We’re on a Mission!
Lite Foot Environmental Foundation believes that we must tackle our reliance on plastic and single-use products if we want to ensure a bright future for all.
That’s why we’re determined to provide the greater Savannah area with resources and programs to help you and your family reduce your carbon footprint. Through educational initiatives, Swaps that allow you to give new life to used materials and creative upcyling opportunities, we believe in the collective power of the community to make sustainable shifts towards a greener tomorrow for our planet.
It takes a community enacting small steps to create big change.
Our Impact
Since Lite Foot Company’s inception in January 2021, our community has diverted the following items from the landfill by replacing these items with their sustainable alternatives.
One million plastic bags
30,679 paper towel rolls
48,623 menstrual care products
300 rolls of wrapping paper
133,893 eating & drinking (straws, disposable cups, water bottles, cutlery, bowls)
4,284 sponges
5,238 water bottles
406,640 cotton swabs
9,492 general plastic items
2.9 million dryer sheets
MEET OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
KATIE RODGERS-HUBBARD
Katie Rodgers-Hubbard is the executive director of Lite Foot Environmental Foundation, and founder of Lite Foot Company, a refillery and sustainable home goods store. It was through Katie’s experience running Lite Foot Company that the need for sustainable education and initiatives in the community were made apparent. She earned her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, and has experience creating and implementing strong educational programs and curriculums.
In the midst of trying to save the planet, Katie loves organizing social activities, bringing people together, supporting women’s sports and snuggling with her dog, Neville. Her comedic timing is particularly impressive, and she most closely identifies with Parks and Rec’s Leslie Knope, in pretty much every way possible. Oddly enough, she also identifies with Joy from Inside Out, so needless to say she’s an Amy Poehler superfan.
Lite Foot Foundation Board Members
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Monica Feakes, President
Monica is based in Charleston, SC after living in Savannah for three years. She has over ten years of fundraising experience working for various nonprofits like Sundance Institute, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Scripps Health and La Jolla Country Day School. In 2019, she received the San Diego County Volunteer of the Year award for her volunteer work with Promises2Kids, an organization focused on providing opportunities to foster youth. Monica has her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Rutgers University, and loves the art of storytelling.
She loves hiking, being anywhere near the ocean with her rescue pup, Nellie, reading and yoga. She would like to create a sustainable future where we can continue to preserve and enjoy the natural beauty around us. Depending on the situation, she identifies with Golden Girls’ Dorothy and Pam Beesly from The Office.
You can contact Monica at president@litefootef.org.
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Jan Boroff Miller, Vice President
Jan lives in Nashville, Tennessee and currently works as a legal assistant at a firm in the city. Prior to her transition to the legal field, Jan spent over seven years working at food banks in Indiana and Tennessee, focusing her efforts on program management, evaluation and community development initiatives. Jan holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations, as well as a Master of Arts in Civic Leadership from Lipscomb University.
In her free time, Jan enjoys writing blog posts for Lite Foot Company and spending as much time outside as possible with her husband, Kyle, and their dog, Reggie Miller (yes, he’s named after the basketball player). Jan feels a particular kinship with both Ilana Glazer and Abbi Abrams from Broad City, but she also tries to channel her inner Gina Linetti when the moment calls for it.
You can contact Jan at vicepresident@litefootef.org.
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David Baine, Treasurer
David joins the Lite Foot Environmental Foundation with nearly 18 years of experience in the financial services industry, bringing a wealth of knowledge in commercial lending, real estate development, and capital raising. Having worked in cities as diverse as New York, Hong Kong, and Savannah, David has developed a knack for navigating the complexities of global financial markets and making meaningful contributions at the local level.
He's also served on the Development Committee for Arts Southeast and recently played a pivotal role in helping Savannah secure federal railroad grants, which improved safety and established a "Quiet Zone" for passing trains. David holds a Specialization in Business Strategy from Harvard Business School Online and studied at Fordham University in New York City. Additionally, he’s taken graduate courses in Service Design at SCAD, tying him even closer to Savannah’s vibrant community.
When he's not crunching numbers or strategizing for sustainable growth, David can be found coaching track at Calvary Day School or training for the 2025 London Marathon. He and his wife are expecting their third child, adding even more excitement to their home in Savannah’s Starland District, where they live with their two daughters. David identifies with the quick-witted Troy McClure from The Simpsons.
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Laura Ramirez, Secretary
Laura is a versatile design professional with expertise in creative project management, she is passionate about working with students as a career mentor. She fosters collaboration and inclusivity, believing the best solutions are co-created with the communities they serve. With a Master's in Design for Sustainability and a BFA in Fashion Design from SCAD, she brings a unique perspective to her work.
Laura has managed international design projects in Kenya, Nigeria, India, and with Indigenous communities at Catapult Design, building partnerships and driving strategic innovation. She also guides students through career preparation, offering expertise in portfolio development and career strategies. Fluent in English and Spanish, Laura combines her skills to tackle complex systemic challenges.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling and visiting National Parks with her wife, sewing, or taking walks through Forsyth Park. She’s always happy to share travel recommendations! Laura identifies with the resourceful and adventurous spirit of Annie James from The Parent Trap, blending creativity with determination. -
Saty Sharma, Chair, Upcycling Plastic Initiative
Saty Sharma is a researcher, designer, and professor of Design for Sustainability at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He holds a B.E. in mechanical and production engineering, Master of Design (M.Des.) in industrial design from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT) and a PhD from PolyU School of Design in Hong Kong.
Saty’s years of experience are in user-centered research and design for corporations like Philips, Electrolux, BMW and Samsung. He has designed products such as medical devices, consumer durables, home and kitchen appliances, and has implemented research projects that provide useful insights for design and innovation.
His research interest lies in understanding user behavior and mindset, user-centered research and design approaches, gamification, design for behavior change, and social, behavioral, and psychological dimension of sustainable well-being. He focuses on the use of design-led approaches to drive behavioral-change for environmental benefit. He studies how gamification and social influence-based approaches can be used by designers to encourage adoption of more sustainable habits and behavior. He is also studying the determinants of consumption practices, and how they influence patterns of consumption and production.
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Natalie Phillips, Communications
Natalie joins Lite Foot Environmental foundation as a seasoned designer with over 15 years of experience in graphic design working across Los Angeles, CA, Washington DC, Sarasota, FL and now based in Savannah, GA. She is the lead designer and co-founder of Nat+Matt Co, a creative studio founded in 2019, specializing in branding, website design, product packaging / photography. With a background that also includes 5 years working in the film and television industry, Natalie brings a unique perspective to visual storytelling.
Outside of her professional endeavors, her passion for design continues to permeate every aspect of her life. A self-described autumn / winter (Gilmore Girls reference), coffee aficionado, museum enthusiast, with a deep appreciation for architecture. In her free time, you can find her curled up binging a great TV series or cooking with her husband and family. She most readily identifies with Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail and Tiffany Maxwell, Silver Linings Playbook , reflecting her determination, intuition, goal-oriented nature, and passion for her community.
FAQs
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We hear a lot of people say, “what I do doesn’t make a difference”. Whether it’s an easy out, or you truly believe it, let us be the first to disprove that rumor for you. Yes, of course we need large corporations to change, but here’s a fun fact: large corporations change when there’s consumer demand.
By making weekly and daily decisions within your home to make sustainable-friendly choices, you are directly communicating with the companies you shop with, the vendors you use and the businesses you support.
Research shows that on a global level, 72% of greenhouse gases are related to household consumption, followed by food at 20%. Don’t underestimate your individual decision-making power.
And of course, there are plenty of problems we have to address across our nation and the globe. Based on what scientists, researchers and data are telling us, and the extreme weather patterns we are experiencing, we know that this problem is perhaps more imminent than we realize.
We will continue to provide you with resources, education and research to back up any claims we make, and we encourage you to do your own research, use your own mind and diversify the platforms where you receive information to properly educate yourself.
Carbon footprint of nations: a global, trade-linked analysis - National Library of Medicine 2009
"Consumers care about sustainability - and back it up with their wallets" - McKinsey & Company, February 6, 2023
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While we plan to start with community events, educational programming and activities like secondhand swaps, we have bigger dreams in mind. We have a challenging road ahead and we know there will be many that will disagree, but for the sake of our futures, our families, friends, children and neighbors, we feel that we have to do something.
Here in Savannah, we know that glass just recently went on the list of items to recycle and it still requires residents to drop off at specific locations. We have tried to connect with the local recycling centers for tours and have been denied or not responded to altogether. Litter pollutes our 14+ beautiful squares and we’ve had countless unsuccessful attempts as a city to reduce the amount of tourist-related waste due to our open container policies. We, like many other cities across the nation, have a severe homeless problem.
We don’t see any of these issues as unrelated, and in fact, we believe that with a bit of resourcefulness and creative solutions, there’s a lot of work that can be done in a short amount of time. But, we need your help. Funding that will support all of our initiatives will be critical to the amount of work we can accomplish. There’s so many ways you can help. Please visit our Giving page, or participate in one of our Upcoming Events.
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Lite Foot Foundation keeps detailed records of the comparable amount of plastic waste that is diverted from landfills, and other key data points as much as possible so that we can provide our donors and community with an annual report on how it’s going. By making a donation and signing up for our newsletter, you will be included on that report at the end of the calendar year.
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No, politics will not play a role in what Lite Foot Foundation stands for. As a registered 501(c)(3) with the IRS, it is stated in our bylaws and organizing documents that we will not involve ourselves with any political campaigns or agendas. As an organization, our aim is simply to educate. That means we will share information that is backed up with data and research, and we will potentially have conversations around where government officials stand on certain environmental topics, but we will never attempt to sway you in one direction or another. In return, we ask for the same respect from you and that you allow this to be a space for positive action in lieu of political debate.
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As of August 2023, we are recognized as a nonprofit organization by the state of Georgia. Our bylaws and organizing documents have been submitted directly to the IRS as the next step to becoming an official 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Our application is currently pending and can take up to six months. We will update you as soon as we hear back.
This will only affect you if you are needing a tax receipt for your donation for your 2023 tax return. At the time at which our application is approved, we can retroactively issue tax receipts. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us directly at foundation@litefootcompany.com.
Contact Us
Are you interested in getting involved? Do you have questions about supporting our mission? Fill out our contact form and someone from our team will be in touch.