Leadership
Parents Against SSFL is a grassroots group of local parents, community members, and activists. Please meet our leadership team below.
martha martinez-bravo, Cultural Inclusion Advisor
Lauren hammersely, Public speaker and cleanup advocate
Marisa Lopez, Community Organizing Consultant
Seti Cane, Research Consultant
Melissa became an accidental activist for the SSFL cleanup after her four year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia in 2014. In her previous life she was a stay-at-home mom, before that, a graphic designer. She lives in West Hills with her husband, daughter, (who is cancer-free after a life-saving bone marrow transplant in 2017) son, dog, cat and six chickens. She believes that it should be a basic human right to live in an uncontaminated environment.
Melissa Bumstead, founder and co-director
Jeni jumped into activism for the SSFL cleanup after learning that her drinking water could have as much as 67% well water mixed in, contaminated by the Santa Susana Field Lab. She’s a well-known face in the community as she collected nearly 400 soil samples from local homes after the Woolsey Fire. She holds a degree in Anthropology from UCLA and lives in Simi Valley with her husband and daughter.
jeni knack, co-director
Denise is the Associate Director for Physicians for Social Responsibility- Los Angeles (PSR-LA.) She directs PSR-LA's Nuclear Threats Program, which advocates for nuclear weapons abolition and policies that prevent exposure to radioactive waste and contamination. Denise leads PSR-LA’s efforts to fully clean up the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), a contaminated nuclear and rocket-engine testing site near Los Angeles. She also serves on the Steering Committee of Back from the Brink, a national grassroots campaign that brings communities together to abolish nuclear weapons.
denise duffield, Senior advisor
Dr. Martinez-Bravo has not only been a vital resource for Parents Against SSFL, but also serves as Councilmember for the City of Camarillo. She is the Executive Director of Friends of Fieldworkers and is a powerful voice for justice and equity in our community. She resides in Ventura County with her husband and three children.
Lauren lives with her husband and four children in Simi Valley. Since her daughter Hazel’s cancer diagnosis in 2013 and subsequent passing in 2018, Lauren has worked tirelessly as an advocate and fundraiser for childhood cancer and environmental justice. She also helped found Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Lab.
She speaks and writes regularly about these issues with her work appearing on televised news segments, online magazines (such as Parents Magazine and The Huffington Post), podcasts and most recently the award winning documentary, In The Dark of the Valley. She is currently working on a memoir based on her daughter’s life.
Marisa lives in Oxnard with her husband, son, and daughter who has glioblastoma brain cancer. Marisa formerly worked at United Way as the Volunteer Director. She served as a leader in loal, state, and national Volunteer Management coalitions including the Points of Light Foundation and California Volunteers. She now shares her community organizing skills with PASSFL.
Seti is a recent graduate of Lewis and Clark College and attended UCSC for her undergrad. Having previously worked at Committee to Bridge the Gap, she has in-depth knowledge about the SSFL. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her puppy, Little Meatball, and her fiance, Angie. Seti recently passed the bar in Oregon and intends to practice environmental law.