Plant Based Support Names Meryl Fury, MS, RN, President & CEO, Marking a New Era of Growth and Collaboration

Andrea Tot
2 days ago
5 min read

Leadership appointment brings Plant Based Support and Plant Based Nutrition Movement into closer alignment around a shared mission to advance human health, nutrition education, food-system change, animal compassion and planetary health.

Plant Based Support today announced Meryl Fury, MS, RN, as President & CEO of Plant Based Support and Plant Based Nutrition Movement, effective July 20, 2026, marking the beginning of a significant new chapter for two mission-aligned organizations committed to improving health and communities through plant-based nutrition.

Fury’s appointment brings together years of leadership, nursing experience, nutrition education, community engagement and nonprofit advocacy with a long-held vision: that Plant Based Support and Plant Based Nutrition Movement can achieve greater impact by working more closely together.

The two organizations have long shared common values and complementary goals. Under Fury’s leadership, they are entering a new period of collaboration designed to expand their reach while preserving the education, support and community-centered work at the heart of their missions.

“Becoming President & CEO of Plant Based Support has been a dream of mine for about six years,” Fury said. “When I met Paul Chatlin, I kept wondering, ‘Why are we not one awesome organization?’ Plant Based Support and Plant Based Nutrition Movement have never been competitors. We could do so much more working together. That’s where we are now: same mission, same vision, same values, with innovative ways to achieve the greatest good.”

A Shared Mission With a Broader Vision

Fury’s vision for the next phase of Plant Based Support extends across four deeply connected areas: human health, the food system, animal compassion and planetary health.

At the center of that vision is a commitment to making plant-based nutrition practical, accessible and supported for and by community.

Plant Based Support will continue offering 20 or more online educational and support sessions each month, while maintaining its focus on nutritional excellence for both children and adults.

The organizations will also continue working directly within communities through hands-on experiences with whole plant foods, teaching kitchens, nutrition education and other initiatives designed to help people translate knowledge into meaningful changes in everyday life.

The next phase will also bring fresh thinking to how that mission is delivered.

The leadership transition has created an opportunity to examine existing approaches, strengthen collaboration and develop new ways for the organizations to reach more people without losing sight of the values that have defined their work.

“We still support nutritional excellence for children and adults. We still offer 20 or more online sessions every month. We still work in communities, offering hands-on experiences with whole plant foods, teaching kitchens and more,” Fury said. “Our exact plans will be revealed at the appropriate time, but one thing is clear: this organization is revitalized.”

Rather than departing from the organizations’ established mission, Fury sees the coming chapter as an opportunity to strengthen it.

The goal is continuity with momentum: preserving what works, creating space for innovation and increasing the number of people and communities the organizations are able to serve.

Founder Paul Chatlin Welcomes Fury’s Leadership

Plant Based Support founder Paul Chatlin described Fury as a leader uniquely equipped to guide the organization into its next phase.

“Meryl Fury is a rare leader whose lifelong commitment to empowering people of all ages through nutritional education and holistically improving community health shines through everything she does,” Chatlin said. “She brings both warmth and empathy to every conversation and collaborative effort she is part of.”

Chatlin pointed specifically to Fury’s leadership of Plant Based Nutrition Movement and her commitment to improving nutrition for children as evidence of her ability to translate mission into meaningful action.

“Her success with her nonprofit, Plant Based Nutrition Movement, particularly its focus on child nutrition, demonstrates her capacity to drive meaningful and lasting change,” Chatlin continued. “She is the perfect choice to champion and lead Plant Based Support. I respect her as a colleague and am grateful to call her a true friend.”

Fury said Chatlin and the existing Plant Based Support team have been strongly supportive throughout the transition, describing the period as one filled with energy, activity and possibility.

From Parallel Missions to Greater Collective Impact

The relationship between Plant Based Support and Plant Based Nutrition Movement represents more than an organizational development.

It reflects a broader idea increasingly important to the future of plant-based advocacy: that health, nutrition, food systems, compassion and environmental wellbeing are interconnected, and that organizations working toward similar outcomes can amplify their impact through collaboration.

For Fury, that connection has been evident for years.

Her work through Plant Based Nutrition Movement has included a strong emphasis on nutrition education and child nutrition, while Plant Based Support has built a community centered on helping people access plant-based education, practical guidance, expert knowledge and ongoing support.

Now, those strengths have an opportunity to reinforce one another.

The organizations will continue developing their work side-by-side, with a renewed emphasis on reaching people where they are, online, in communities, through education and through practical experiences with whole plant foods.

The result is a leadership transition grounded in continuity while creating room for a more ambitious future.

The Next Chapter

Plant Based Support’s new leadership chapter will unfold over the coming months as Fury and the team introduce additional initiatives, collaborations and approaches designed to strengthen the organizations’ collective impact.

Specific plans will be announced as they are finalized.

What will remain constant is the mission: helping people gain the knowledge, confidence, practical tools and community support needed to make meaningful choices for their health, while recognizing the wider impact those choices can have on families, communities, animals, food systems and the planet.

“We have fresh ideas and new approaches pushing the same beloved mission forward,” Fury said. “It is an incredibly exciting time.”

For Plant Based Support, the appointment is both a leadership announcement and a statement about what comes next:

a stronger community, a wider reach, a revitalized organization and a shared mission moving forward with renewed purpose.

About Meryl Fury, MS, RN

Meryl Fury, MS, RN serves as President & CEO of Plant Based Support and Plant Based Nutrition Movement, bringing more than three decades of experience in nursing leadership, public health, community health and nutrition education.

A Registered Nurse with a Master’s degree in Nursing, Fury has worked extensively in public health and with underserved communities. Her professional training also includes plant-based nutrition, project management and plant-based culinary education, and she is a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Food for Life Instructor.

Through Plant Based Nutrition Movement, Fury has made child and family nutrition a major focus of her work, including leadership of the 6 Million SEEDS Child Nutrition Project, alongside community education, cooking demonstrations, teaching kitchens and practical whole-food, plant-based programming.

Her leadership brings together healthcare experience, nutrition education, compassion and community engagement, with a vision for expanding the organizations’ impact across human health, food systems, animal compassion and planetary health.

Connect with Meryl:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merylfury/

Email: meryl@plantbasedsupport.org

About Plant Based Support

Plant Based Support is a community-centered organization dedicated to helping people improve their health and wellbeing through plant-based nutrition education, practical resources and ongoing support.

The organization provides more than 20 online educational and support sessions each month and connects people with opportunities to learn from experts, engage with community and put plant-based knowledge into practice.

Its work also extends into communities through nutrition education, hands-on experiences with whole plant foods, teaching kitchens and related programming.

Learn more: plantbasedsupport.org

About Plant Based Nutrition Movement

Plant Based Nutrition Movement is a nonprofit organization focused on advancing plant-based nutrition education and improving community health.

Its work includes a strong commitment to nutritional education for children and adults, hands-on learning and initiatives designed to make healthier food choices more accessible and actionable.

Under the leadership of Meryl Fury, MS, RN, Plant Based Nutrition Movement and Plant Based Support are entering a new period of closer collaboration while continuing to advance their shared values and mission.

Learn more: PBNM.org