Amy Ziff, Founder | MADE SAFE

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.

PROJECT MANAGER, SCIENCE & RESEARCH

Debby Cook

Debby is a former public school teacher with a passion for healthy living. As a survivor of SAA (Severe Aplastic Anemia, in her case an environmentally triggered bone marrow failure disease), this is a very personal cause for her. She knows that what is in our environment matters. Debby began her work with nonprofits at the Washington School of Psychiatry in the early ’90s and continues today at MADE SAFE and as a Board member of an international health-related nonprofit. Debby has a Masters in Education from The American University and a B.A. in history from Haverford College.

Debby Cook | MADE SAFE
Elizabeth Wasserman | MADE SAFE

HEAD OF STRATEGY

Elizabeth Wasserman

Elizabeth is an integrative lifestyle expert and experienced brand advisor. Fueled by a passion for preventive health, a commitment to nontoxic living, and a respect for informed wellness care, she believes we all have the right to know what’s in the products we bring into our homes. With degrees in psychology (UCLA), clinical social work (NYU), health coaching and integrative nutrition (IIN), and graduate studies in business and organizational psychology, Elizabeth considers herself the consummate creative problem solver.

Prior to joining MADE SAFE, Elizabeth worked with both individuals and businesses to harness their power to create healthier lives and a more sustainable environment. She was also the founder & CEO of TrueGoods.com, an online retailer of toxin-free products that were rigorously investigated and held to unparalleled safety standards.

SCREENING ASSOCIATE

Emma Martinez

Emma studied Sustainability and Geography at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused mainly on issues of environmental ethics and conservation. She worked alongside experts in the Department of Human Ecology to explore the intersection of human development and environmental toxicity, and more specifically, how these may be reconciled for the welfare of 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. She joins the MADE SAFE team as a Screening Associate, conducting screenings, researching ingredients and materials, and helping shift companies towards safer alternatives. In her free time, Emma loves spending time outdoors hiking, bird watching, and reading.

Emma Martinez | MADE SAFE
Esther Grondahl | MADE SAFE

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.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE / ACCOUNT MANAGER

Jessica Ganim

Jessica holds an MS in Marine Biology & Ecology from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric & Earth Science, and a BS in Marine Science with a minor in Writing from the University of Delaware. During her studies she conducted research on coral resilience in polluted marine environments, with the goal of understanding how some corals thrive in areas with significant exposure to urban pollutants and endocrine disrupting compounds.

Jessica is passionate about the strong connection between human and environmental health. Her interest in product safety began when she realized her conscientious nutritional habits did not translate to the daily products she was using, and also, how her personal actions were counterproductive to her passion for water quality and environmental health. At MADE SAFE, Jessica hopes to make a positive difference in our knowledge of ingredient safety through effective research, and to aid in educating and changing our consumer market to expand access to nontoxic products. In her free time Jessica enjoys being active, spending time by the ocean, and writing.

Jessica Ganim | MADE SAFE
Katie Dohmen | MADE SAFE

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 a Masters 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.

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Lauren Trafton

Lauren has wide-ranging experience working with consumer products, from stationery to fashion, but her primary background is in product market research. An inveterate ingredient/content label reader, Lauren’s quest for less toxic, safer products became even more earnest after searching for non-irritating sunscreens for her then-young children. With a busy family life, Lauren recognizes the need, which MADE SAFE’s mission answers, to cut through the cacophony of product information, enabling consumers to make best choices about products used in home and family life. Lauren has a B.A. in English from Emory University.

Lauren Trafton | MADE SAFE
Megan Brown | MADE SAFE

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.

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.

Susan Cann | MADE SAFE
Sydney Cook | MADE SAFE

DIRECTOR, SCIENCE & RESEARCH

Sydney Cook

Sydney’s background is in science and writing – two fields that come together in her work at MADE SAFE. She manages product and ingredient screenings, writes blogs, reports and fact sheets, and researches all aspects of ingredients and materials, including human and environmental toxicity, manufacturing processes, sourcing, contamination risks, and more.

Sydney holds an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, where her research focused on toxic cosmetic ingredients’ impacts on environmental and human health, and environmental justice issues in nail salons. As a writer Sydney worked as a professional writing tutor for more than five years, served as an adjunct writing professor at the University of Montana, and worked as journalist and freelancer. She earned her B.A. in Biology from Coe College and is a certified yoga instructor.

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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.