Team
Co-Founder and Partner
Sarah Currie-Halpern
After participating as a child in the start of her town’s first recycling program, she fell in love with waste reduction and diversion and never looked back. She is Co-Founder and Partner of Think Zero LLC. Before launching Think Zero, Sarah ran the Solid Waste and Zero Waste Programs for the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (MOS). Her work focused on implementing the Zero Waste Plan by increasing commercial, school, and NYCHA composting and recycling; encouraging waste reduction, reuse, and donation; reducing greenhouse gas emissions from waste, and developing and improving the waste policy citywide. She was on the team that created the Zero Waste section of OneNYC and led the Waste section of the 80x50 plan. Sarah also ran the multi-agency Zero Waste Steering Committee, developed and led the Mayor’s Zero Waste Challenge, and pushed forward groundbreaking work around light pollution.
Sarah is a Board Member of Eco-Cycle in Boulder, CO, Earth Day Initiative, and is a Board of Trustees Member of the College of the Atlantic. Sarah holds a BS from Boston University School of Management and a certificate from New York University. She is certified as a TRUE Zero Waste Business Associate by GBCI, is a WELL Accredited Professional.
Ushma has had a lifelong interest in sustainability and waste reduction. Before the term "zero waste" was coined, she was raising awareness about consumption and waste with her schoolmates and work colleagues.
Prior to launching Think Zero, Ushma held senior management roles with American Express, Booz & Co., and Katzenbach Partners. She has worked on environmental issues with organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund, the Department of Environment of the City of Chicago, and Acumen.
Ushma is a member of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (MSWAB) and the NYC chapter of the New York League of Conservation Voters. She was previously on the Board of Sustainable South Bronx, where she oversaw the for-profit subsidiary Cool Roofs that worked on cooling and greening roofs throughout NYC.
Ushma holds degrees from Georgetown University, Columbia University and Harvard University. She is certified as a TRUE Zero Waste Business Associate by GBCI.
Co-Founder and Partner
Ushma Pandya Mehta
Senior Associate
Katie Gillespie
Before joining Think Zero as Senior Associate, Katie gained extensive experience as a waste auditor and audit manager. She is passionate about environmental issues and community engagement, and in her free time she co-leads Clean Up Crown Heights, a volunteer group focused on environmental justice via neighborhood beautification, education of the public, and weekly litter cleanup events, operating since 2020. She previously worked with the Sanitation Foundation on The Great Broadway Sweep, and in 2010, Katie helped produce The GreenShows Eco Fashion Week, the only fashion event exclusively committed to eco-friendly, ethically sound, fair-trade fashion in NYC at the time.
Katie is also passionate about reducing and redirecting commercial food waste to combat food insecurity. As a community fridge volunteer, she has rescued over 100,000 lbs of food from donors across New York City and has coordinated volunteers to rescue far more through her work with Gotham Food Pantry.
Katie has a background in project management, events, and marketing, sits on the board of Manhattan Community Boathouse, and earned a B.F.A. from Savannah College of Art & Design.
Before joining Think Zero, Nicole established herself as a leader in the sustainability scene in New York City. Having a passion for the environment and volunteering that dates back to high school, Nicole has done community work with various organizations.
In 2016, Nicole joined the Clean Bushwick Initiative, a local organization committed to bettering the environment through education, tree and rain garden care, with a focus on litter mitigation and environmental workshops. Nicole took over as director of CBI in 2018. In June of 2020 her passion and commitment earned her the title of “NY 1 New Yorker of the week”.
Nicole has had the pleasure of working with sustainability focused companies like Cup Zero, Re:Dish and the non profit Sanitation Foundation, all working to achieve zero waste goals.
Nicole has a background in office management and bookkeeping, holds a degree from The New School University, a CASAC certification from Metropolitan college, is on the Executive Committee of Project Main Street, and is a certified hospice volunteer.
Account Manager
Nicole DeSantis
Communications & Marketing
Jenny Lin
Jenny works with Think Zero as a communications and marketing consultant. She has a background in graphic design and develops multimedia, print, and digital work for clients.
Jenny is passionate about sustainability education and also works with the Sanitation Foundation managing various projects including their Zero Waste Academy. She is a member of the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board and heads their Education committee. Jenny is an AmeriCorps alum and prior to Think Zero she worked in education and as the Head of Operations for an ethical fashion company and a subsidiary of Liberty & Justice, Africa's first Fair Trade Certified apparel manufacturer.
She holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of Delaware and a M.S. in Sustainability in the Urban Environment from the City College of New York.
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