Jay Plater was a longtime Bay Area Action supporter who participated in many events and projects. He was also a photographer and regularly contributed pictures to BAA for newsletters and websites in the 1990s; he also contributed some rare old photos to the BAA Archives in 2025.

He may have been the first person to receive a byline in the BAA newsletter, with his article “America’s oil addiction” in the Jan–Feb 1991 edition of Action.