also exercising his skills in graphic design and media coordination. Having just earned a BA in New Media & Digital Design from Fordham University, Nicholas is eager to continue channeling his creativity towards a better, more sustainable future, starting with the next generation of leaders and climate activists. |
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Rebeca Sabnam, Teaching Assistant, is a Columbia University sophomore and Cafeteria Culture Youth Advocate She delivered a powerful speech about the intersection of the Climate Crisis and Human Rights at the Youth Climate Strike NYC on 9/20/19, attended by 250,000 people. Her speech focused on the intersection of the climate emergency, racial injustice and poverty and how Bangladeshi women are extremely vulnerable to post- displacement trafficking, magnified by the Climate Crisis. Born in NYC, Rebeca spent her early childhood in Bangladesh, a frontline community of the climate crisis. She has marched with trash puppets around NYC's Lower East Side, rallied at NY City Hall, delivered testimony to NYC Council, helped to get styrofoam banned in public schools and citywide, and advocated with her middle school classmates to get the NYC bag fee bill passed. Rebeca interned with CafCu in 2020, hosting the CafCu Youth Advocates Teen Activist Cafe Podcast and taking the lead in planning and design of a community mural project.
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Rhonda Keyser, Program and Policy Director, is an actress, director, environmental educator, and grassroots organizer. She led the creation of the Microplastic Madness Curriculum Toolkit, a growing collection of lesson plans and activities that align with CafCu’s award-winning movie, Microplastic Madness. Her work in school cafeteria waste-reduction has centered students in schools across the City as leaders in diverting 85 to 97% of their cafeteria waste away from landfills and incinerators. In addition, she is a leading advocate for indoor air quality in schools and has successfully united stakeholders and advised New York Lawyers for the Public Interest in creating Safe Schools Renovation, a know-your-rights manual for public school students, teachers, administrators, and staff. She serves on the Board of Sure We Can, NYC’s only non-profit bottle and can redemption center, and is Chair of the Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board. (more about Rhonda->)
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Tova Salzinger, Teaching and Media Assistant, was shaped by environmental education at her elementary school in Berkeley, California and has been interested in environmental issues ever since. After earning her BA in Environmental Studies and Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies at Colorado College, she went on to work with the Environmental Justice Program with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and in childcare. She is looking forward to building on her environmental education and grant writing skills with Cafeteria Culture. |
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Misako Asai Suszckiewicz, Japan Projects Coordinator, was born and raised in Japan, and moved to San Francisco in 2013. She was concerned about the environment at an early age while growing up in Chiba prefecture Japan, realizing that everyone needs to do their part to help make the world a better place. She is happy to be living in San Francisco, where environmental concerns are a priority. Past employment at US and Japanese firms have given her a multicultural perspective at how people and businesses view their environment. As a new member at the Cafeteria Culture team, she is excited to promote youth action on environmental issues to the world.. |
The CafCu Team filming at New York City Hall, L to R: Daniel Ramos, NYC Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (former NYC Council Member) , Debby Lee Cohen, Atsuko Quirk, and Andreya Matthew
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CafCu INTERNS!
Interested in interning with Cafeteria Culture? Contact us ->
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Oriana Gonzalez is a a student at University of California, Davis, working towards her Bachelor of Design and specializing in Professional Writing and Technology Management. She has been working on translating a Spanish script for a future dubbed version of Cafeteria Cultures movie, Microplastic Madness. She will also be assisting with marketing materials in both Spanish and English.
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Sam Goldstein is a sophomore at Vassar College, where he majors in History. Originally from Providence Rhode Island, he has been involved in political activism since high school, when he was a part of the anti-ICE protest group Never Again Action. Last summer he was a full-time canvasser for the Jessica Altagracia Woolford campaign in the Bronx. In college he has worked as part of the Vassar Education Collaborative, helping to start a podcast club in the Poughkeepsie High School, and is in a sketch comedy group.
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CafCu VOLUNTEERS!
Kelsey Wooddell, formerly CafCu Special Projects Coordinator, attained her Master’s in Public Administration and a focus in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. She graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in Environmental Engineering, Policy Studies, and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and went on to join the Peace Corps, where she served as a Community Environmental Manager in Peru. After graduating from Columbia, she was the Assistant Director of Columbia’s Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability. She cares deeply about advocating for science-based policy to address issues of environmental justice, sustainability, conservation, and education. |
Maria Molloy is a software engineer and a former New York City public school student. She has been volunteering with Cafeteria Culture since she was in middle school. She has been involved with many CafCu projects from carrying foam tray puppets at marches and rallies to teaching kids about game design and coding. She has also worked with Girls Who Code to teach teenage girls how to code. Maria hopes to continue teaching computer science to girls and youth of color and to use her skills to reduce inequality in the field.
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Daniel Simpson, born in Venezuela and raised in Miami, is a graduate of Marist College with a BS in Information Technology and was on Marist's D1 swim team. Daniel began volunteering with CafCu in early 2020, teaching game design principles to students at PS 188 M, providing remote technical support, and participating in CafCu's Youth Advocates program. Daniel hopes to continue to use lessons learned from his volunteering to assist in the development of historically underrepresented communities.
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Jay Schlossberg-Cohen (left)
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CafCu Team Alumni
Anna Nixon, former CafCu Lead Science Teacher, received her Master of Science degree in Biology from New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in Genetic and Developmental Biology. Anna taught at CafCu partner schools and at Lower East Side Girls Club in partnership with CafCu. She is passionate about advocating for diversity in science. Her podcast, Annadmia, intersects race and STEM with survival tips and tricks from a perspective of a Black woman in STEM.
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Lena Greenberg is a devoted systems thinker and advocate of youth participation in urbanism. They put these passions to work through developing and teaching curriculum at CafCu's partner schools. Lena is a Brooklynite, a graduate of The New School, and can usually be found traversing the city by bike or processing food scraps at their community garden.
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Naimah Hakim is a graduate of Princeton University where she studied anthropology, gender, and critical race studies. Following years volunteering at a soup kitchen and working at a student-run sustainability food co-op, Naimah joined the Cafeteria Culture Team to promote community organizing around food justice, diversity, and access to arts-based education.
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Josh Snow studied Urban Design at Parsons The New School. He is devoted to compost advocacy, urban farming, and self-sustaining cities. Designing a better future through hands-on projects, Josh finds that creativity is the number one solution to today's most challenging obstacles.
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Israh Moore worked as Youth Media+Arts for Trash Free Waters, - Film Production and Technical Assistant,. She is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology—New York, NY.
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Diana Biagioli played a critical role in the development and piloting CafCu's Zero Waste Cafeterias program in our early years.
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Thank you to our Intern Alumni!
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Beatrix Sherry interned with CafCu as a freshman at Bennington College and an Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellow. With a passion for bridging the educational achievement gap, she assisted the team both in the classroom and the cafeteria by revitalizing previous resources and implementing a pilot sorting program at a CafCu partner school.
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Megan Ortiz, from Harlem, New York City, is a students at FIT and a graduate of Brooklyn Latin School,. She is a Cafcu Youth Advocate. Megan started her CafCu internship during the summer of 2020,. She co-hosted the CafCu Youth Advocates "Teen Activists Cafe" Podcast and developed a poetry book and film project on the topic of the climate crisis as part of her internship.
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Gauri Rastogi is a college freshman from Rochester, Michigan. Her interest in the environment emerged upon learning about the science behind climate change at the age of 12. Gauri worked on a campaign to remove styrofoam lunch trays from her school district, and her accomplishments were featured in the Oakland Press. During her high school internship with CafCu, Gauri created a detailed guide for students all over the country to eliminate styrofoam lunch trays and other unsustainable practices from their schools based on her own experiences.
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Gigi Davies is a Korean adoptee from Portland Oregon. She is studying graphic design and art at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, where she is learning to incorporate her fine arts drawing and painting skills into graphic design. Growing up, Gigi was a competitive tennis player and is currently on the OSU club tennis team and is the Public Relations Officer for 2022-23. She enjoys hiking, backpacking, knitting and sewing, Gigi is interned with the CafCu Team for the summer 2022 to expand her design and animation skills.
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Maybelle Keyser-Butson, Barnard College junior, interned with CafCu while at Bard High School Early College Queens. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC has always been environmentally conscious, learning from her family, and bringing the consciousness to her school and friendships. She was a student in Judith Enck's "Beyond Plastic Pollution" class at Bennington College.
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Amina Castronovo, Smith College freshman, interned with CafCu while a senior at Beacon High School, NYC. She was also a Field Advisor for Our Climate, a member of the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force’s Youth Steering Committee, and a co-leader of Beacon’s environmental justice club. She helped to organize the NYC climate strike with Fridays For Future and build a green team mentorship program with the NYC DOE Office of Sustainability.
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Bennington College Interns (2019-2023)
2023 -Beatrix Sherry, Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellow 2022 - Sawyer London, Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellow 2021 - Ava Renz, Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellow 2020 - Elmina David and Mrunal Khadke 2019 - Clara Schiller, Gwen Asher , Aidan Murphy , and Allie Fredette. |
Bennington College Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow, Judith Enck (center) with Field Work Term Interns (2019), L to R: Clara Schiller, Gwen Asher , Aidan Murphy , and Allie Fredette.
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Lydia Diebel, native New Yorker with a BA in psychology from Macalester College in St. Paul, interned with Cafeteria Culture as a teaching assistant, and also assisted with designing curriculum, conducting cafeteria waste audits, and with the production of the MICROPLASTIC MADNESS documentary,
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Shane Araujo, Bowdoin College, interned with CafCu during the summer of 2019, hand-painting beautiful graphics for our feature documentary, MICROPLASTIC MADNESS.
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Jacob Kowalick-Allen, Duke University, interned with CafCu in 2019, assisting with MICROPLASTIC MADNESS community screenings, school and Youth Advocate programs, and Spanish translations.
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Allison Seaman interned with Cafcu as a freshman at Baruch College,, majoring in Art. She is a graduate of LaGuardia High School and previously interned with Arts Connection school and studied at the Arts Students League.
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Georgeanne Dinan, University of Pennsylvania graduate, interned with CafCu interned during her senior year at Hunter College High School in New York City.
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Deborah Buzuayehu interned with CafCu as a Parsons School of Design senior, where she studied integrated design, communication design, and creative coding.
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Brianna Maury - Hunter College
Yue Fang Bank Street College of Education
Christine Valezquez Herman, Brooklyn College
Aija Suuta, Parsons The New School
Shannon Baum, Parsons The New School
Sandy Yoon, Parsons The New School
Yue Fang Bank Street College of Education
Christine Valezquez Herman, Brooklyn College
Aija Suuta, Parsons The New School
Shannon Baum, Parsons The New School
Sandy Yoon, Parsons The New School
High School Volunteers
Hunter High School volunteers, Nora Mattson, Geargeanne Dinan, Olivia McKay, and Maria Molloy -
at the March For Science, April 2017
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