Meet Our Team
We are a team of educators, food industry leaders, and community advocates united by a single mission — to replace plastic food packaging with safe, renewable biopolymers, and to rebuild schools in Ukraine.
Marc Schechtman
Co-Founder
A co-founder of Hold the Plastic, began his career as a classroom teacher in 1975, after graduating from the University of Illinois. He served in the United States Air Force Reserve as a Chaplain's Assistant during the Vietnam War. Marc and his family have been leaders in the food industry for three generations, including growers, producers, and brokers.
Carl Christian Carstensen
Director of Business Development
He spent 40 years as a leader at IBM in Europe, including serving as Country Leader at the end of his career. He has experience in business planning, team building, leadership, marketing, and finance. Carl is dedicated to our mission of replacing petro-plastic food packaging with plant-based biopolymers.
Katya Koval
Co-Founder
Kateryna Koval was born in Odesa, Ukraine, and immigrated to the United States as a child. She finished University with a degree in accounting and has held several business positions over the years. Known for her reliability, organization, and intuitive understanding of client needs, she thrives in environments where both precision and personality matter.
Oksana Boiko
Our Ukrainian Teacher Leader
Oksana is a schoolteacher in the devastated Kharkiv region in Ukraine. She has first-hand experience with the students and their families and is dedicated to developing a process to deliver immediate support where it is most needed.
"I care about those people because I have known them for ages, I know their past and present, and I really hope they have a better future."