Kat Owens is a plastic pollution researcher, artist, and activist. She merges science, policy, and the arts to address plastic pollution in her ongoing art series “Entangled and Ingested” which showcases portraits of animals affected by plastic pollution…made of plastic. Owens is also a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright Nehru fellow, and a Professor at the University of Hartford in the Department of Politics, Economics, and International Studies. Owens works with her students on a variety of projects to address real-world problems, such as collecting marine debris and addressing pollution along their hometown shorelines in Connecticut. Owen’s research in marine plastic pollution and river debris has been supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Fulbright Nehru Foundation, and the National Geographic Society.

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Jonathan Mahler is a longtime staff writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of the best-selling book Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, New York Times notable book The Challenge: Hamdan V. Rumsfeld and the Fight Over Presidential Power, and recently published book The Gods of New York: The Tumultuous Eighties, from Donald Trump to the Tompkins Square Riots. Mahler’s first book was adapted into a mini-series for ESPN and his second book, The Challenge, won The Scribes Book Award in 2009. Formerly a columnist for Bloomberg View, Mahler’s writing has also appeared in Slate, the Daily Beast, and New York Magazine. Mahler’s work in sports journalism has been featured in the anthology book series The Best American Sports Writing and received numerous journalism and media awards, including the Gerald Loeb Award and the Mirror Award.

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Daniel Squadron and Melissa Walker are an unexpected duo. Formerly a New York State Senator, Daniel Squadron represented New York’s 25th and 26th districts for almost ten years. After leaving public office, Squadron co-founded a civic engagement initiative called The States Project - of which he is currently President. Melissa Walker was formerly a magazine editor and journalist published in countless magazines such as Seventeen, Glamour, Teen Vogue, The NY Observer, and New York Magazine. Walker has also authored 10 young adult novels. After a fateful meeting at a holiday party, the two began working together on The State’s Project’s Giving Circles program, co-founded by Walker. The Giving Circles has engaged more than 35,000 donors and raised tens of millions of dollars since its formation in 2018 and works within the States Project to shift the balance of power in state legislatures - ultimately leading to greater political change nationwide.

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