FOUNDER / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Amy Ziff

Amy is a healthy living educator with a genetic predisposition to toxicity. She’s also mom to three young kids who share the same trait. Determined to make the world less toxic, Amy reached millions of parents and caregivers with her “buy better” advocacy campaigns. She blogs about the chemical world we live in on Amy Ziff’s NoTox Life, and prior to founding MADE SAFE, taught classes on living a nontoxic life and co-founded the Veritey Shop, a site comprised of safe, nontoxic products. Amy is changing the world for the healthier one product at a time, one person at a time, one home at a time.

Amy has a Masters in Journalism and Communications and has been a successful internet entrepreneur. She was on the founding team of Site59 where she pioneered the first luxury business line for travel on the web. When Site59 was acquired by Travelocity, she ran a national sales team and then founded an award-winning media program, blog, and travel seal that garnered millions of dollars of “earned media” annually, and also founded the company’s award-winning cause marketing program. Amy went on to co-found and become creative director of Jetsetter, the first online flash-sale for high-end travel.

SCREENING ASSOCIATE

Whitney Horn

With over a decade of experience across both the front and back end of the consumer packaged goods industry and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Whitney possesses a comprehensive understanding of the entire product lifecycle, from concept to consumer. Committed to developing safe, non-toxic products, she now serves as a Screening Associate at MADE SAFE, where she evaluates innovative solutions that prioritize health and sustainability.

In addition to her role at MADE SAFE, Whitney is dedicated to educating others about safe beauty, home essentials, and DIY alternatives. She is also currently pursuing a master’s degree in Human Systems Engineering, where she is honing her expertise in safety, instructional design, and usability by exploring how people interact with products and systems. Driven by a passion for advocating non-toxic accessibility for all, Whitney also dedicates her time to promoting greater representation in STEM, aiming to make science and engineering more inclusive and sustainable.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Esther Grondahl

Esther focuses on increasing social media reach, growing followers, making a greater impact and finding unique ways to further the MADE SAFE message. Her goal is to empower parents who are struggling to find answers.

Esther specializes in training nonprofits, small businesses, and concerned citizens in how to have a consistent impact using social media. She engages behind-the-scenes in viral campaigns and consumer education in the good food movement and nontoxic living space. On behalf of her clients, she is reaching hundreds of thousands of people each week on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, and is determined to continue teaching about chemical exposure through food and the products we use every day. Esther is the former Development Coordinator for GMO Free USA, and is also a speaker, most recently moderating a panel at the Autism One conference. She has a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of South Florida.

COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH MANAGER

Megan Brown

Megan is passionate about helping people live healthier lives by educating and empowering them to make informed decisions. At MADE SAFE, Megan works closely with our partner companies and other key organizations, advisors, and influencers. She also oversees MADE SAFE’s communications and enjoys sharing about MADE SAFE’s work through consumer education.

Prior to joining MADE SAFE, Megan worked in environmental health research where she coordinated a study at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine examining how different environmental exposures impact the health of pregnant women and their developing children. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Gordon College, and when she is not working you can find her hiking, cooking, reading, and exploring new places with her family.

SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR / ACCOUNT MANAGER

Katie Dohmen

Katie began consciously choosing nontoxic products after personally confronting environmental health issues. She imagines a world where ingredient transparency is not only expected, but is the standard. As an advocate and teacher, one of her passions is educating others about fragrance-free product options and the importance of healthy indoor air quality, especially in schools. While serving as director of a local food cooperative, Katie learned the positive impact of eating healthy, seasonal food. She collaborated in launching an online shopping app that increased her community’s accessibility to locally-grown products. At the cooperative, she helped small food companies realize their potential by connecting them with new markets.

Katie has an M.A. in Teaching from Morningside College in Iowa and a B.A. in All Social Sciences Teaching from University of Northern Iowa. She is involved with Good Neighbor Iowa, an organization that aims to protect Iowa’s children and biodiversity by promoting pesticide-free lawn care and maintenance. Katie finds joy in growing her own pollinator-friendly flower and vegetable garden.

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Susan Cann

Susan helped produce the award-winning documentary about chemical body burden, Unacceptable Levels, and has made a career out of connecting people so they can combine their talents and expertise for the greater good. After several decades as a small business owner and book publisher, she worked on staff at Stanford University for over ten years in marketing, communications, and event planning. Susan oversees our graphic design and web presence, making sure we are effectively communicating our mission and programs with the general public, our companies and sponsors, and to further awareness of our work and education efforts externally.

SCREENING & RESEARCH LEAD

Emma Martinez

Emma studied Sustainability and Geography at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on environmental ethics and conservation. She collaborated with experts in the Department of Human Ecology to examine the intersection of human development and environmental toxicity, specifically how these issues affect youth in the Austin area. She also launched a building-wide recycling program during her time working at Dell Medical School, which helped to divert over 2500 pounds of lab waste from landfills.

Emma is passionate about developing inventive, ambitious solutions towards building a more sustainable world. As the Screening & Research Lead at MADE SAFE, she oversees ingredient and material assessments, manages the screening process for product certification, and advances research on toxicological data to drive industry-wide change. In her free time, Emma loves spending time outdoors hiking, bird watching, and reading.

SCREENING ACCOUNT MANAGER

Haley Duncan

Haley developed her passion for nontoxic living in 2016 after researching the harmful effects of fragrances. The results she and her husband experienced sent her on a deep dive to transform all of their day-to-day products. As the Screening Account Manager, she serves as the point of contact for clients during the screening and certification process. She is excited to contribute to the global community in encouraging health through consumer products.

Prior to joining the team, Haley spent three years managing a local Pure Barre studio and encouraging the community to prioritize physical and mental health. Haley has a B.S. in Public Relations and Communications from the University of Alabama. When she’s not working you will most likely find her taking a barre class (or teaching it!), exploring the outdoors, or researching a new health topic.

OUR

Workplace

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead

We are a small team of committed experts, advisors, advocates, consultants, volunteers, and interns whose hours are self-directed and at-will. Our work is driven by a shared and underlying intention to foster a better, kinder, more equitable and sustainable world.

As an organization, we are committed to creating systemic change while forging a respectful, diverse, inclusive, and dignified work environment. Our goal is to increasingly grow our ability to listen, serve, and reach diverse communities, including communities of color as well as historically underserved and marginalized groups.

Our work on sustainability is reflected through the thoughtful and rigorous science and screenings we perform, as well as in the work practices we cultivate at our respective remote locations. We embrace environmentalism, and work to reduce the impact we have on our shared ecosystem whenever possible.