Sway's story begins along the coast of California, where the forest meets the sea.
That’s where I spent my childhood climbing trees, collecting hermit crabs, and playing jump rope with long strands of kelp. My love for nature led me to explore incredible ecosystems all over the world. The more I saw, the more awestruck I was by our planet’s beauty – but also by the ubiquity of plastics spoiling and disfiguring even the most remote corners of Earth.
As a designer building brands and packaging systems, I was intimately aware of the challenges facing brands as they made attempts to do better. Thin-film plastics and their reusable, recyclable, and commercially compostable alternatives just don't cut it! I became deeply familiar with the gambit of existing regenerative materials – mycelium, scoby, microalgae, agricultural waste – and identified seaweed as the gamechanging resource that could entirely disrupt the plastics industry.
My co-founders and I built Sway with the vision of creating a truly regenerative future. We've traveled all over the world visiting seaweed farms, explored regions of the world most affected by plastic waste, and met with biomaterial innovators across borders and backgrounds. And now, we’ve built a team of remarkable individuals to bring seaweed replacements for plastics to market.
Let's make waves.
Julia Marsh
Sway CEO & Co-Founder
Our Team
Plastic pollution bears immense consequences across human and natural systems. To solve them, we believe that we must unite a team that is just as diverse. Our team includes material engineers, supply chain enthusiasts, product designers, and environmentalists. We've each found ourselves confronted with the same frustrations around plastic packaging – and the drive to do something about it.
Leland Maschmeyer
CO-FOUNDER & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Leland is the former Chief Brand Officer of Chobani where he led product innovation and expansion, marketing modernization, and business transformation. He's also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
Matt Catarino
LEAD MATERIALS ENGINEER
Matt is a chemical and materials science engineer, with industry experience in polymer extrusion and material development. He is in charge of all things R&D at Sway, and also serves as our resident cat person.
Emily Nicholson
SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIST
Emily’s background is in supply chain innovation in both Argentina and the Dominican Republic. She’s largely responsible for the connections Sway is forming with seaweed farmers, processors, and their communities.
Russell Reed
PARTNERSHIPS & IMPACT LEAD
Russell is invested in fostering a more inclusive global environmental movement through community-driven innovation. At Sway, he leads strategic partnerships, impact initiatives, and communications.
Danielle Zola
SUPPLY CHAIN LEAD ADVISOR
Danielle spent years developing scalable, sustainable packaging and sourcing solutions for CLIF before joining our team. She helps guide supply chain innovation at Sway, and is best known for running marathons and organizing trash clean ups.
Niall Collins
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIST
Niall supports sustainability strategy and reporting at Sway. His goal is to help shift industries away from fossil-based and resource-intensive supply chains and toward regenerative practices. He's also an avid sailor!
Interested in joining us?
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