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Staff

Laurie Valeriano

Executive Director

Laurie Valeriano is Toxic-Free Future's executive director. Laurie has worked at Toxic-Free Future for over 25 years, working to advance precedent-setting state environmental health policies that protect people and the environment. More

Liz Hitchcock

Director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, Toxic-Free Future's federal policy program

Liz Hitchcock is director of Toxic-Free Future’s federal policy program. She leads advocacy efforts with Congress, EPA and other federal agencies. More

Megan Liu

Science and Policy Manager

Megan Liu is Toxic-Free Future's science and policy manager. She manages Toxic-Free Future’s numerous science projects and policy initiatives. More

Melissa Lound

Digital Communications and Fundraising Manager

Melissa Lound is Toxic-Free Future’s digital communications expert, providing concise and informative content for supporters and the public. More

Daniel Parkhurst

Organizing Manager

Daniel Parkhurst serves as Toxic-Free Future’s Organizing Manager, bringing more than a decade of passion for advocacy through collective action. More
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Cheri Peele

Senior Project Manager

Cheri Peele joined Toxic-Free Future in 2022 to play a leadership role in both the Retailer Report Card and public policy advocacy. She has worked for over 20 years to create and implement leadership strategies for the transition to safer chemicals. More

Kathleen Quinn

Director of Finance and Administration

Kathleen Quinn is a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest and joined Toxic-Free Future as the Director of Finance and Administration.  She has worked in the nonprofit world for over a decade and was most recently affiliated with a national nonprofit focused on community improvement. More

Mike Schade

Director of Mind the Store

Mike Schade leads Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program, which challenges retailers to shift the marketplace away from hazardous chemicals and develop comprehensive safer chemicals policies. More
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Stephanie Stohler

Communications Director

Stephanie Stohler leads Toxic-Free Future’s strategic communications program, bringing a wealth of skills and experience to advance the organization’s public profile. More

Marlyn Twitchell

Deputy Director and General Counsel

Marlyn Twitchell is responsible for Toxic-Free Future’s operations, staff, and project management. An environmental lawyer and policy analyst, she has more than 20 years of experience advocating for a more just and healthier world, serving in leadership positions and as a consultant to a range of regional and national organizations. More

Eduardo Valenzuela

Tech Support

Eddy joined the staff of Safer States in 2020 as the Administrative Assistant. He provides technical support for Toxic-Free Future. More

2024 Interns

Sara Hull

Intern

Sara is joining Toxic-Free Future as a summer intern, where she'll be doing research on the Safer Products for Washington initiative. She has a Bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Wellesley College and is currently in graduate school at the University of Washington, studying public administration. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, playing tennis and pickleball, and caring for her plants. More

Gabrielle Hunstock

Intern

Gabrielle Hunstock is a Master of Public Administration student at the Evans School for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. She is joining Toxic-Free Future as a summer intern researching priority products for regulation and safer alternatives under Washington's Safer Products for Washington program. More

Malina Rattanasithy

Intern

Malina Rattanasithy is a former student of the University of Washington-Bothell’s health studies program. During the Spring 2024 quarter, Malina interned at Toxic-Free Future, where she worked on identifying safer flooring products for affordable housing. More

Board

Dan Mensher

Chair

Dan Mensher represents consumers, communities, and governments in complex environmental and consumer protection litigation. Before joining Keller Rohrback, Dan was an environmental law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, where he also litigated cases with students involving toxic waste, water pollution, and natural resource management. More

Marilyn Heiman

Secretary

Marilyn Heiman is an environmental policy consultant with decades of experience in land and marine conservation and energy policy. She has served as the US Arctic Project Director and managed the International Boreal Conservation Campaign for the Pew Charitable Trusts; served as the Secretary of Interior’s Alaska Senior Advisor and Special Assistant to Alaska’s Governor for natural resources; was a legislative aide in Alaska and staff to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Commission. More

Roald Bradley Severtson

Treasurer

Roald Severtson has worked as a software developer for 20 years at Microsoft and Amazon, a hydrogeologist in Seattle, and a teacher of mathematics and physics at d’Overbroeck’s College, Oxford. More

Emily Cousins

Director

Emily Cousins is the Director of Strategic Communications for the International Boreal Conservation Campaign, which seeks protection and sustainable management of Canada’s Boreal, the world’s largest. Before joining IBCC, Emily worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and has written extensively about climate change, clean energy, and public health for national publications and online platforms. More

Dr. Jennifer Klein

Director

Jennifer Klein is a family physician who lives in Seattle with her husband and two kids. Outside of patient care, she is passionate about ensuring the health of her children and community, including access to healthy food, products, and environment. More