Who we are
Our story
The idea for 1 Million Tables for the Planet began at a small, two-person table in Atlanta, Georgia, at a conference in the fall of 2025. Debra Alexander and Marla Felcher had been introduced by a mutual friend, the great connector, Rachel Atcheson. The day’s sessions were over, and a buffet was being served at the conference. After a long day of conversation and ideas, we looked at each other and, almost simultaneously, said, “Let’s find a restaurant and have dinner.”
Over a two-hour meal of gorgeous plant-based food (and wine!), the two of us, virtual strangers, learned that we shared similar values and found a deep connection. By the end of that dinner, we had agreed to work to bring the world together, just as we had come together. Two people. One table. Nurturing, plant-based food. The 1 Million Tables campaign was born that night.
The people behind 1 Million Tables
Debra Alexander
Co-Creator, 1 Million Tables
Read Debra's Bio
Debra grew up in the mountains of Colorado, skiing, hiking, backpacking, and cycling—experiences that nurtured a deep respect for the natural world. Her journey to plant-based living began after a life-threatening infection triggered an autoimmune condition. Following the advice of a Mayo Clinic physician, she adopted a whole food, plant-based diet, which significantly improved her symptoms. She co-founded PlantPowered Foundation with her husband, Donald, where she runs the PlantPowered Pledge, a free 3-week commitment to simple, meaningful changes in how we eat. No pressure. Just progress.
E. Marla Felcher
Co-Creator, 1 Million Tables
Read Marla's Bio
Marla has worked as a marketing professor, investigative journalist, marketing consultant, and consumer advocate. In 2012, she co-founded The Philanthropy Connection, a women’s grant-making organization, and served as its president until 2017. She’s increasingly become concerned/obsessed with the effect of our broken food system on climate change, which she writes about (and more) in her blog and website Good News Veg.
Skye Smith
Digital Strategist, Sow & Grow Digital
Read Skye's Bio
Skye grew up on the coast of South Africa, where life is simple, outdoors, and shared. She now lives in Scotland and still orients her life that way, spending her time outside and around people.
That connection to simple, shared moments is what drew her to 1 Million Tables. Her technical background is what allows her to bring it to life.
As a digital strategist with over a decade of experience across search, websites, and user experience, she leads the digital side of the movement, building the systems and tools that make it easy for anyone, anywhere, to host a table and be part of something bigger.
Nico Westermann
Strategic Marketing Guru
Read Nico's Bio
Nico is a marketing strategist and creative leader committed to shifting culture through data-driven creativity and purpose-led innovation. With over 20 years of experience guiding global brands, tech disruptors, and mission-driven organizations, he specializes in combining deep human insight with the power of digital platforms to inspire meaningful change.
Carrie Bigham
Social Media Guru & Graphic Designer, SOMO.Agency
Read Carrie's Bio
Carrie lives in South Africa, where connection, community, and shared experiences are part of everyday life.
With a background in marketing and content, she focuses on how 1 Million Tables shows up in the world. From the words people read to the stories they see, her work helps bring the movement to life in a way that feels clear, relatable, and human.
Her role is to make the idea easy to understand and easy to join, so that anyone, anywhere, can take a seat at the table and pass it on.
Dotsie Bausch
Executive Director, Switch4Good
Read Dotsie's Bio
Dotsie is an Olympic silver medalist, activist, speaker, and nonprofit founder. After recovering from a life-threatening eating disorder, she found her love and talent for cycling, which led to a 14-year professional career concluding with a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics. She stars in the 2018 film “The Game Changers,” is featured in the Netflix documentary “Personal Gold,” and has given a TEDx Talk. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Switch4Good, a health and performance focused nonprofit that encourages all to Live Better. Do More. Dairy-Free.
Jamie Bichelman
Media and Public Relations Guru
Read Jamie's Bio
Jamie is an award-winning journalist, public relations specialist, and avid writer. His research and writing interests include animal behavior, human health across the lifespan, and the link between nutrition and mental health. Jamie is a veteran of the animal welfare movement, and remains a powerful advocate for all animals, both personally, and in his work as a Media and Public Relations Specialist for Switch4Good.
Anne Manning
Market Research Guru
Read Anne's Bio
Anne is a founding partner of Drumcircle, an insights and innovation firm. She has over 25 years of experience working with senior executives at Fortune 500 firms, providing counsel in strategy, marketing insights, communications, innovation, and creativity. Much of her work has focused on infusing marketing and communications planning with an empathetically based customer focus that results in long-term brand commitment and loyalty. She teaches Creative Thinking at Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education.
Raphael Wrobel
The Food Guru, Switch4Good
Read Raphael's Bio
Raphael is the Digital and Creative Marketing Director at Switch4Good. He has over 20 years of experience in digital marketing, copywriting, and social media content creation. He is the co-founder of Wellevatr and co-host of the podcast This Might Get Uncomfortable. As the first-ever plant-based chef in history with a primetime television series, his groundbreaking show How to Live to 100 on the Cooking Channel and Food Network Canada taught millions of people worldwide how to prepare delicious, organic, healthy meals at home. Raphael infuses his live speaking events, videos, and digital offerings with a joyful approach to plant-based health and wellness.
Building Impact Through Eaters (BITE)
Marketing Consultants
Read BITE's Bio
Building Impact Through Eaters (BITE) is a trailblazing, women-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to make climate-smart food choices the norm. Led by founder and executive director Eve Turow-Paul, BITE helps partners frame climate-smart eating as a way to satisfy people’s core human needs—connection, identity, autonomy, and joy. The organization understands that real change starts with what people want—delicious, satisfying, on-trend choices that drive how food is experienced, talked about, and chosen. It helps partners frame climate-smart eating as a way to satisfy people’s core human needs—connection, identity, autonomy, and joy.