The Team
We strive to spread the word that founder Vincent Cobb started in 2003. His vision for reusablebags.com pioneered awareness of the plastic bag problem, and encouraged people to move beyond disposables. Below, a bit about each of us and how we continue to support the reusables movement.
Allison H. Kinney, our Brand Manager, has been carrying reusable bags (like our Reisenthel Market Basket) for as long as she can remember and recycling for even longer (she’s rifled through a few garbage cans in her day to rescue recyclables). Her green journey was inspired by her desire to help preserve the planet's resources for generations to come. When she’s not searching for amazing products to help reduce waste, she’s spending time with her daughter Kayli, reading or running.
Water holds special significance for Copy Director Brooke Diaz. It was the inspiration for her name, and she was raised in a tiny town just off the coast of Lake Michigan. Watching trash wash up on those beaches (and others around the world) inspired Brooke to take her first steps in waste-reduction. When she’s not busy having deep conversations with her reusable bamboo chopsticks, she can be found dancing merengue with her husband and two kids.
Once Cindy White, Reuseit’s Email Marketing Manager, saw how the little changes of using reusable products instead of disposable ones made a difference, she was hooked on reusables—like her favorite owl-y bento box. Originally from Peoria, IL, the mom of three and certified chocolate lover is also a seasoned photographer.
Waste reduction goes way back for Senior Interaction Designer Howell Burnell. Inspired in 1980 by The Official Preppy Handbook, he wears well-made clothes until they fall apart and offers “no apologies for my duct taped shoes.” Howell also credits Zero Waste Week and his partner, eco-leader Teri Kent (aka Better World Betty) for his Earth-friendly lifestyle. When Howell spies trash on the Blue Ridge Mountain trails, he unfolds his bright blue Flip & Tumble bag and packs out the trash for recycling.
Our Lead Customer Support Representative has a passion for purple—like her Purple CamelBak Groove with Filter (which her boyfriend has “stolen” on multiple occasions). Jacque Allen comes to Reuseit from Arlington, TX, and was inspired by her current position to strive to be greener and “help others along the path.”
An avid mountain biker (she describes dodging trees as a “Zen-like experience”), Web Designer Jane Griffin is also an avid bento box-er. “I love the fact that I can pack my lunch in such a way that eliminates all trash.” The amount of plastic waste in the environment and oceans is of high importance to Jane, especially as a mother of two. She seeks to teach her children by example to live lightly and sustainably.
Brynne Jones comes from a long line of eco-aware individuals—most of her family are professionally involved with environmental protection and raising climate change awareness and have been reusing for decades. While this put the copywriter on the reusables path, it was her time in London that pushed her into higher waste-reducing consciousness. “The English do so much more as a society to conserve and reuse that it really put American culture into perspective for me. I began my own eco-crusade to fully reform, first, my own disposable habits, then those of others.” Her eco-crusade includes using waste-free items like reusable gift wrap.
Joshua Jones, our Affiliate Manager, credits his three kids with leading his waste-reducing efforts. He strives to “help sustain the world I live in today to make it a better place for them to live in tomorrow.” Josh is one well-hydrated activist, thanks to his Thermos Intak Hydration Bottle—his must-have reusable, which goes along with him and his family on their great outdoor adventures.
California-born Digital Assets Manager Karen Wood, who grew up mainly in Arizona, started her eco journey at an early age, as Arizona’s first female president of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). Karen, a self-professed “girly Tomboy,” can hold her own with everything from a makeup brush to a chainsaw (she even won a State Championship in welding). Her three daughters inspire her to go greener every day, and she does so with the help of fashionable options like our Run, Run, Run tote.
Product Specialist Kristina Eanes, originally from Alexandria, VA, has an obsession for organizing and bags—no wonder then that her favorite reusable item is the Blue Q Cargo Bag—the perfect go-everywhere tote for this mom of two “awesome little boys.” Kristina can often be found coffee in hand, hanging out with her family.
Leandra Parks, our SEO/SEM specialist, joined the Reuseit Team from sunny Nassau, Bahamas. Shown here with her Built Gourmet Lunch Tote (a game-changer for her because she’s able to be her stylish self while saving lunchtime waste), Leandra has been known to whip up some goodies in the kitchen while imagining she’s a famous reality-T.V. chef.
“Being a crafty sort of person, I always like to come up with creative ways to repurpose things that others would typically throw away.” Web Merchandising Manager Liz Schneiders often steals her husband’s old shirts to use in her scrap quilts. She learned about reusing from the best—her dad grew up after the depression and taught her to be thrifty and save any materials that could be useful for another day. Liz, who can often be found hiking area trails, has a constant companion in her CamelBak bottle—her favorite reusable.
Originally From Winchendon, MA, Inventory Control Buyer Mary Andrews is a coffee lover who always keeps a travel mug by her side. Mary’s waste-reducing roots are deep. She comes from a family of staunch recyclers (dating back to the 1970s), and remembers her father washing aluminum foil just so he could reuse it. Now that’s waste reduction dedication!
Email Marketing Assistant, Michelle Lockerby, hails from Sandy Creek, NY. The single mom of three (two girls Chloe and Willow, and dog Buddy her “fur baby”), Michelle’s love of nature inspired her waste-reducing journey. When doing the outdoor activities she loves most—like camping—Michelle strives to keep it green by packing lunch in her favorite insulated lunch bag.
Copywriter Mary Shea Valliant was inspired to live green by the Chesapeake Bay in her native Maryland. “It’s an enormous estuary that has struggled for decades with pollution, toxic run-off and over-fishing. Being near the water is a part of me, so even as a little girl, I remember being struck by how much of our disposable goods end up in our waterways,” she says. Mary Shea, who once biked across the country with an affordable housing advocacy group, hopes to hike the Appalachian Trail one day. When that time comes, she’s sure to have her trusty reusable water bottle at the ready.
— Oprah.com
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