5 Gyres Project (Founding Member; Non-profit). Conducts research and communicates about the global impact of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans and employ strategies to eliminate the accumulation of plastic pollution in the 5 subtropical gyres.

Algalita Marine Research Foundation (Non-profit, Research, Founding Member). The Algalita Marine Research Foundation focuses on the “coastal ocean", specifically on the restoration of disappearing giant kelp forests and the improvement of water quality through the preservation and re-construction of wetlands along the California coast.

Ed Begley, Jr., (Actor, Founding Member). Ed directed several episodes of the hit show “NYPD Blue” as well as a play that he wrote called “Cesar and Ruben” that won a Nos Otros Award and four Valley Theater League Awards. He currently has a reality show about green living called Living With Ed on Planet Green with his wife, Rachelle Carson. He promotes eco-friendly products like the Toyota Prius and Begley’s Best Household Cleaner. Begley is the author of Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life, published in 2008.

Jackson Browne (Musician / Composer; Founding Member). Jackson Browne has written some of the most moving songs in popular music. Inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, he’s defined a genre of songwriting charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He has released fifteen studio albums and three collections of live performances; his most recent, Love is Strange features David Lindley. He’s a co-founder of the groups Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), Nukefree.org, and the Success Through the Arts Foundation, which provides education opportunities for students in South Los Angeles. www.jacksonbrowne.com

Irmelin DiCaprio (Founding Member) CEO, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation)

Marcus Eriksen, Ph.D. (Science Advisors; Founding Member) Dr. Eriksen is an advocate for ocean conservation, as the Director of Project Development for the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. In 2006, he won the H. David Nahai Water Quality Award in Education for his conservation work with inner-city students; in 2008, he won the Menzie Education Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry for marine education. Recently, Marcus co-founded “5 Gyres Institute”, to study and communicate plastic pollution in the 5 large ocean gyres in the world. Marcus was elected a National Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2010.

Joel Harper (Founding Member; Writer). The author of "All the Way to the Ocean"

Heal The Bay (Civil Society; Education; Founding member) Fight to make Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean.

Chris Jordan (Artist; Founding Member). Chris Jordan is an internationally acclaimed photographic artist and social activist whose work explores the detritus of American mass culture. Chris's work is exhibited widely in the US and Europe, and has been featured in magazines, newspapers, weblogs, documentary films and television programs all over the globe. He is the 2010 recipient of the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, and he lives in Seattle with his wife the poet Victoria Sloan Jordan, and his son Emerson.

Steve Miller (Founding Member). Project Manager, Google Ocean

Captain Charles Moore (Founding Member, pioneer in the study of plastic pollution). Captain Charles Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation in 1994. He is the lead author of two scientific papers published in Marine Pollution Bulletin: The first paper documented his 1999 study, which shocked the scientific world when it found 6 times more plastic fragments by weight in the central Pacific than the associated zooplankton. His second paper found that plastic outweighs plankton by a factor of 2.5 in the near coastal surface waters of Southern California. Captain Moore has conducted ocean and coastal sampling for plastic fragments through more than 40,000 miles of the North Pacific Ocean, across 22 degrees of latitude and 70 degrees of longitude. His latest 10,000 mile voyage took him and his crew two-thirds of the way to Japan across the International Dateline.

Wallace J Nichols, Ph. D. (Science Advisors, Founding Member): Marine biologist, California Academy of Sciences. Dr. Wallace “J.” Nichols is a scientist, activist, community organizer, author and dad. He works to inspire a deeper connection with nature. J. is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences, founder of Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates, and Science Advisory Board Chair for the Plastic Pollution Coalition. He earned his MEM in Environmental Policy and Economics from Duke University’s Nicholas School and his PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of Arizona. He advises a motivated group of international graduate students and serves as an advisor to numerous boards.

Beth Terry (Writer; Founding Member). Beth is the author of My Plastic-Free Life, the number one blog and resource on plastic-free living, combining useful information about plastic-free alternatives with personal stories and personal rants. In addition to reducing their personal plastic consumption, readers are invited to join the Show Your Plastic Trash Challenge, collecting their plastic waste for a week or more to understand their personal plastic impact. Beth is also a Plastic Pollution Coalition advisor and contributing editor for BlogHer.com. She recently published a how-to guide for her life: "Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too".

Claudia Welss (Founding Member) Director, Next Now Collaboratory

Justin Winters (Outreach Advisors; Founding Member) with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation