The Cafeteria Culture (CafCu) Team
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Atsuko Quirk, CafCu Digital Media Producer and Cafeteria Ranger Program Director, is a documentary filmmaker, environmental advocate, and a 21st generation Samurai family member from northern Japan. living in New York City. She is the Director and Producer of Microplastic Madness, Cafeteria Culture's feature documentary, with additional credits as cinematographer and editor. Her documentary, "Its Everybody’s Ocean" won Best Documentary Short at NYC International Film Festival (2014) and has been screened in film festivals in ten cities around the world. “School Lunch in Japan - It’s not just about eating" (2010), her short documentary, has over 25 million views on YouTube! The movie conveys the importance of quality school mealtime and has inspired international audiences of students, educators, and school food leaders, as well as Cafcu’s own zero waste cafeteria programs. (more about Atsuko ->) |
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Debby Lee Cohen, CafCu Executive Director and Founder, is a multi-disciplinary artist and Zero Waste activist. She is the Director and Producer of Microplastic Madness, Cafeteria Culture's feature documentary, with additional credits as Animation Director of CSO and title segments. She designed scenery, puppets, and animation for theater, parades, film and television, including design for HBO shows, "Classical Baby" and "Saving My Tomorrow.” In partnership with parents, students and 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 students meals in NYC and 9 other cities. Debby Lee received a Proclamation from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (2018) for her zero waste efforts and is a board member of Manhattan SWAB and Plastic Free Waters Partnership NY/NJ. (more about Debby Lee ->) |
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Rhonda Keyser, CafCu Outreach and Cafeteria Program Director, has been a leader in school cafeteria waste reduction for many years, including at PS 29 in Brooklyn, where she has led the school’s Green Committee as well as the PTA. Under her leadership, PS 29 won the competitive 2014 NYC Golden Apple Award! In addition she helped facilitate the Green Team Leaders work to win National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools Green Flag award. Just by facilitating proper waste-sorting in the cafeteria in a little over than 3 years, Rhonda has helped PS 29 divert over 65,000 pounds of food waste and 7200 pounds of metal, glass, and plastic recycling from the landfill. She has helped the faculty, staff and kids reduce their 7 bags of garbage per day at lunch to 2 bins of food waste, 2 bags of recycling and 2 small bags of trash. With 820 kids improving recycling sorting in their homes -- just over 500 families -- the landfill reduction is dizzyingly significant with just one school. Rhonda relishes the opportunity to work with Cafeteria Culture to help them expand their thorough and engaging education tools to all of NYC’s Public Schools and beyond. (more about Rhonda ->) |
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Daniel Ramos, CafCu 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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Anna Nixon, CafCu Science Teacher, is a Master's student in Biology at New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in Genetic and Developmental Biology. Anna also co-teaches the Science Class at Lower East Side Girls Club (in partnership with CafeteriaCulture) and enjoys sharing her love for science. She’s passionate about advocating for diversity in science and is happy she gets to teach and inspire kids to be scientists like her. |
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Marjorie Duverge, CafCu Administrative Assistant and a born and raised Queens native, has always had a fascination with the film medium. She loved attending “Movie Nights” with her family and entering the worlds of a Disney or Ghibli film from the comfort of her couch. She earned her Bachelor's in Media Studies from Queens College, and soon after interned with Insignia Films, an Emmy-award winning documentary company. Currently, she is using her organizational and administrative skills to help Cafeteria Culture with their media projects and school programs, having already learned so much during her short time with the team. Marjorie is extremely excited to see what comes next! |
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Andreya D. Matthew, CafCu 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 capture students from in the Cafeteria Culture programs in the classroom and community. She is also editing promo videos and was and assisted with editing on CafCu's feature documentary, Microplastic Madness. Through this she is able to continue to learn the craft and develop her creative eye. |
The CafCu Team filming at New York City Hall, L to R: Daniel Ramos, NYC Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Debby Lee Cohen, Atsuko Quirk, and Andreya Matthew
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CafCu INTERNS!
Go to our Internships page to find out how to join the team.
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Some of our fabulous VOLUNTEERS!
Elise Hurley (right)
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Debra Solomon (center)
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Jay Schlossberg-Cohen (left)
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Hunter High School interns and volunteers,
Nora Mattson, Geargeanne Dinan, Olivia McKay, and Maria Molloy - at the March For Science, April 2017 
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CafCu Staff Alum
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Lena Greenberg is a devoted systems thinker and advocate of youth participation in urbanism. She puts these passions to work through developing and teaching curriculum at CafCu's partner schools. Lena is a Brooklynite and graduate of The New School, and can usually be found traversing the city by bike or processing food scraps at her 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 is 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. As a New York City resident, he is devoted to the green cause on many fronts, from compost advocacy to 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. He is currently in China!
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Israh Moore
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Israh Moore, Youth Media+Arts for Trash Free Waters, - Film Production and Technical Assistant, is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology—New York, NY
Bachelors of Fine Arts in Communication and Media Production . |
DIanna Biagioli
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Intern - Alums!
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Allison Seaman is a freshman at Baruch College and an graduate of LaGuardia High School. She is majoring in Art. She previously interned with Arts Connection when she was in high school and took classes at the Arts Students League.
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Deborah Buzuayehu was a senior at Parsons School of Design. studying the integrated design, communication design, and creative coding curriculums. She was introduced to Cafeteria Culture from her professor at Parsons and used the company for an in-class project.
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Georgeanne Dinan interned with Cafcu during her senior year at Hunter College High School in New York City. She is interested in a variety of environmental issues, including environmental justice, climate change, and sustainable waste management. In achieving these goals, Georgeanne believes that community organizing is essential. She plans to pursue her passion for policy and environmental issues in college.
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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
