Athletes United for Global Change

 

OUR STORY

Uniting Athletes for Global Change

Players for the Planet was founded by former Major League Baseball players Chris Dickerson and Jack Cassel with the goal of uniting professional athletes to create positive change for our environment. As an organization, PFTP works to connect professional athletes, sports teams, and organizations with actionable opportunities to serve and protect our natural world and the environment. It is our ultimate goal to support the professional sports industry in becoming a leading example of ecologically conscious, environmentally responsible, and sustainable practices worldwide.

We are proud to partner with fellow environmentally conscious individuals and organizations to create opportunities for athletes, fans, and the general public to become a part of the movement to help preserve our planet.

To date, more than 200 current and former professional athletes have joined Players for the Planet in working to create a better world, and that list continues to grow. We work to bring pro and youth athletes across the nation together to enact exciting environmental initiatives within their own communities, including beach cleanups, recycling events, plastic reduction, conservation efforts, eliminating single-use plastics in sports facilities, and more. Players for the Planet works to bring positive environmental change to the world of professional sports and beyond.

 
 

OUR MISSION

Working to protect our planet

 

Players for the Planet believes in uniting all athletes to bring lasting and measurable transformation to the Earth. Our living world, which we rely on for the water we drink and the air we breathe – for everything we need as humans to survive – is in a state of peril.

Every year, more than 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our oceans, and fifty billion tons of CO2 waste enters our atmosphere. Our ecosystems and our environment are changing at an alarming pace, the effects of which are detrimental to our world and many of which will be irreversible. Scientists predict that if we keep discarding plastics at the same rate, there will soon be more plastic in our oceans than fish.

We believe the responsibility to preserve and protect our planet falls on each and every one of us. As professional athletes, we are fortunate enough to have a powerful platform and the resources we need to create positive change in our world when it needs our help more than ever. We seek to unite to make sustainability and environmental responsibility foundational values of our sport.

It’s time to join forces- for our planet and our future.

Board of Directors

  • Chris Dickerson

    BOARD MEMBER
    A former Major League outfielder, Chris has been advocating for change since his early dugout days. He remembers first noticing the appalling amount of waste a team can produce over the course of an inning — and then multiplying that by the amount of waste produced by spectators in the stands. As a co-founder of Players for the Planet, Chris is dedicated to empowering over 150 fellow athletes to channel their influence into eco-consciousness in ways that inspire the present and future of sports toward environmental stewardship.

  • Michele Meyer-Shipp

    BOARD MEMBER

    Michele Meyer-Shipp, Esq., SHRM-SCP, is a talent and culture strategist and the former chief people & culture officer for Major League Baseball. Prior to joining MLB, Michele served as principal and chief diversity & inclusion officer for KPMG.

  • Cyrus Wadia

    BOARD MEMBER
    Dr. Cyrus Wadia is the current head of product sustainability at Amazon, where he is responsible for raising the sustainability standards for all products sold on Amazon as well as making it easier for customers to discover and shop for those products. Cyrus served as an assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy between 2010 and 2015, where he advised the Obama administration and introduced new budgetary and legislative initiatives in energy, climate, advanced materials innovation, manufacturing, and mining.

  • Erik Distler

    BOARD MEMBER
    Erik Distler is the vice president of sustainability for AEG, where he draws upon his extensive experience at the intersections of social and environmental responsibility, sports, and entertainment. Erik has spent his career building purpose-driven partnerships and engagement between multiple stakeholders, ranging from the public sector to individual fans.

  • Jeremy Casebeer

    BOARD MEMBER
    Jeremy Casebeer is an Association of Volleyball Players (AVP) professional beach volleyball player who is focused on accelerating solutions to combat climate change and protect the oceans. He was responsible for building and is leading the AVP Tour’s first-ever Climate Action Plan to measure, reduce, and offset the AVP’s waste and energy impact.

  • Brent Suter

    BOARD MEMBER
    Brent Suter is a relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers and a leading voice among sustainability-minded professional athletes. In addition to his work with Players for the Planet, Brent is also a supporter of Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center, which provides educational programs that build environmental curiosity, understanding, and respect.

  • Jack Cassell

    BOARD MEMBER
    Jack Cassell, a former Major League pitcher who is now vice president, new listings and head of private capital markets at Nasdaq, is a co-founder of Players for the Planet. Jack was a key contributor and driving force in conceptualizing and launching many of the organization’s early initiatives.