Beyond Plastics Announces Former U.S. Senate Staffer Rita O’Connell as National Plastics Organizer
Beyond Plastics Announces Former U.S. Senate Staffer Rita O’Connell as National Plastics Organizer
For Immediate Release: November 12, 2025
Contacts:
Melissa Valliant, Beyond Plastics — melissavalliant@bennington.edu, (410) 829-0726
Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics — judithenck@bennington.edu, (518) 605-1770
Rita O'Connell, Beyond Plastics — ritaoconnell@bennington.edu, (575) 224-1869
Beyond Plastics is pleased to announce the appointment of Rita O’Connell as national plastics organizer. In this new role, Rita will lead and expand the organization’s grassroots efforts to reduce single-use plastics and block polluting chemical recycling facilities in various states.
O’Connell brings deep experience in organizing, advocacy, and coalition building. She holds a masters in public advocacy and activism from the University of Galway in Ireland and a bachelor’s degree in writing, literature, and publishing from Emerson College. Prior to joining Beyond Plastics, she served as a regional director for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and as adjunct faculty at the University of New Mexico‑Taos. A lifelong advocate, Rita has also worked on domestic and international campaigns covering labor, reproductive rights, military divestment, and environmental justice. She resides in northern New Mexico, where she co-founded a grassroots independent FM radio station.
“Rita’s experience and strategic vision make her a tremendous addition to our team,” said Beyond Plastics president and former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck. “As we continue to build a movement strong enough to challenge the plastics industry’s dominance and protect communities from pollution, having Rita at the helm of our organizing work will make a real difference. I look forward to working with her as we scale our impact and empower community advocates across the country.”
“Rampant production of unnecessary plastics is among the great environmental and moral crises of our age. Ongoing deception about the viability of plastics recycling has made Americans complicit in the generation of unfathomable amounts of waste, in the name of ‘conveniences’ that we never asked for,” O’Connell said. “People are saying enough is enough to wasteful, harmful plastics. I’m excited to join the Beyond Plastics team, and communities around the country, in the fight for a cleaner, healthier, more just future for people and the planet.”
About Beyond Plastics
Launched in 2019, Beyond Plastics pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of grassroots advocates to build a vibrant and effective movement to end plastic pollution. Using deep policy and advocacy expertise, Beyond Plastics is building a well-informed, effective movement seeking to achieve the institutional, economic, and societal changes needed to save our planet and ourselves, from the negative health, climate, and environmental impacts for the production, usage, and disposal of plastics.
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