Rita O'Connell, National Plastics Organizer (she / her)

Rita O'Connell is an organizer and civil servant with a particular passion for environmental advocacy. She has led and worked on domestic and international campaigns across a wide variety of social issues, including public sector labor organizing, reproductive rights, and military divestment. 

Rita holds a MA in Public Advocacy and Activism from the University of Galway and a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College. Before joining Beyond Plastics, she was a Regional Director for US Senator Martin Heinrich and an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Mexico-Taos.

A writer, performer, and producer, Rita owns significantly more instruments than she can actually play (yet). She lives in beautiful northern New Mexico, where she co-founded and helps run a grassroots, independent FM radio station that operates out of an Airstream trailer on Taos Mesa.