Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon.

Luiz Amaral is the Global Manager for GFW Commodities and Finance. He leads the international team engaging companies and governments in using WRI geospatial tools and information technology to monitor agricultural supply chains, aiming to reduce deforestation and promote sustainable development in agriculture globally.

Before joining WRI Luiz was the head of corporate socio-environmental responsibility for Rabobank in Brazil and South America, responsible for risk assessment processes – involving an innovative sustainability rating - as well as sustainable business development. He also served on the boards of the Brazilian National Climate Change Fund (Fundo Clima) and international sustainability roundtables such as the ones for sugarcane (Bonsucro) and beef (GRSB/GTPS).

With a carrier that allied private-sector and research positions, Luiz is a former recipient of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) fellowship on agriculture and climate change; coordinated the European biofuel program at Groupe d’Economie Mondiale at Sciences-Po Paris and worked as a researcher at Agroicone (formerly known as Icone), a leading agricultural think tank.

Luiz holds a Masters on International Economics from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and is a Phd candidate at University of São Paulo (USP), working on the impacts of information and communication technology on sustainable rural development.

Dee joined Norcom, Inc., (a manufacturer and marketer of paper-based school and office supplies sold to mass market retailers) in 1993.
In her role as Director of Environmental Affairs for the company's U.S. and Mexico facilities, Dee is responsible for: strategic planning; oversight of corporate sustainability team; goal setting; metric establishment and tracking; stakeholder engagement; environmental reporting including retail account assessments, CFSI conflict minerals and carbon footprint reporting; forestry certifications; supply chain transparency; and corporate and supplier compliance.
Dee is also responsible for California Proposition 65, Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and other government program compliance.
She is actively involved in The Sustainability Consortium, a group of leading corporations dedicated to developing credible measurement tools for assessing sustainability integration into businesses.
Dee graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa 1986. In 2014 she graduated "With Distinction" from the Global Sustainability program at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

In 2016, Mandar started the From India With Love initiative to reinvigorate the ancient message of nonviolence (or Ahimsa) in the world. Aligned with this mission, in Oct 2018, Mandar hosted the inaugural World Summit for Countering Violence & Extremism that brought together peace activists and law enforcement executives to promote peace and compassion in the world.

Until 2016, Mandar worked at Shell for 17 years at Shell International. In his last role, he managed Shell’s prestigious GameChanger social innovation program investing in ideas that create shared value - business value and social impact. Mandar is an acclaimed expert on leadership, entrepreneurship and social innovation and has spoken on these topics at many prestigious forums including TEDx, Wharton Business School, Social Innovation Summit, Sustainable Brands, London Business School, etc. He is also the winner of the prestigious Ashoka League of Intrapreneurs for designing and delivering an innovation learning program at Shell to over 2000 colleagues using meditation practice.

For over a decade, Mandar has taught leadership programs using meditation practices volunteering for the International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation.

For more info about Mandar's work click here.

Roian Atwood is the Director of Sustainability for Wrangler, Lee jeans, and several other brands and geographic regions. Atwood leads brand sustainability strategy, engages suppliers globally to drive greater social and environmental performance, and works cross functionally with product development and marketing to create more sustainable products and share brand relevant stories.

With fifteen years’ experience in footwear & apparel sustainability, his diverse project management experience includes implementing renewables and discovering energy efficiency measures to project managing materials innovation pilots and leading teams into an action-oriented, results driven approach to corporate sustainability.

Atwood’s undergraduate work was in Complex Systems with Naropa University, and he holds a Master’s of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.

Bhavik Bakshi is the Richard M. Morrow Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. He is also on the Faculty Advisory Board of OSU's Sustainability Institute, and has a courtesy appointment in Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering.  His research is developing systematic methods to ensure that engineering solutions make positive contributions to sustainable development without causing unintended harm. He has published extensively and teaches regular and short courses across the world. His work has been recognized by several awards including the research excellence and education awards from the Sustainable Engineering Forum of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Lawrence K. Cecil Award for environmental chemical engineering from the Environmental Division of AIChE, the CAREER award from the U.S. National Science Foundation, and several best paper awards from journals and conferences. He has served on task forces of the United Nations Environment Program’s efforts toward sustainable development. He is a chemical engineer by training, with degrees from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cheryl Baldwin, Ph.D.,ÿis a Vice President of Consulting for Pure Strategies where she partners with corporate clients to develop and execute strategies to improve sustainability performance across food, home and personal care, and cosmetics industries. Cheryl also leads the firms? global market research to generate new insights to accelerate business transformation.ÿ She wrote the book,ÿThe 10 Principles of Food Industry Sustainability and two other books on sustainability, along with holding U.S. and international patents.

Jessica Balsam is the Sustainability Director for APL Logistics.  She works to set a global strategic vision for sustainability and corporate social responsibility that is grounded in data and tied to business objectives.  Prior to joining APL Logistics, Jessica served in the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy overseeing communications for $12 billion in stimulus funding and managed global sustainability programs in Nike’s retail business.

Cristian Barcan joined The Vinyl Institute (VI) in 2015 as the VP of Sustainability and Industry Affairs. Cristian brings with him two decades of experience in the chemical industry, with proven success in developing sustainability related business models for a wide range of products. Prior to VI, he served as Vice President of Business Development at UL's Information and Insights division (UL), where he was responsible for developing and promoting sustainability related business models for the company's supply chain engagement platform, as well as its B2C sustainability rating application systems.
Cristian also spent 18 years with BASF in a number of senior level positions, most recently as Head of Applied Sustainability for BASF Nutrition and Health North America, South America and Asia Pacific. During that time he developed a service package that helps consumer brands create and market more sustainable goods. Cristian introduced BASF as a core member of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) and continues to engage with TSC on behalf of VI. He is also a speaker and panel participant at a number of global events including Sustainable Brands.
In his current role at The Vinyl Institute, Cristian Barcan is responsible for leading the organization?s overall campaign to advance the vinyl industry's sustainability commitment and progress, and build positive relationships with key influencers.

Cristian serves also as the Executive Director of the Vinyl Business & Sustainability Council. The Vinyl Business & Sustainability Council (VBSC) is the subject matter leader on sustainability issues and related technical, communications, and advocacy activities pertaining to the vinyl industry in North America. VBSC provides a collaboration platform that champions comprehensive science-based continuous improvement practices to meet the needs of current and future generations.

James Barsimantov, Ph.D., Cofounder & COO at SupplyShift, received his doctorate in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz with a focus on environmental economics and resource management. Jamie has extensive consulting and academic experience in sustainability, climate action strategy, responsible supply chains and is frequent speaker in academic and corporate venues.

Before co-founding SupplyShift, Jamie co-founded EcoShift Consulting, taught environmental economics and sustainable design at UC Santa Cruz, conducted nation-wide research at the Urban Institute, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama. Jamie is the driving force behind connecting SupplyShift with its customers and partners, and ensuring successful outcomes and continuous improvement in supply chain operations.

Patrick Beary leads the development of TNC’s food supply chain strategies in support of the Conservancy’s global conservation mission.  His team is responsible for the Conservancy’s corporate and multi-stakeholder engagements with the global agriculture and food industries. Beary joined the Conservancy’s Corporate Engagement team in 2012. Previously he managed the Conservancy's Business Council.  He is the current co-Chair of the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative and on the Board of Directors of The Sustainability Consortium.
Prior to joining the Conservancy, Patrick was the South American lead for an environmental and business consulting company working on corporate sustainability, strategy and ecosystem service valuation projects across the hemisphere. With an academic background in international studies and economics, he was the recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellowship to Buenos Aires, Argentina. He lives with his wife and two children in Illinois.

Mr. Belden is an organizational manager with a high degree of personal integrity and over 30 years of experience providing creative leadership; organizing, initiating action, team building and leading people. He is a self-starter who gets results by effectively leading people, managing resources and being accountable for results. Mr. Belden is a biomass production practitioner with experience in using research testing protocols and has the ability to relate those protocols to real world applications for biomass processing systems. He is experienced in using moisture testing equipment, sample drying protocols and the quality control impact on biomass grinding and handling practices. He also has expertise in agriculture and farm management operations, commodity marketing, and government relations.

Bio coming soon

JoAnne Berkenkamp focuses on improving the efficiency of the U.S. food system by reducing food waste from farm to fork. She specializes in food-waste prevention and food rescue through industry-based approaches, consumer education, and policy advocacy. Berkenkamp has nearly two decades of experience working in the food-systems arena, including regional food-systems development, public education, institutional food procurement, and food supply chain research and development. Berkenkamp has also worked in the corporate finance and international development sectors. She holds a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Illinois and a masters from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Nick has significant experience delivering market development activities, environmental programs and facilitating success directly with farmers on sustainability challenges of the agricultural value chain at the local, regional, and international-level. He has experienced the sector from the perspective of industry, grassroots agricultural organization, environmental not-for-profit and government.

Nick is a trained ecologist with an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability and holds multiple certifications, including in Sustainability Reporting and as a Change Management Specialist and Farm Transition Coordinator.

Based in Ontario, Canada, Nick is the Programme Manager for SAI Platform’s Arable & Vegetable Working Group, the Horizon Committee and associated activities and projects.

Nancy Bock is a Senior Vice President at the American Cleaning Institute? (ACI). She is a recognized leader in consumer affairs, outreach, communications, external relations, and partnership development and family and consumer sciences. For the past 35 years, she has been dedicated to designing campaigns, programs and materials that provide better living for individuals, families and communities.

In recent years, Ms. Bock has been a leader in developing partnerships with key organizations including The Sustainability Consortium, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Clean the World, American Society for Microbiology, National Education Association, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Family, Career and Community Leaders of American, Cleaning for a Reason, National Poison Prevention Week and the Coin Laundry Association.
She is responsible for developing, managing and measuring the success of all consumer education programs and outreach activities for the American Cleaning Institute. She has published more than 200 educational tools during her tenure at ACI and has reached over one billion consumers since joining the ACI team.

She has served on numerous advisory committees and boards and currently serves on the Cleaning for a Reason Board of Directors, Clean the World Board of Directors, Family, Career and Community Leaders for America Board of Directors, Leading Authorities Event Advisory Board and the WVU Visiting Committee. She has received numerous awards for her educational programs.

Her multi-faceted work experience includes county, state and federal government (Department of Agriculture), faculty positions at two land grant universities (Cooperative Extension Service), non-profit associations (American Chemical Society and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) and business and industry (American Cleaning Institute).

Ms. Bock has a B.S and a M.S. degree in Education from West Virginia University.

Nathan Bolivar is the Graphic and Web Design Specialist at the Sustainability Consortium. Prior to joining he came from Arizona State University’s Technology Office where he worked as part of their development team in apps and design. Along with his passion for web, he has been involved with several lean startups at multiple stages. His expertise is in multimedia design, marketing strategy, and UI/UX for web and mobile. Nathan graduated with a BA in business administration and marketing from Adams State University in 2015, where he also competed as a track and field athlete. He is also a licensed real estate agent in Arizona.

Sheila Bonini has joined WWF as our new senior vice president of Private Sector Engagement (PSE).

Most recently, Sheila served as the chief executive officer of The Sustainability Consortium, a global organization focused on making consumer products more sustainable. In that capacity, she helped develop more sustainable consumer products across the full product lifecycle.

Prior to joining TSC, Sheila spent more than 15 years with the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company in Europe, South America, and the US. Sheila served as senior expert consultant and co-leader of McKinsey’s Sustainability Transformation Service, and her work at the company focused on the link between social and environmental impact and financial value creation. Prior experience includes investment banking at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, as well as positions with the Hewlett Foundation and Stanford’s Center for Social Innovation.

Sheila has a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University. She's a frequent speaker and writer on sustainability, and has a strong network of corporate leaders in this field.

Lawrence Bowdish started consulting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center on its Issue Network research in May 2013. In addition to conducting and managing all of the research for the center, he also serves as the Issue Network lead for food security, where he concentrates on how the private sector contributes to the technology and innovations required to end hunger, improve nutrition, and eliminate food waste.

In addition to his work with the Foundation, Bowdish is a Professor for the American Military University. Previously, Lawrence was a Professor for the American Military University, teaching courses in U.S. History, Women?s History, and the History of Technology. He also worked as a consultant for county health departments that were instituting public health initiatives for youth and teens in the state of Florida.

Lawrence holds a Ph.D. in Modern American and Economic History from the Ohio State University, where he wrote a dissertation on consumer credit, and published articles on the mortgage and student loan markets. He has a B.A. in History and Economics from New College of Florida.

Bio coming soon

Emi Cardarelli – Unilever - Director of Club Sales and Sustainability.

Emi is responsible for leading the wholesale club customer sales teams for Unilever US. She plays a key role in the strategy development for the club channel, as well as value creating initiatives for both Unilever/Walmart sustainability programs.

Prior to Unilever Emi spent 13 years at Walmart Stores Inc in several merchandising, sourcing, and private brands roles where she grew the business, and built a diverse, cross-functional background including an international assignment in Costa Rica.

Emi was raised in Mexico City in a bilingual/multicultural environment and has spent the past 16yrs in Northwest Arkansas. She received her B.S. in International Business at the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City and completed her MBA at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business. Emi currently serves as past chair on the Sam Walton College Deans’ Alumni Advisory Council and is a board member of Pay It Forward Foundation. Emi lives in Rogers, AR with her husband Tony and boys AJ (11yrs) and Alex (2yrs).

In her role as sustainable agriculture analyst at Campbell, Chu, 26, is focused on raising standards for suppliers, setting sustainable sourcing goals and tackling specific ingredients. She developed Campbell’s first enterprise-wide sustainable agriculture strategy, which provides greater transparency to consumers around how their food is grown.

Chad is the Director of Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Continuous Improvement for Norcom Inc., a leading manufacturer of consumer paper products for school and business. Chad and his team are responsible for efficient production operations, material supply and distribution, and building a lean culture based on Toyota Production System principles.

Prior to Norcom Inc., Chad led functions including the Materials and Lean Manufacturing Division and Logistics & Warehousing in the US and Mexico for Yazaki Corp., a global tier one automotive supplier. Chad was responsible for the implementation of lean manufacturing initiatives in multiple Yazaki locations, and has worked as a consultant driving lean transformation.

Lawren Cooper is an Environmental Sustainability Manager at PepsiCo with fifteen years of experience promoting sustainable business practices.  Her responsibilities include leading the PepsiCo Recycling Events and Roadster programs, performing sustainability reviews of new products and projects, developing and executing sustainability strategies, and integrating sustainability into the business.  Other focus areas include carbon footprint reduction, product stewardship and customer outreach. Lawren received her B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Environmental Science & Engineering and an MPH from the University of Michigan in Environmental Health Science and Industrial Hygiene.

Sonia Cordera is Program Manager at IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative, where she is responsible for the development and management of the Fruit and Vegetables program, as well as of the Flowers and Ornamentals one. Her role includes organizing retailers, traders and producers to mainstream sustainable production and trade, and implementing projects in Africa and Latin America. Prior to joining IDH, Sonia worked at SIM Supply Chain as data analyst, mapping and monitoring customers’ supply chains for social compliance and food safety. Sonia also contributed to the revision of the Royal Ahold list of accepted social standards in 2014. Deeply interested in international politics and economics, Sonia holds a PhD in History of International Relations from the University of Florence and a Master of Science in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London.

Annie Dee is the President of Dee River Ranch. Dee River Ranch is a 10,000-acre family operated farm located on the Alabama-Mississippi state line outside of Aliceville, Alabama. The farm works with a rotation of corn and soybeans produced in accordance with the operation’s commitment to sustainable production and conservation practices. Pines and hardwoods have also been planted on some of the farm’s acreage. Additionally, Dee River Ranch has over 1,000 head of Brahman and Angus cross-bred cattle.

Annie serves on the United Soybean Board, speaking at various conferences and events about the importance of conservation practices in U.S. agriculture. In 2018, her commitment to clean water, soil health and conservation planning was recognized by the National Conservation Planning Partnership when she was awarded the Hugh Hammond Bennett Award for Conservation Excellence. Annie was named a Top Producer by Farm Journal in 2016 and Dee River Ranch was awarded the Alabama Farm of Distinction Award in 2013.

Kevin Diehl leads the Global Regulatory Seed Platform for Corteva Agriscience, the Agriculture Division of Dow DuPont. He and his team develop and implement the strategic regulatory and advocacy plans to move products thru the research pipeline to the commercial business, and ultimately, to farmer customers around the world. They develop and execute the scientific studies that are used by regulatory agencies around the world to assess product safety.

Growing up on his family’s diversified crop and livestock farm in central Iowa, Kevin was focused on a career connected to agricultural. His interest evolved from working on the farm to working for DuPont, starting in 1993, to bring new science and technology to farmers globally. He has held research, agronomy, business improvement, marketing and sales management positions within DuPont, DuPont Pioneer and now Corteva Agriscience.

Kevin earned his Ph.D. in plant physiology and weed science from the University of Illinois and earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and agricultural studies from Iowa State University. He is a Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.  Kevin participates in various leadership capacities in industry associations including Crop Life International (CLI) and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).  Outside of work, he is active in the Johnston community and serves on the ALS Association, Iowa Chapter Board as Treasurer.

Bill Dolak is the Senior Manager, Product Sustainability for Walgreens (Walgreens-Boots Alliance North America). In this role Bill works to advance Sustainability initiatives across the non-pharmaceutical product offerings at Walgreens retail stores. This includes influencing the product’s chemical composition and ingredient provenance, packaging composition and recyclability communication, as well as Vendor Sustainability Practices (via the TSC toolkits). Prior to Walgreens, Bill worked in food manufacturing at General Mills, Tyson Foods, and in Private Brand Brokerage. Bill is a graduate of Indiana University and has done graduate studies at Indiana University School of Medicine and The University of Chicago School of Medicine. He lives in the northern Chicago suburbs with his wife, two daughters, and a puppy.

Melissa Donnelly is Senior Manager of Global Supply Chain Sustainability for Campbell Soup Company. She leads sustainability work across Campbell’s manufacturing sites and drives progress on Campbell’s commitments to climate, water and waste. She also leads the Company’s commitment to reduce food waste and develops processes to integrate sustainability into business functions. She serves on the Consumer Goods Forum Food Waste Working Group, the ReFED Advisory Council and manages CEO Denise Morrison’s executive membership with Champions 12.3. Before joining Campbell, Melissa worked with Johnson Controls on building energy efficiency, with the US EPA on climate change partnerships and programming, and with the Natural Resources Defense Council as a Climate Policy Fellow focused on international programs. Melissa earned her B.A. in International Relations from Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, V.A. and her M.A. in Environmental Policy from American University in Washington, D.C.

Marieke has been interested in the food issues since she was introduced to the Dutch role in international food production and safety. Her interest grew as her knowledge on food issues expanded. She wishes to continue working on these issues and hope to contribute in making the food industry sustainable for generations to come.

Marieke enjoys working in an ambitious team towards a common goal. With her strong sense of responsibility she likes to take the lead and coordinate different tasks within the team.

In the last few years Marieke has developed a love for writing, both professionally and creatively.

Bio coming soon

Leveraging over 10 years of experience in sustainable agriculture and an extensive background in supply chain management in other industries, Chisara is responsible for the design and implementation of Field to Market’s verification processes. Prior to Field to Market, Chisara was the Vice President of Certification at Fair Trade USA where she created and implemented certification strategies for agricultural supply chains to improve farmer and worker livelihoods, improve environmental outcomes, and increase transparency in sourcing and claims. Chisara was also a consultant, designing procurement and supply chain management strategies across multiple industries. Chisara holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Duke University.

Jeff has recently joined Oritain – a world leader in verifying the origin of products – as Managing Director, North America.  Using forensic science and data analysis, Oritain analyses naturally-occurring chemical properties within products to trace them back to their true origin, from any point in the supply chain. Operating globally, they work with some of the world’s largest food, textile and pharmaceutical suppliers. Jeff joins Oritain after 21 years with J.G. Boswell Company, one of the largest agricultural producers in the country, where as Vice President, Marketing, he oversaw the sales and marketing of the company’s agricultural products. He has been active in and served on the boards for many agricultural organizations. Jeff is past president of the Cotton Warehouse Association of America and a past chair of the Supima organization. He is currently the Chair of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, recognized as the premier leadership program in its niche.

Judge Laura Safer Espinoza is the Executive Director of the Fair Food Standards Council, which monitors and enforces the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ groundbreaking agreements with growers and food retail buyers to ensure fundamental human rights for agricultural workers. The Fair Food Program has been recognized by the White House, the United Nations, Harvard Business Review, CNN International’s Freedom Project and numerous international human rights organizations, as one of the most successful programs in the world today to uncover, eliminate and prevent modern-day slavery, sexual violence, wage theft and other systemic abuses.

 Judge Safer Espinoza is a former NY State Supreme Court Justice who served as a judge and court administrator for twenty years. She helped to design and became the first presiding judge of an innovative alternative to incarceration court for non-violent offenders. Judge Safer Espinoza has an extensive history of work with government, human rights and legal organizations in the United States and Latin America. She has taught extensively in Latin America, in support of law reform and greater transparency.

Justice Safer Espinoza is a graduate of Barnard College and New York Law School. She is a recipient of the City University of New York’s Women in the Law Award and Encore’s ‘Purpose Prize’ Award, celebrating individuals who use their previous life experience to make a difference.

Based in Singapore, Elena is the Vice President of Labor Solutions at Workplace Options’. She leverages her background in social enterprises to lead the Labor Solutions team in developing high-quality human resource technology tools designed for factory employees. Before joining Workplace Options, Elena worked with several leading organizations in Indonesia to design and develop sustainable business solutions to address development challenges. Elena spent eight years in Indonesia, arriving in 2010 as Fulbright Scholar. Prior to living and working in Indonesia, Elena worked in analytics in the US.

HSBC is one of the world’s largest universal banks with over $2.5tn of assets, headquartered in London, UK. Roderick is a Vice President in HSBC’s Global Banking division, where he is responsible for managing the global relationships with some of the bank’s largest US and multinational corporate clients in the Consumer, Retail, and Healthcare sectors. He has been with the bank for over a decade and has worked in various roles across Global/Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Retail Banking, and Risk Management. He was previously based in Asia (Sri Lanka), Europe (UK, the Netherlands), and the Americas (USA). Prior to joining HSBC he was a diplomat for the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Roderick holds a BA in Social Sciences from University College Utrecht, an MA in International Peace & Security from King’s College London, and two MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School. He is married and currently resides in Hoboken, NJ.

Dante is Vice President of the Center for Conservation and Research at the San Antonio Zoo.  Dr. Fenolio helps to coordinate both domestic and international conservation efforts to develop captive breeding methods for endangered species including a project in collaboration with the Chilean Amphibian Conservation Center.  He collaborates with colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on the cave biodiversity of South China and develops conservation strategies.  He also works with Brazilian, Chilean, and Peruvian colleagues to form conservation strategies for wildlife and forests in those countries.  Dr. Fenolio’s department is also involved in a consortium of researchers investigating the impact of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on deep sea and pelagic communities in project “DEEPEND”.  His team also lead efforts to conserve imperiled species living in the Edward’s Aquifer and its springs.  In 2016, Dante published a book featuring his photography focused lantern fish and other animals which spend all or most of their lives in the dark called “Life in the Dark”. Dante earned his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Miami, Florida.

Margaret is the Manager of Corporate Sustainability Engagement at BASF in North America. She works with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to strategically embed sustainability throughout the value chain and drive sustainable solutions. Margaret has extensive experience working with private, non-profit, and public sectors, including Fortune 500 companies, world-class CSR platforms, top-tier media, and the United Nations. She is the author of several publications including A Call to Climate Action: The UN Global Compact - Accenture CEO Study Special Edition (UN Global Compact, Accenture Strategy 2015), and Exploring the Business Case for Corporate Action on Sanitation (UN Global Compact, CEO Water Mandate 2014). Margaret holds a Masters degree in Sustainable Development and Environmental Management from Harvard University, as well as a Masters degree in Spanish Language from Middlebury College Language Schools.

Erika Ferrin is the Senior Director of Marketing, Communication, and Development at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). Ferrin's main role is to set the marketing and communication strategy for TSC as well as create communication platforms to support our researchers, members and partners. Along with 15 years of non-profit and higher education marketing experience, Ferrin brings with her a passion for conservation and working with scientists and researchers to help tell their stories. Prior to joining TSC, Ferrin was the Brand Marketing Manager in the Smithsonian's Office of Public Affairs where she led Smithsonian's pan-Institutional marketing plan and national marketing campaign. Before the Smithsonian, Ferrin was the Director of Marketing at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country (UMBC). Her branding campaign for UMBC won the national 2011 CASE gold award for Advertising. Prior to her time at UMBC, Erika was the Associate Director for Advertising and Promotion at PBS, where she worked in brand management for PBS, PBS KIDS and launched premieres and promotional campaigns for over 50 different television series. Erika received her M.A. in Professional Studies and Art History from Towson University and her B.A. in Media Communication and Design from James Madison University.

In 2015, Kelly W. Fisher was appointed Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Sustainability for HSBC Bank USA.  In her role she has helped to launch HSBC’s new U.S. volunteer program “Involve” which has been recognized for improving the volunteer experience.  She also co-chairs the US Climate Business Council, which is helping to increase HSBC’s leadership role in sustainable finance.

Kelly joined HSBC after seven years at Toyota Motor North America, where she created environmental and safety programs that were recognized for having a meaningful impact while greatly improving corporate reputation.  In her tenure there she also created Toyota’s first-ever social media giving campaign, called “100 Cars for Good”.   Prior to that, she worked for four years at Goldman Sachs, helping to manage their global volunteer program and internal marketing campaigns.

In the past, Kelly has held seats on the corporate advisory board of Do Something and the executive board of Corporate Volunteers of New York.  She is an active volunteer with Citymeals-on-Wheels, various animal welfare organizations, and was a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2011.

Forrest Follett began working for TSC in September of 2018 as the Manager of Data Science. His work supports the Commodities Mapping Program, analyzing global sustainability risks as they relate to various commodities and modeling their spatial distributions. Forrest’s background is in Archaeology, where he has several years of experience in the Cultural Resource Management sector and got his BA in 2012. He moved to Fayetteville to pursue his MA and is currently finishing his thesis, titled “An Investigation of the Affordances of Virtual Environments for Archaeological Data Presentation” which uses video games to make more interesting archaeological site reports. The common thread between his work in archaeology and his work for the consortium is his passion for making complex geospatial data into maps and visualizations that are easy to understand and make exploring a dataset simple and engaging.

Emma Fuller is a data scientist with Granular where she uses large, high dimensional, unstructured data sets to derive novel insights for farmers. Prior to joining Granular, Emma received her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton where her work combined both theoretical and empirical approaches to try to better quantify social and ecological sustainability in US West Coast commercial fisheries.

Lloyd is the Director of Forests and Climate for WWF-US and serves as the REDD+ Multilateral Finance Lead for WWF’s Global Forest and Climate Program. In the last decade, developed countries have committed several billion dollars in climate finance to efforts to reduce tropical forest loss and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Lloyd leads WWF’s efforts to ensure that these funds are spent effectively – in ways that directly address the major drivers of deforestation (e.g., like unplanned agricultural conversion) but also respect the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and local, forest-dependent communities. After representing Northern Civil Society as an Official Observer at the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility for several years, Lloyd now works with WWF teams and their partners in countries like Nepal, DRC, Indonesia and Peru to design and advance successful jurisdictional programs to reduce deforestation and degradation.

Lloyd has a M.S. and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Massachusetts. After completing his graduate work, Lloyd moved to Washington to work on international environmental policy with the U.S. State Department, where he worked for two years before joining WWF.

Eric is the Director of Sustainable Sourcing for Monsanto, starting his career in September 2016.  Eric works with various stakeholders in the food value chain around sustainabile sourcing challenges, solutions, developments, and ideas.  He works with farmers, national and regional commodity boards, as well as consumer goods companies, food manufacturers, retailers, and NGOs, with an end goal of providing sustainable food sources to consumers globally.  His main initiatives are creating a platform to sustainably source commodity crops, potentially certifying these crops on a global level for food companies worldwide, as well as building campaigns to speak to consumers about how their food is grown and produced across the value chain.

Eric began his career in pharmaceutical sales for Pfizer.  After various roles, he moved into account management for cranial staplers with Covidien, followed by a role as regional account manager for Kimberly Clark in their spinal and knee division.  After 16 years in healthcare, he made the transition to agriculture to develop a sustainable future for the production, sale, and consumption of food.

Eric has a BS in biochemistry from University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Masters in International Business from St. Louis University.

Emil is a Research Associate at the European office of The Sustainability Consortium for the Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Working Group. Emil studied MSc Environment and Resource Management at VU University Amsterdam, with specialization in Environmental Studies. Prior to joining TSC, Emil worked as a researcher at Wageningen UR, where he worked on various topics, such as bio-based economy, price transparency, and competition in agri-food chains. In addition, Emil has conducted an LCA for an IKEA product during his study.

Jessica Ginger is the Sr. Director of The Sustainability Consortium’s (TSC) THESIS Impact Team where she leads global implementation projects with retailers, brands, and manufacturers that use TSC’s science-based sustainability performance management solution, THESIS. Jessica built and now oversees The Consortium’s supplier support services, including its network of trained service providers. She also directs her team’s analytics to drive impact by leveraging THESIS’ unique supply chain data that represents approximately 1700 companies and $1 trillion USD in consumer goods. Her passion for social sustainability has been the driving force behind her 16 years of global, multi-stakeholder, and multi-issue experiences. Prior to joining TSC in 2013, Jessica managed partnerships in Africa and the Middle East for the AmeriCares Foundation where she worked to improve the quality and increase the quantity of medical aid delivered to marginalized populations. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Moldova and was a Technical Advisory Committee Member for the UNDP's 2014 Equator Prize. Jessica received her M.A. in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and her B.S. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.

Mark established PRé in 1990 and pioneered the field of LCA. As CEO and chair of PRé 's management team, Mark focuses his efforts on exploring and initiating new developments and building relationships between industry experts, businesses and other organizations.

Mark is widely recognized as an international thought leader in the field of sustainability metrics and methodology development. His primary goal is to help companies create value from sustainable products and services. While with PRé , Mark has developed pioneering methodologies for impact assessment (Eco-indicator 95/99 and ReCiPe). He has also published seminal studies on sustainable consumption, rebounds, and product service systems methodology, as well as initiating development of the world?s most widely used LCA software, SimaPro.

Prior to founding PRé , Mark was a partner in a small industrial design consultancy, where he developed, among other things, special tools for the Dutch Railroad maintenance staff to use in their work on overhead electric wires, an anesthesia ventilator (which received an international IF design award), and text telephones for deaf people (before the invention of SMS). Mark's career in industrial design began at Demotech-1 in the 70's where he was inspired by open source technology and the "small is beautiful" movement. This led him to attempt to develop a completely new way of producing metal parts on a very small scale. While this attempt was largely unsuccessful, he remained focused on the goal of developing practical yet scientifically sound solutions for improving the environmental and social performance of products and services.

Mark holds a Master of Science in industrial design engineering from Delft University of Technology.

Rachel is the Global Sustainability Senior Manager for Packaging and External Reporting at Mars, Incorporated. She leads an internal sustainable packaging working group and Mars’ external engagement in key partnerships such the New Plastics Economy, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the Sustainability Consortium. Rachel is on the Board of Directors for Green Blue. She leads the external sustainability reporting work across a range of platforms and disclosures such as CDP and customer scorecards.  She also implements programs on sustainability related claims, and is the sustainability subject matter expert for Mars’ Global Horizon Scanning capability

Prior to Mars, Rachel was the Team Leader of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), a voluntary program that encourages methane emissions reductions through the capture and beneficial use of landfill gas.  She was also the lead for this work in India, China and Southeast Asia under the Global Methane Initiative. Rachel was in the health, safety and environmental field before joining EPA.

Rachel has an MBA with an Environmental Management Concentration from The George Washington University, and a B.S. Human Factors Engineering from Tufts University

Jyotsna is a recent graduate of North Carolina State University’s Wilson College of Textiles with an MS in Textile Chemistry, focusing on sustainable textile innovation and chemistry. She earned a BS in Bioengineering from Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering, where she researched point of-use-water contamination detection and remediation technology. She is passionate about focusing her career on solving the water pollution inequities caused by the fashion industry, specifically in the Global South, through harnessing the innovative power of chemistry and engineering. 

Dr. Thomas Green has been a national leader in market-based sustainability and pesticide risk reduction initiatives for more than thirty years. He is president and co-founder of the IPM Institute of North America, a non-profit working since 1998 to leverage marketplace power to improve health, environment and economics in agriculture and communities. The Institute partners with food companies including Sysco, McDonald’s, Lamb Weston, McCain Foods, Simplot, Basic American Foods, Cavendish Farms, Whole Foods Market and others on sustainability initiatives. The Institute was awarded Supplier of the Year for Quality Assurance from Whole Foods Market in 2015, earned the International IPM Excellence Award from the Sixth International IPM Symposium in 2009, was recognized as an US EPA Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program Champion in 2004, 2005, 2008, and received the US EPA Sustained Excellence in IPM Award and 2009 and 2012. Dr. Green was awarded the Entomological Foundation Medal of Honor in 2015. Dr. Green is a Certified Crop Advisor and a USDA NRCS-certified Technical Service Provider. He holds a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Massachusetts and has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications and presented at more than 250 professional and industry events. He founded the Partnership for Ag Resource Management, a collaborative effort with leading ag retailers to identify, promote, track and report sales and impacts of products and services that reduce ag input losses from cropland, now in its seventh year.

Leigh has worked for The Nature Conservancy since December 2007. Leigh’s work focuses on bringing multiple stakeholders together to achieve common goals in Forest Health, including: managing the Don’t Move Firewood campaign, working to improve the international biosecurity measures in place for solid wood packaging, and convening the annual Continental Dialogue on Non-native Forest Insects and Diseases. Her leadership of the Don’t Move Firewood campaign has led to its being widely regarded as one of the most innovative public outreach arms of The Nature Conservancy. Leigh earned her B.A. in Biology at Williams College and her M.S. in Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana in Missoula, where she studied the intersection of native wildlife and invasive plants.

Fatima Hafsa is a doctoral student in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. She has a Bachelor’s in polymer engineering from Pakistan and a Master’s in materials engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Between her bachelors and masters degrees, Fatima worked at WWF-Pakistan, where she got her initial exposure to sustainability challenges. Fatima is interested in understanding how a circular economy of plastics can be made more sustainable. In particular, she is interested in modular organisational networks that can influence circularity, decisions to adopt sustainability, and the social aspects of sustainability. Fatima is also a Fulbright scholar.

Mikel Hancock is the Senior Director, Food and Agriculture for Walmart Stores, Inc. In this role he is responsible for partnering with internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement our Sustainability strategy within Food. Walmart’s Sustainability strategy is aligned with our mission to help our customers Save Money and Live Better by focusing on reducing costs in energy and waste, while providing access to products sourced sustainably. He has over twenty years with Walmart and has served in various positions across Merchandising and Sourcing within Walmart US and Sam’s Club. Mikel’s previous positions include buyer, senior buyer, and Director for Sam’s Club, US Global Food Sourcing manager, and most recently he has been a Divisional Merchandise Manager in the Produce & Floral department for Walmart US. While in this role, Mikel helped to lead the Sustainable commodities program for all of Produce, and under his leadership advanced our sourcing of more sustainable produce. He earned a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Finance from the Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. Mikel currently serves as Board Member for the Center for Growing Talent by the Produce Marketing Association and Cobblestone Farm Project, a non-profit dedicated to ending hunger in Northwest Arkansas. He resides in Bentonville, AR with his wife Lynn and two boys Dunning and Breck.

Jeff reports to the Chief Sustainability Officer as an Applied Sustainability Manager at General Mills located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.ÿ During his 17 year career at the company, he?s been instrumental in bringing environmental sustainability to the forefront by first building reliable compliance management systems followed by creating environmental metrics and forward looking indicators that brought change to his organization.ÿ In 2005 he pioneered water reuse in one of General Mills? largest plants, one of the first in the food industry. Currently, he has accountability for global watershed stewardship efforts, packaging sustainability improvements, customer sustainability relationships and accounting for the company?s value chain GHG footprint.

Mr. Hanratty holds a bachelor?s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a master?s degree in EHS Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology.ÿ He is registered as a Professional Engineer and is a Certified Safety Professional.

Based in Chicago, Jamie Hayes’ inter­ests lie at the inter­sec­tion of fashion, art, labor, and iden­tity. Her approach is both collab­o­ra­tive and customized. She believes that clothes should fit one’s body (not the other way around); that people should wear what flat­ters and inter­ests them rather than what someone else dictates is fash­ion­able; that style is a form of self-expression; and that everyone in the chain of produc­tion of clothing should be paid a living wage.

She has explored these topics through her acad­emic studies, earning a B.A. from Wash­ington Univer­sity in English Liter­a­ture, a B.A. from Columbia College in Fashion Design, and a Masters in Social Work from the Univer­sity of Chicago. She has worked in the fashion industry since 1999, and in the field of immi­grant and labor rights since 2009. Her recent work merges these two paths: she has designed for fair trade orga­ni­za­tions including SERRV, Inter­crafts Peru, and Threads of Yunnan, and has volun­teered as a Campaign Leader for Chicago Fair Trade, helping to pass an ordi­nance mandating that apparel procured by the City of Chicago be sweatshop-free. She is the owner and designer of slow fashion line Produc­tion Mode, and also co-designs a collection of luxury slow fashion lingerie and night­wear, Depart­ment of Curiosi­ties.

Justin is an experienced and successful sales, marketing and account management executive in the ag technology space. He is an Indiana native where he was involved in swine, cattle, row crop production, FFA and 4-H from the age of 12. After honorably serving his country as a United States Marine, Justin returned to his ag roots and has focused on the integration of emerging technologies into traditional and non-traditional ag markets since 2005. He’s held sales and marketing leadership positions with DuPont Pioneer, ag equipment distributors and retailers and most recently served as Director of Sales and Marketing for Ag Leader Technology prior to joining the PrecisionHawk team. Justin is an Upper Iowa University Alum and currently resides in Central Iowa.

Steve Hellem is the Executive Director of the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP).  He helped create SP and has served as the Executive Director since the organization was created in 2002.

Steve has more than 30 years of experience providing strategic counsel and leadership to business associations and coalitions.  He has helped create and managed a wide range of business coalitions and associations from multiple business sectors.

One of his areas of expertise is working with companies to address global and domestic environmental, health and safety practices and activities as well as corporate sustainability programs.  He maintains close working relationships with senior EH&S and corporate sustainability professionals from a wide range of Fortune 100 companies.

Steve has an AB in Political Science from the University of Missouri and a J.D. from the International School of Law that is today the George Mason University School of Law.

Lila Helms comes to NFWF from the United States Senate, where she served for more than 20 years. As Clerk for the Legislative Branch subcommittee, which funds Congress and the agencies that serve Congress, she managed legislation involving multiple federal agencies. She previously served as Clerk of the Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations subcommittee and worked for the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee and the Subcommittee for Science and Technology. Ms. Helms began her career as a Legislative Assistant for Senator Ernest F. Hollings and holds a B.A. from the University of South Carolina.

Philip Henson is a member of Hanesbrands corporate facility engineering team which has responsibility for leading engineering, energy demand, environmental sustainability, and safety activities on a global level. Mr. Henson earned his Industrial Engineering degree from Texas Tech University in 1991 (BSIE ’91) and a Master of Arts degree in sustainability from Wake Forest University in 2015 (MASus 2015).
Mr. Henson has a distinguished career in the textile manufacturing industry spanning over twenty-five years with HanesBrands and predecessor companies. Mr. Henson is an ambassador for sustainability and in recent years has helped elevate the level of energy management, energy data analysis and reporting, and environmental stewardship to internal and external stakeholders. He is an active participant within the ENERGY STAR industrial partner’s network and has helped Hanes leverage this partnership to improve company energy performance and garner US EPA ENERGY STAR award recognition for the past 8 years.

Paul Hishmeh is Data & Technology Director at Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, where he leads strategic direction and technical implementation of the Fieldprint® Platform. In this role, he oversees ongoing technical development of the analytic engine that powers the Fieldprint Platform, including integrations with leading precision agriculture, decision support and farm management software solutions to support the scaling of Field to Market’s program. With 20 years of experience in information technology and program management, Paul also leverages prior experience in the fields of environmental science and agricultural engineering. Prior to joining Field to Market, he served for nearly a decade as VP of IT and Financial Services at a professional services firm providing support to multiple federal government agencies. Paul holds a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Bio coming soon

Dr. Wayne Honeycutt is the President and CEO of the Soil Health Institute, where he leads the Institute’s programs to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soils. He previously served for 5 years as the Deputy Chief for Science and Technology with USDA-NRCS in Washington, DC, where he led programs in technology acquisition, development, and transfer to ensure NRCS conservation practices reflect the latest scientific advances for conserving our nation’s soil, water, air, plant, animal, and energy resources. He served as a Research Soil Scientist for 14 years and a Research Leader for 10 years with the USDA-ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory, where he led and conducted interdisciplinary research on carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling and sustainable cropping systems development. In those roles he led national research teams for predicting nutrient availability, developed procedures adopted by ARS for enhancing national research coordination, and received regional and national awards for technology transfer.

He is a graduate of the “Mastering the Art of Public Leadership” executive development program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and USDA’s “Performance Excellence and Knowledge” executive development program. He has served on assignments to the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, USDA-ARS National Program Staff, and USDA-ARS Area Office Staff.

Wayne’s commitment to agriculture is rooted in his experiences with raising tobacco, corn, and other crops on his family’s 120-acre farm in Metcalfe County, Kentucky. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Forestry and Master's degree in Soil Science from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in Soil Genesis from Colorado State University.

Kara Hurst leads the development and evolution of sustainability and social responsibility at Amazon worldwide.   Utilizing Amazon's scale, speed and innovation, Hurst’s teams focus on Amazon’s key social and environmental opportunities across all of Amazon's business areas globally.  Our programs include responsible supply chain management, social responsibility in Amazon operations, Frustration Free Packaging and eCommerce packaging standards, renewable energy and energy efficiency, eWaste, product take-back, hazardous waste, and social and environmental policy setting.

Previous to Amazon, Hurst served as the CEO of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) - named one of Scientific American's "Top Ten World Changing Ideas" of 2012. With over $2.4 trillion in revenue, TSC members consist of leading corporations, NGOs, Universities and government and regulatory agencies. Through this network, TSC members form a global, collaborative network focused on building a foundation of scientifically based business tools to drive improvements in consumer product sustainability.

Prior to TSC, Hurst served as Vice President of BSR, where she spent eleven years.  Hurst built several global industry practices, led BSR's NY and DC offices, as well the global partnership practice with governments, multi-laterals and foundations. Hurst also oversaw the annual BSR Conference.

Previous other work includes: as a founding member of the EICC, Hurst initiated the original EICC working group, bringing together six large technology companies, and facilitated the industry initiative in responsible supply chain management through its first several years, including constructing the Code of Conduct. Hurst also applied this concept to other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, to establish meaningful industry partnerships such as the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). Hurst worked with GE's corporate citizenship team for eight years as well as Hyatt's executive team to build their first CSR platform.

Prior to BSR, Hurst worked in Silicon Valley as Executive Director of the public-private venture OpenVoice and as a Manager of Corporate Affairs for the Children’s Health Council.  Early in her career, she has held roles at the Urban Institute as a Research lead and worked for two elected officials – Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco and in New York for the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).

Expertise: Corporate Responsibility strategy and implementation. Product sustainability and science-driven research. Stakeholder engagement. Responsible supply chain practice; economic development strategy, philanthropy, human rights.

Oren Jaffe is a social sustainability expert with over 14 years’ experience in helping global organizations build transparent, ethical, compliant, secure, and socially responsible supply chains. Currently, Oren runs the North America labor solutions group at Workplace Options, bringing integrated wellbeing solutions to minimum wage workers in emerging countries. His focus is helping companies go “beyond compliance” towards building worker voice and women’s empowerment programs utilizing mobile technologies. Oren’s experience includes working with companies in the apparel, footwear, high tech/electronic, consumer products, and toy industries. Prior to his work in corporate responsibility, Oren worked in brand advertising, professional sports, and even started an aerial outdoor advertising agency. Oren has a BS from the University of Oregon, and an MBA in International Management from the University of San Francisco.

John Thomas Sutton works diligently to help clients tell their story profoundly and effectively through any print, digital, or online medium. As a designer, one of my favorite feelings is knowing a client is proud to use my work.

John graduated the University of Portland with a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communications in May 2011. John then graduated from Arizona State University with a Master of Visual Communication Design in 2015. He then worked for ASU Project Humanities as their graphic design as well as at Catapult Strategic Design while working on his Masters degree. His next step was to join ASU EdPlus from 2015-2019. John now works with The Sustainability Consortium, a partnership between ASU, the University of Arkansas, and Wageningenur to research and promote a more sustainable future.

Jonathan Johnson is the Walton College Professor of Sustainability in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, where he has been on the faculty since 1996. He graduated with a BS in zoology and an MBA from the University of Arkansas before earning a Ph.D. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His research?which has appeared in numerous academic journals?focuses on corporate governance, social networks theory, and corporate sustainability, and he has served on the editorial review board of the Academy of Management Journal. Jon teaches strategy, organization theory, sustainability and ethics. Jon has led several sustainability initiatives at the University of Arkansas, including establishing the Applied Sustainability Center in 2007, and co-founding The Sustainability Consortium in 2009.

Bio coming soon

Nancy Kavazanjian farms in the Beaver Dam, Wis., area where the emphasis is on building better soils to sustainably grow corn, soybeans and wheat. She currently serves as a farmer-director on the United Soybean Board, leading their sustainability initiatives and helping direct the nation’s soybean checkoff. Nancy is also former chairwoman of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance and currently serves as a board member.
Kavazanjian grew up in suburban New York, earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Journalism from Colorado State University and studied business administration in a master’s program at Loyola University of Chicago. Ms. Kavazanjian is a trained technical writer who also helps coordinate the annual Wisconsin Corn/Soy EXPO.
Past job experience includes Communications Director for the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Senior Counselor at Morgan & Myers Public Relations, reporter on the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, editor and write for a variety of agricultural publications. Kavazanjian served a term on the Wisconsin Soybean Association Board of Directors, on the Agricultural Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, on the Town Of Beaver Dam’s Land Use Planning Committee and on start-up ethanol and biodiesel plant boards.

Shane Keough is an ex-athlete turned CEO of WeGoFor; a BCorp which developed and promotes sustainability programs that not only benefit shareholders, but also positively impacts our global environmental health. Shane's roots in sports began long before he was born. His grandfather, a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals, and his father, a pitcher for the Oakland A's and Japan's Hansin Tigers, created an opportunity for most of Shane's childhood to be spent around the game of baseball. In 2006 Shane followed in his family's footsteps and signed with the Oakland Athletics. He played four seasons in their minor-league system as an outfielder. During the 2010 season Shane was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon; an injury that would require surgery. During his rehabilitation Shane created his first company, Doc Discover; a web-platform for patients to locate the best medical professionals for their condition. Shane wanted to create a search engine that highlighted the qualifications of a medical professional; not just their ability to market online. Through Doc Discover Shane’s passion for helping others was born. In 2013 Shane signed with LA Model Management; an opportunity that led him to star in two independent films. Although Shane enjoyed acting, it was the collaborative, team effort of skilled individuals working together towards a singular goal that began to inspire his next business venture. In 2016 Shane founded Solar Waste Reprocessing, LLC; a company aimed to maximize the potential energy of municipal waste. The company's focus soon shifted to agricultural waste; specifically recovering vital resources currently uncultivated, including soil-nutrients and water. Currently, Shane is working in the fields of fuel production, power generation, waste disposal, resource recovery, food production, and mobile technology. Shane’s mission is to show the world that what is good for business can also be great for the environment. Current Shane is developing programs through his company WeGoFor2 that solve societal and environmental issues through profitable business ventures that harness the power of inclusion, collaboration, empowerment, and habit change

Erin Killeen is the Technical Development Coordinator at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) where she supports the planning, coordination, and implementation of research and technical projects related to supply chain sustainability. Erin has also contributed to TSC as a Research Associate for TSC’s Food Beverage, and Agriculture sector, developing content for TSC Toolkits. Prior to her role with The Consortium, Erin was a Project Manager for Entegrity, a sustainability and energy services company specializing in the implementation of energy conservation and renewable energy projects. Furthermore, she holds expert knowledge regarding the topic of food waste across the supply chain. Erin holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics degree from the University of Arkansas, USA and a Master of Science in International Rural Development degree from the University of Gent, Belgium. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with a minor in Anthropology and Environmental Soil and Water Science.

lizabeth Kinney was born and raised in Muncie, Indiana -- college town of David Letterman, home of Ball canning jars. She graduated from DePauw and the Media Fellows Program in 2011 with a major in communications and a minor in anthropology. During her time in Greencastle she was a News Director at WGRE, interned in Rome at the UN World Food Programme, and spent a lot of time running in the Nature Park.

Today, Elizabeth leads PR for Procter & Gamble's Global Olympics Sponsorship. Prior to that she managed global sustainability communications for the company.

Andrew is a Senior Product Stewardship and Sustainability Analyst with Church & Dwight. His work spans Church & Dwight’s sustainability efforts, with a particular focus on product formulation and ingredient disclosure. He is responsible for much of Church & Dwight’s communication to its retail partners in the areas of stewardship and sustainability.

Prior to joining Church & Dwight, Andrew served as a research chemist in GlaxoSmithKline’s antibacterial research operation. He holds a Masters degree in chemistry from MIT, and an M.Sci from the University of Glasgow in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry.

Jessica Kosak joined The Sustainability Consortium in 2018 as Manager, Technical Development. She is a principle researcher, and responsible for the Sustainability Measurements and Reporting system for the Clothing, Footwear, and Textiles sector. Previously, she worked in the fashion industry as an apparel and textiles designer focusing on knitwear and zero waste design. As an independent designer, her work has been shown in print and online in publications including Vogue, i-D, Nylon, 1Granary, and Vogue Italia. Jessica received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design and Society from Parsons, The New School for Design in New York, where she focused on zero waste design and recycled textiles. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fashion design with a focus on sustainability from Parsons.

Zack is a 10th grade scholar at Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, AR.  He enjoys playing basketball and watching the office.  Zack wants to create a world that is fair and just for everyone.  He leads Humana Capital’s company and financial research to identify public companies that meet our ESG and financial criteria.  Zack plans to go to college and pursue a career in the sports management field.

Tom Langan is head of North America Communications, Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business for Unilever. Tom joined Unilever in 1995. He is a member of the Unilever Global Communications Leadership Team and an adjunct member of the Unilever U.S. Leadership Team, supporting the President of Unilever North America. In his role, Tom leads the North America Communications group to drive delivery of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in North America, including external affairs, advocacy, partnerships, corporate media relations, and internal communications.

Tom is a public spokesman and leader of the company’s engagement with industry associations, customers, external stakeholders and key opinion formers. He serves on the board of directors of The Sustainability Coalition (TSC) and the advisory board of Sustainable Brands. He is a member of the board of directors of the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance (SFPA), which he helped create and launch in 2018, has held several committee leadership positions in the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), and served on the board of directors for the Organization for International Investment (OFII).

Prior to joining Unilever, Tom held positions in state government affairs and communications at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). He served six years in the United States Naval Reserve. Tom earned a master's degree in public administration from George Mason University in 1993 and a B.A. from Old Dominion University in 1990.

Rosemary holds an MBA/MS in Sustainable Systems from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Communication Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She has worked with TSC as a project manager since 2020 and has engaged with TSC since 2011 both as a Trained Technical Service Provider and graduate intern. Her career has focused on driving and managing projects and programs within sustainable design, supply chains, sourcing, and policy management, primarily within the food/agriculture and grocery retail industries. She has worked with Fortune 500s, large and small private companies, non-profits, and academia across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and SE Asia.

Jessica Leonard is the Grants and Development Manager at The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), where she writes, develops and maintains TSC’s grants through large, multidisciplinary and collaborative proposal efforts to a wide range of global funding entities. Jessica’s background includes over 9 years of higher education and tourism marketing experience. Prior to joining TSC, Jessica managed social media content and strategy for the University of Arkansas as well as adjunct taught public relations classes. Before joining the university system, she was the Director of Communications for the Fayetteville Convention & Visitors Bureau and was named a 30 Under 30 honoree in the travel and tourism industry by Destination Marketing Association International. Jessica received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising and Public Relations and a minor in Marketing from the University of Arkansas.

Eli Levine leads the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI) to develop and leverage strategic partnerships to advance U.S. manufacturing. In this role, he is spearheading the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) effort to increase U.S. competitiveness in manufacturing clean energy technologies by boosting energy productivity and leveraging low-cost domestic energy resources and feedstocks.
Since being promoted from serving as the CEMI Deputy Director, Eli has assumed new leadership responsibilities to implement the CEMI strategy, including the Technologist-In-Residence program and the Clean Energy Manufacturing Assessment Center. He is also developing high-profile engagements with strategic partners, including the Department of Commerce and the White House, to support the launch of the new Energy Materials Network.

Prior to joining EERE and CEMI, he worked on energy issues at the White House, at the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget. Eli joined the Energy Department to help stand up the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy in 2010. At ARPA-E, he worked on legal, budgetary, and Congressional affairs matters. He is a graduate of Washington University School of Law and Cornell University.

Dr. Sarah E. Lewis is passionate about working through challenges at the interface of humans and the environment. A leader in the field of sustainability, Sarah is a certified Sustainability Associate (ISSP-SA), an author on topics related to ecological integrity, water resources, and improving supply chain sustainability. Sarah is Senior Director of Innovation with The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). Through her work at TSC, she has led the development of supply chain sustainability metrics across the consumer goods industry, led the creation of TSC’s stakeholder engagement methodology, founded TSC implementation program, launched the first ever TSC Innovation Program, and founded TSC Idea Forum, TSC’s first leadership development program. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Dynamics, a Master of Arts in French, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and French Secondary Education. An award-winning educator, Sarah has taught Earth Science, French, and Environmental Sociology. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas, serving on several graduate student research committees. She is active in her community, serving on the boards of organizations, such as the Walton Arts Center, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, and Arkansas United. In 2008, the Arkansas Sierra Club recognized Sarah as Activist of the Year. She served a 4-year term as an elected official on the Fayetteville, Arkansas City Council where she founded the Environmental Action Committee, chaired the Solid Waste, Recycling, and Water Utilities committee, wrote and sponsored the Low Impact Development ordinance, and led the development and adoption of Fayetteville’s Streamside Protection Ordinance, the first in the State of Arkansas. Her highest honor, however, is that she is the mom of, Isaac, a beautiful little boy who inspires her every day.

Tim has more than 25 years of experience in helping clients tell their brand story. Part of this storytelling begins with a very simple approach – listening. Listening has been the foundation for his work with Fortune 500 companies, foundations, colleges, universities, academic medical centers and for-profit health systems. Tim and his team’s pride in its creative product is derived from one thing – creating messaging that is authentic, relevant and engaging. Messaging that creates connection. His team’s work has won our clients national and regional recognition for brand communications and brand campaigns. Tim’s personal work has also been recognized in HOW and PR Week.

Our keynote speaker for April 13th will be Hunter Lovins, President and Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions (NCS), a non-profit formed in 2002 in Longmont, CO. A renowned author and champion of sustainable development for over 35 years, Hunter has consulted on sustainable agriculture, energy, water, security, and climate policies for scores of governments, communities, and companies worldwide. Within the United States, she has consulted for the Presidential Cabinet, Department of Defense, EPA, Department of Energy and numerous state and local agencies.

Bio coming soon

Daniella serves as Deputy General Manager for the Cool Farm Alliance - a global industry platform for sustainable agricultural and carbon quantification providing the Cool Farm Tool for free to farmers everywhere. Since 2010 Daniella has been leading work to develop and use harmonized agricultural GHG quantification methods to encourage, motivate and rewards good practice in supply chains. Daniella has a background in project management, cultural communications, journalism, environmental education, software engineering and farming.

Caitlin is a graduate student of the College of Textiles at NC State. She is earning a MSc in Textile and Apparel Technology and Management, and pursuing a deep interest in sustainability in the fashion apparel sector.
Caitlin obtained her BSc in Fashion Design at DAAP (University of Cincinnati) in 2015. Since beginning her studies at NC State, her research has branched out from a foundation in sustainable apparel design to focus on critical points of impact along the apparel production pipeline.
Her curricular studies include coursework in Marketing Research, Textile Market Research, and Consumer Behaviour. In her extracurricular studies, she has explored the fundamentals of Remote Sensing with Erdas Imagine and map making with QGIS.

After getting fully fed up with how uncreatively environmental and social issues were being communicated, Ben co-founded Nice and Serious in 2008 (in his eyes, he’s the Nicer half in case you were wondering). And if you measure success in scenes shot during torrential rain or toy factory farm sets built, it’s gone smashingly! Those aside, he’s overseen the making of hundreds of films, animations, websites, social media campaigns, and branding projects all built around a simple idea: good causes need brilliant creative.

Dr. Melnick was appointed Executive Dean of the Global Institute of Sustainability by Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow in 2008. Prior to this position, he served ASU as Director of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy from 1987-2008 and also as Associate Vice President for Economic Affairs from 2002-2008. Dr. Melnick holds academic appointments as research scientist in GIOS and as Presidential Professor of Practice in the School of Sustainability. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Melnick conducts research on urban growth and economic development. He has co-authored three books and numerous public policy research studies.

Julie Meyer, RDN, is the Founding Partner of Eat Well Global, a communications and consulting firm whose mission is to empower global change agents in food and nutrition. With more than two decades in nutrition and health communications, and having worked and run a business in China, Julie partners diverse knowledge and international expertise to merge strategic food and nutrition communications with enthusiasm, dedication and attention to detail. As a B-Corp, Certified Woman-Owned Business (WBENC) and founding member of GA4HN communications, and working with growing to globally recognized brands, Eat Well Global is realizing their vision of  ‘A world where good nutrition is good business’.

Bio coming soon

Aaron is Account Director at Trucost, part of S&P Dow Jones Indices, where he works with corporates understanding their sustainability and ESG challenges and impacts and identifying science-based and data-driven solutions to help them inform business decisions. Prior to joining Trucost, Aaron worked as a Business Development Manager and Solutions Consultant at UL EHS Sustainability. Before that, Aaron was as sustainability consultant working with companies in Mexico. He has extensive experience working with companies in the US and Latin America. Aaron holds a BS in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Systems from Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MS in Environmental Management and Sustainability from IIT Stuart School of Business.

Adam Muellerweiss is Executive Director of Sustainability for Johnson Controls Power Solutions – the world’s largest manufacturer and recycler of automotive batteries. Muellerweiss is responsible for driving life-cycle material and energy management efforts including the company’s circular supply chain for conventional vehicle batteries. This model has been globally recognized as a successful large-scale example of a circular economy. His charge includes working with automakers, aftermarket retailers, suppliers, NGOs and policymakers to optimize sustainable product design, expand product use benefits, increase use of reverse logistics and grow end-of-life reuse and recycling.

Muellerweiss was the driving force behind the formation the Responsible Battery Coalition, a coalition of companies, academics and NGOs committed to the responsible management of the batteries of today and tomorrow. He chairs the Landscape Assessment of End-of-Life Management of Lithium Ion Batteries for the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment and is a subject matter expert supporting the development of the World Economic Forum’s Global Battery Alliance.

Prior to joining Johnson Controls, Muellerweiss was Commercial Director for Climate Change at Dow Chemical where he also led the formation of the Independent Advisory Panel on Chemical Security as well as managed the company’s Sustainability External Advisory Council. He led development of start-up companies focused on resource efficiency at Accenture, and served as a staff assistant for the US Senate and the Michigan House of Representatives. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music and political science from Kalamazoo College and a master’s in sustainability and environmental management from Harvard University.

Euan Murray became Chief Executive of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) in December 2016 with a focus on driving implementation of TSC tools by retailers and large purchasers, and working with TSC members on innovative solutions to supply chain sustainability problems. Murray joined TSC in 2012 and has held a number of leadership positions, most recently COO. Prior to joining TSC, Murray was Director of Footprinting at The Carbon Trust. There, he led projects with PepsiCo, Unilever, M&S, CDP and many other TSC members, focusing on product and supply chain carbon footprinting. He has held a number of other roles in sustainability, financial services and strategy consulting. Murray has a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSc. in Materials Science & Metallurgy from Cambridge University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He is married to Emily and has two sons, Oscar and Zac.

Dina’s current focus includes sustainable development planning for event and legacy, stakeholder and market engagement, communications and awareness campaigns designed to extend Expo 2020’s sustainability impact beyond the boundaries of its physical site.

Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Mr. Nwosisi is the Strategic Business Development Manager at The Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance – AMEA Global. Mr. Nwosisi leverages his background in growth hacking, business development and sales in driving the awareness and service proposition of the Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance. Mr. Nwosisi has worked at diverse organization before arriving at AMEA Global. Mr. Nwosisi has lived in the Netherlands since 2008, prior to which he lived and worked in Nigeria.

Michelle Orfei is Director of Retail Outreach in the American Chemistry Council’s Sustainability and Market Outreach Division where she leads ACC’s retailers and brands engagement effort.  Prior to this role, Michelle worked in ACC’s Regulatory and Technical Affairs Division where she focused on international trade, as well as health, product, and science policy.  Michelle holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of International Management from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Principia College.

Jennifer Park joined TSC in February 2019 as an Innovation Program Assistant. She graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in geography and minors in sustainability and history. She then completed a year of service with the AmeriCorps VISTA program managing a large-scale “giving garden” in Frederick, CO. Jennifer has extensive volunteer experience working to support local food systems through organic gardening both in the US and abroad. She is interested in the intersection of environmentalism and social justice and hopes to continue her work supporting TSC innovation programs while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Arkansas.

Andrea Partain is an Administrative Coordinator for The Sustainability Consortium's U of A office in Fayetteville. She studied Finance at the University of Central Arkansas before completing a bachelors degree in Corporate Finance from Arkansas State University. Before joining TSC, Andrea worked in the corporate office for Marvins IGA in Fayetteville. She also managed accounts for PMP, LLC., a home based accident reconstruction business, while spending time at home raising her two daughters.

Jason is the founding Executive Director of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), which works to enable collective action by institutional purchasers to accelerate market transformations toward a prosperous and sustainable future. Since its establishment in 2013, the Council has grown to an international membership of over 200 leadership organizations, including national, state, and local governments, Fortune 500 companies, and leading civil society and academic institutions.

Previously, as President/CEO and lead strategist of GreenBlue (www.greenblue.org), Jason pioneered initiatives that harness supply chain collaboration to enhance the capacity of the private sector to deliver sustainability innovation, including GreenBlue?s flagship project, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (www.sustainablepackaging.org).

Jason is nationally recognized as strategist, social entrepreneur, and advisor to civil society groups. His consultancy, TRUTHstudio (www.truthstudio.com), specializes in understanding, visualizing, and communicating complexity to support strategic decision-making in the public interest.ÿ His research project, Economy Map (www.economymap.org), visualizes how economic demand connects to environmental impacts across the entire US economy.

For more information, see www.purchasingcouncil.org, ÿwww.truthstudio.com and www.economymap.org.

Jeff Peters is the Vice President of Sustainability for Agrible and has worked in the Ag Industry for the past 24 years. His role requires a working knowledge of a broad range of scientific areas of relevance to Stewardship and Sustainability including Environmental Fate and Digital Farming. His career has interfaced with a number of sectors including regulatory, science, communication/media relations, marketing and with external stakeholders (CPGs, government, NGO’s/conservation groups and trade associations).

His current role is to develop and implement Sustainability Programs to support the needs of downstream clients. The goals of these Programs are to measure and promote continual improvement on the farm that focus on several key areas: productivity, profitability and natural resource management.

Hobby/Passion: Jeff really enjoys carpentry. He has taken a lot of pride moving and restoring a 150 year old tobacco barn into a log cabin.

Laura Phillips is Senior Vice President, Global Sustainability for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Laura began her Walmart career 20 years ago as a store intern and has served across a variety of departments and in roles of increasing responsibility. In 2010, she was promoted to senior vice president and general merchandise manager, and most recently, Laura has been leading the company?s work in omni channel. Laura has been a strong advocate for sustainability, education and women?s empowerment during her tenure, and her accomplishments with Walmart include:

Member of the original group of key leaders that our former CEO Lee Scott assembled in 2004 to help develop Walmart?s sustainability strategy, initial goals and principles.

Helped launch Walmart?s "Sustainability Value Networks (SVN)," engaging stakeholders in industry, academia and NGOs to partner with Walmart to develop solutions to sustainable value chain creation.

Partnered with suppliers to reduce packaging content, increase recyclable content and exceed industry standards by implementing and executing the children?s product guidelines to test all toys for hazardous chemicals, well ahead of the government legislation.

Chair of the Walmart President?s Global Council for Women?s Leaders (2012-2013)

Board of advisors member, Bentonville Film Festival

Board of advisors for the University of Arkansas Walton MBA Alumni

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Florida in Gainesville, an MBA from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and is a graduate of the Global 2020 program at the Tuck Business School at Dartmouth.

Greg leads the Edison Energy Account Management Team.  This team is responsible for the client engagement across all service lines and connecting with individuals and stakeholders to identify needs and opportunities.  This includes guiding and introducing the Edison Energy subject matter expert, where appropriate, evaluating and monitoring the client’s energy needs, and working with the Business Development team to build new services and solutions to serve those needs.

The team coordinates cross-functional internal teams to improve the entire client experience and collaborates with the Edison Energy businesses to keep the client satisfied with our solutions and services.

Prior to Altenex, Greg led renewable energy procurement for Walmart, where he developed and executed one of the world's most comprehensive renewable energy strategies. He has extensive transaction experience ranging from on-site wind, solar, fuel cell, and waste-to-energy deployments through to utility-scale wind purchases.

Prior to Walmart, Greg gained significant experience trading Renewable Energy Credits and other environmental commodities for BP Energy in Houston, TX.

Emily graduated with her bachelor’s in Sustainability with a concentration in business in May 2019 from Arizona State University. In her studies and through her internships, she has learned how businesses can gain transparency in their supply chain and operations, uncover risks created by environmental and social impact, and take initiative to improve their sustainability in anticipation of an uncertain future. Emily believes that global changes, including climate change and an evolving middle class, create a pivotal opportunity for businesses to become drivers of profitable, sustainable development. With experience assisting in program management on the sustainability team at Sprouts Farmers Market and in sustainability communication at various green-minded magazines and websites, Emily joins the Implementation team to help industry members put TSC’s sustainability measurement and reporting tools to good use in their supply chain transparency efforts.

Nolan Quiros is a lawyer who studied Agricultural Economics. He completed his PhD at Oklahoma State University, USA, focusing on Natural Resources Management, and also completed a master’s degree in Comparative Law at American University, Washington D.C, USA.
Nolan is based in a small rural town called Atenas, which is located around 30 km from San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. He is Costa Rican and was born into a big family with an affinity for studying and learning. Both his parents were high school teachers.
He has worked as a researcher for the USDA and as a market analyst for a US fertilizer company. Furthermore, he has also served as a field scientist for Boston University, a university professor in the USA and Costa Rica, and as an international consultant on carbon and water foot print calculations. During the last five years, Nolan worked for a banana producing company, where he managed third-party certifications, social and labor issues, and retailer relations with 72 farms in seven different countries in Latin America.
He enjoys teaching, academic pursuits, and exploring the outdoors .
Nolan is married to Jahel and has two teenage children, Samantha and Matthew.

Raja is a the co-founder of ripe.io; a technology company creating the blockchain of food to help the food supply chain achieve transparency, efficiency and improved value to solve problems around traceability, food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance. Raja, a serial entrepreneur, was most recently on the founding team and headed product development at R3CEV, the world’s largest financial institutions consortium for blockchain deployment. Raja has had a 20-year career working at Bank of America, Citi, Silicon Valley Bank and Wells Fargo. Raja is passionate about connected technologies and how they can be utilized to revolutionize ways to create a more sustainable and healthier food business.

Byron Rath is the Sustainability Specialist for the Soil Health Institute. His duties include working with the Institute’s partners and stakeholders to help them achieve their goals through soil health. Prior to joining the Soil Health Institute, Rath taught Geography at the American Community School at Beirut in Lebanon, and worked for CCS, a global fundraising consulting and management firm that provides development services and strategic consulting to nonprofit organizations worldwide. He graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in English and Geography. He is proficient in written and spoken Arabic.

Kinsie Rayburn is the Conservation Knowledge Officer for Farm Journal’s Trust In Food. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Law from Humboldt State University, California and a Masters of Science in Sustainable Development from the University of Leeds, England. With over a decade of experience initiating, planning, leading and successfully delivering agricultural development projects, she applies her experience to support farmers with a focus on increasing efficiency, revenue and longevity of farm businesses through tailored, on-farm, conservation-based solutions.

Paul is a Senior Associate with the Water Program and Business Center, and is responsible for guiding the design and development of WRI?s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas and managing WRI?s corporate engagement on water. Paul has worked with numerous companies in the food and beverage, oil & gas, consumer goods, and apparel sectors on water risk assessments and stewardship strategies. Paul is a published author and has been quoted in mainstream and specialist media on the topics of corporate water risk and stewardship, including in The Financial Times, CNN, the Guardian, Fortune, LA Times, The Oil & Gas Journal, and others.

Prior to joining WRI, Paul spent 4 years managing a wide range of watershed restoration projects throughout the US States of Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Paul also spent time in Latin America working on environmental and social impact assessments for international energy and mining companies.

Paul grew up in Barcelona, and holds a MS in Water Resources Management from McGill University in Montreal, a BS in Environmental and Agricultural Biology from the University of Navarra, in Pamplona, Spain, as well as a Certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University. Paul is an avid sailor, and enjoys spending his free time boppin? around his workshop and outdoors with his family.

Cathy Resler is the Head of Global Sustainability for Ocean Spray Cranberries - a Farmer-Owned Cooperative - where she leads sustainability strategy across the Cooperative, with Ocean Spray farmers and business partners. Her work on environmental and social responsibility initiatives focuses on building value across sustainable agriculture, operations, supply chain, sales, marketing, and customer and employee engagement,   She led the expansion and first publication of Ocean Spray’s Farm Sustainability Assessment a comprehensive  report of 700+ cranberry farmers performance on Integrated Pest Management, soil health, water, energy, ecosystem conservation, business stewardship, worker well-being and community impact.

Prior to joining Ocean Spray Cranberries, Cathy worked in the fashion, jewelry, and publishing industries contributing to the first industry adopted Restricted Substance List (RSL), Responsible Down and Wool Standards, Environmental Paper Assessment Tool (EPAT), sustainable textiles and leather, sustainable forestry management, packaging design, green store design guidelines, and community giving program development.  She also has worked at the U.S. EPA, Columbia University and holds an MS in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a BS from The George Washington University in Environmental Studies.

Eliza is a senior manager on the water team at Ceres. She manages Ceres’ agricultural water stewardship program mobilizing leading food sector companies and investors to address sustainability risks facing our water and food systems. In this role, she works with food sector companies to evaluate their water risk, improve water management practices and reduce the impact of agriculture on water resources. Eliza is the co-author of two analyses that focus on agricultural water risks facing the food sector, including the 2017 Feeding Ourselves Thirsty: Tracking Food Company Progress Towards a Water-Smart Future, as well as the first benchmarking analysis that was released in 2015.

Prior to Ceres, Eliza worked for Coca-Cola in India, where she oversaw the implementation of water and sanitation projects. She previously worked in business development at the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) where she worked with companies to manage deforestation related risks.

Eliza received her MBA with an emphasis on sustainability and supply chain management from the George Washington University School of Business and her bachelor's degree from Bates College in global environmental policy and Russian.

She loves to cook, kayak and explore the outdoors with her husband and two kids.

Jessica Rosen manages purpose and sustainability for Taco Bell. She also supports Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands, where she has led sustainability initiatives related to supply chain, animal welfare, food waste, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to Taco Bell, Rosen worked with companies across the food supply chain as a senior sustainability advisor with Forum for the Future, managing projects and partnerships from sustainable protein, to circular economy, to resilient cities, as well as broader strategies based in futures thinking. Before corporate sustainability, Rosen conducted food systems research in Cuba, Indonesia, and Guatemala with Bioversity International, the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research, and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

Bio coming soon

Georgia Rubenstein is Lead System Change Designer in Forum for the Future’s New York office. Her work at Forum focuses on process and strategy design and stakeholder engagement to drive system-level change for a sustainable future. She is an expert in system change methodologies and leads Forum’s School of System Change in the United States, equipping leaders from across sectors to drive deeper, more long-term change in their sectors. She is also one of Forum’s foremost facilitators and is currently expanding her expertise by exploring transformative facilitation techniques that are inclusive and challenge traditional power structures. She recently led the Beauty & Personal Care Sustainability Project, a multi-stakeholder collaboration of organizations including Target, Walmart, Unilever, Burt’s Bees, and Environmental Defense Fund, designed to tackle systemic sustainability challenges in the beauty and personal care sector. The group developed a publicly available product sustainability assessment tool, now being stewarded by The Sustainability Consortium.

Prior to joining Forum, Georgia worked at Minneapolis-based nonprofit Environmental Initiative, convening cross-sector leaders to advance sustainability in the Twin Cities region. She holds a BA in International Development and Russian Studies from McGill University, and a Master in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Frank is an experienced researcher on farming systems and sustainable agricultural production. He obtained his Pd.D. in 1998 on the topic "Potato crop growth as affected by potato cyst nematodes", and has worked on nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiencies in dairy farming and arable farming (agriculture, horticulture, and flower bulb production), both with farmers' groups and for policy makers.

His latest research topics are on quantification of sustainable agricultural practices at global scale, and on efficient recycling of nutrients derived from anaerobic digestion of plant material and manures.

Upon receipt of his Masters degree, Capt Sabourin applied for and received a secondary job tile as an 8831, Environmental Engineer. Upon receipt of orders in March of 2012, he proceeded to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC), Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs (NREA). Within NREA, Major Sabourin acted as the department’s Deputy Director and Lead Environmental Auditor before retiring in July of 2014. During this time, he provided leadership in safety, natural resource and wildlife management, sustainability programing, and environmental regulatory compliance for the base and all entrained subcommands in a manner consistent with federal regulation, state regulation, Marine Corps and Department of Defense policy, and the base commander’s environmental objectives and targets.

Since retiring, Mr. Sabourin has continued to work in environmental field, accepting progressively advancing positons within ASR Group. In early 2014, he took the title of Environmental & Sustainability Manager, American Sugar Refineries Inc., Domino Sugar Baltimore. Then, in Feb 2016, he advanced to

the position of Global Director of Sustainability, ASR Group International Inc.

Peter Schlosser is the University Global Futures Professor in the Schools of Sustainability, Earth and Space Exploration, and Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University. He also serves as Vice President and Vice Provost of Global Futures and Director of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute for Sustainability. Schlosser's research focuses on the hydrosphere, primarily the circulation of water in the oceans and groundwater including studies of problems caused by human impact. He is co-chair of the Earth League, Chair of the Steering Group of the International Study of Arctic Change, and member of the Board of the Sustaining Arctic Observing Network. He is a member of the German National Academy of Science, and Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Explorers Club. He has served on numerous national and international science steering and advisory committees.

Tracy works in KúCoe Isom?s Chico office as a Farmer Outreach Specialist, focusing on environmental market opportunities for California cattlemen such as habitat markets, carbon credits, etc. Her experience working with ranchers in California through her time with California Cattlemen?s Association lends to her deep knowledge of how the industry balances environmental, social, and economic sustainability issues while operating a profitable business. She has experience in facilitating collaboration amongst disparate interest groups for common missions, translating science into policy and public awareness, along with driving new initiatives and processes. Tracy is excited to work with farmers and ranchers regarding their agricultural businesses, specifically enhancing profitability while, at the same time, overcoming environmental challenges and being socially responsible.

She graduated from University of California, Davis with a master?s in horticulture and agronomy, and California State University, Chico with a bachelor?s in agricultural business. Tracy has strong agricultural roots and a breadth of experience as an active partner in her family?s multi-generational farming operation that includes cattle, hay, rice and walnuts.
 

Christopher Sellers is COO, Director of Global Operations for the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA).  COSA is a global consortium of more than 60 institutions advancing systematic and science-based measurement tools for understanding, managing, and accelerating the sustainability of our food and agriculture systems. We support leading firms and agencies balancing scientific rigor with business-driven pragmatism in order to facilitate a real understanding of the impacts of value chains and projects around the world.

Steven Severino is a new business development expert with deep experience across consumer insights, fact based selling, and win-win partnerships for growth.   As the North America lead for Veramaris business development, Steven is working across all aspects of the value chain to educate our stakeholders in the tremendous value of Veramaris algal oil with EPA and DHA to improve sustainability, nutrition, and safety in aquaculture.   Steven has degrees from the University of Delaware (BSBA), Indiana University, Kelley School of Business (MS-Strategic Management) and Seton Hall University (MBA).

Jennifer currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Syngenta on the integration of sustainability into Syngenta’s commercial programs and developing solutions for sustainability in agriculture.  In 2007, Jennifer established a new Sustainability function in Syngenta where she developed a strategy to integrate Sustainability into the business. Since she has been a leader in sustainability in industry initiatives as well as establishing the Syngenta Sustainable Solutions program.  Other previous roles with Syngenta and legacy companies include Pesticide Regulatory Policy, Issues Management, Environmental Stewardship, Sustainable Agriculture and Ecological Risk Assessment. She has had several leadership and expert roles in industry and government multi-stakeholder initiatives focused on major environmental challenges for U.S. agriculture including endangered species and water quality.

Jennifer was raised on family farm in Scotland where she gained first-hand experience working in various cropping and animal systems. She has a B.Sc. with First Class Honors in Agricultural Zoology from the University of Glasgow and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Aberdeen and the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.

Julia Silberman is a Manager on CDP’s Supply Chain Team. She works closely with supply chain members in the consumer goods, information technology and telecom sectors to engage suppliers, reduce the environmental impacts of their supply chain, and achieve their supply chain sustainability goals.  Previously, she worked as a Sector Lead on CDP’s Disclosure Services Team. In this role, she worked with companies to support first time responses to CDP programs, share best practices in environmental management and disclosure, and highlight leadership opportunities.  Prior to joining CDP, Julia worked as the Marketing Director for a sustainability software startup and earned her B.A. from Tufts University.

Priyamvada Singh has been with HSBC Bank USA since May 2014. In her role as Product and Propositions Head, she is responsible for building GTRF’s product capabilities to support trade finance and services including sector specific propositions. As the largest trade bank in the world, HSBC’s GTRF business has been leading in embracing technological developments with digitalization of trade, intelligent automation and key ‘fintech’ and collaborative partnerships. Priyamvada’s role in leading product includes identifying strategic partnerships including for sustainability and supply chain visibility. In North America, GTRF has successfully established partnerships with external supply chain platforms to deliver end-to-end structured solutions and launched digital tools for trade, including development of a market leading sustainable supply chain finance solution. GTRF and HSBC Corporate Sustainability in the US have led the way for collaboration with The Sustainability Consortium, Sustainable Apparel Coalition and more to follow.

Priyamvada has 20+ years of experience as a corporate banker and trade finance professional with global banks (Deutsche and ING) as well as leading trade and supply chain finance in emerging markets with the World Bank Group. Prior to joining HSBC in 2014, Priyamvada was Global Program Head for Supplier Finance at International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank. As Principal, Trade Finance, she was involved in developing the multi-donor funded Global Trade Liquidity program in 2009 as a crisis response to supporting trade finance delivered through global banks. At IFC, Priyamvada established the Global Trade Supplier Finance program in 2010 under which IFC provides supply chain financing in partnership with global banks and alternative technology platform providers, including for the first time, using sustainability metrics for improved supplier compliance with sustainability standards.

Priyamvada represents HSBC at the ICC Sustainability Working Group on Sustainable Trade Finance with other member banks working on collaboration to integrate tools and develop frameworks to integrate among the banks such as the IFC GMAP tool for commodities, adoption of customer sustainability questionnaire, accountability frameworks for sustainable agricultural supply chains etc and regulatory frameworks update. Priyamvada has also been a regular speaker representing HSBC at trade finance and industry events on emerging markets trade and supply chain finance.

Drew Slattery is the Human Dimensions of Change Lead for Farm Journal’s Trust In Food. He specializes in applying human dimensions theory to drive behavior change to empower agricultural producers in the U.S. to continuously improve their operations’ environmental, financial and social outcomes. His portfolio overlaps the research, strategy and activation practices of Trust In Food.

Kezia is an ESG analyst at the FAIRR Initiative, focusing on AMR and antibiotic stewardship, and sustainable protein supply chains.

She studied at University College, Oxford and began her career as a management consultant at CIL, a strategy consulting firm with a focus on private equity investment.

She joined the FAIRR Initiative in 2019 to align her career with her long-held conviction that creating a sustainable and just food system is an urgent global priority, for people, animals and the environment.

Dr. Timothy M. Smith is professor of sustainable systems management and International Business, and founding director of the NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise, at the University of Minnesota. Throughout his career, he has developed integrative approaches to sustainable systems performance measurement and decision-making within the contexts of supply chain management, product/process design, marketing and public policy. Smith's research has been published in a broad array of scholarly journals and popular press, including the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Industrial Ecology, International Journal of Life-Cycle Assessment, and Journal of Marketing Research. His work has also appeared in The Conversation, Bloomberg News, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and other trade and local press. He teaches undergraduate students, graduate students and executives in courses on sustainability management systems and strategy, systems thinking and analysis, and corporate sustainability and social responsibility – earning him numerous awards for teaching excellence and community engagement. Dr. Smith brings insights from appointments at premier Universities in Europe and Latin America, and as an AT&T Industrial Ecology Fellow. He has advised federal and state agencies on energy, product and sourcing policies, and consults numerous companies and organizations advancing sustainability.

Rod Snyder has served as President of Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture since 2014.  Field to Market is the largest multi-stakeholder initiative working to define, measure and advance the sustainability of commodity crop production in the United States. Prior to this role, Snyder held positions as Public Policy Director for the National Corn Growers Association and Government Affairs Leader for CropLife America.

He is particularly recognized for his work at the intersection of agricultural and environmental issues.  In 2015, Snyder co-founded the Sustainable Agriculture Summit, which has grown to be the largest and most prominent annual sustainable agriculture conference in North America.

He has previously served on the board of directors of the Conservation Technology Information Center, on the steering committee of the Agricultural Nutrient Policy Council, on the executive committee of Field to Market, and as chair of the Pesticide Policy Coalition. He resides on his family’s farm in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia.

Jeff Spangenberger is the Materials Recycling R&D Program Lead in the Applied Materials Division at Argonne National Laboratory. His program works to solve material separation, recovery and recycling challenges resulting in cost effective and environmentally sustainable processes that are then transferrable to commercial installation.

Through close collaboration with industry, Spangenberger and his team have demonstrated the recovery of plastics, metals and materials from numerous waste streams such as auto shredder residue and electronic waste from bench to commercial scales.  He has received four patents related to this effort.

In recent years, his research has focused on lithium-ion battery recycling and is leading Argonne’s advanced battery recycling program to evaluate and advance the cost effective and sustainable recycling of end-of-life advanced batteries.

Mr. Stanislaus is serving as Circular Economy Fellow at the World Resources Institute and Senior Advisor on the Platform for Accelerating Circular Economic Policy in partnership with the World Economic Forum.

He served as a senior political official for the Obama Administration, serving as the Assistant Administrator of the USEPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, a US Senate confirmed position.  At USEPA, Mr. Stanislaus led programs that revitalize communities through the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated, hazardous and solid waste materials management, chemical plant safety, oil spill prevention, and emergency response.  He led the effort to advance the transition to a circular economy through a life-cycle based sustainable materials management approach as a key effort to advance climate change mitigation.  He represented the U.S. at G7 deliberations that led to the formation of the G7 Alliance for Resources Efficiency  and the of G7 countries plus Netherlands and Korea with representatives of their manufacturers to identify best practices to advance resource efficiency and circular economy in the supply chain. He advanced President Obama’s Climate Action Plan by climate change strategies into the Office’s programs.

Mr. Stanislaus is an environmental lawyer and chemical engineer with over 15 plus years of experience in the environmental field in the private, and public sectors.

Jane Stautz, Esq. (Dow AgroSciences LLC), is the Global Product Stewardship & Sustainability Leader at Dow AgroSciences and served as the first industry chair for Excellence Through Stewardship. She provides global leadership for Dow AgroSciences in product stewardship, including developing Global Product Stewardship Policies and Management Plans for the various Seeds, Traits & Oils and Crop Protection businesses. Ms. Stautz chaired BIO’s Stewardship Task Force which was the catalyst for the Excellence Through Stewardship initiative and development of the plant biotechnology stewardship program and quality management guides. She also serves on CropLife International’s Biotech Stewardship Committee. Ms. Stautz has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business and Public Service & Administration in Agriculture from Iowa State University and a Juris Doctorate from The University of Michigan Law School. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Indiana Natural Resources Commission.

Elizabeth Sturcken directs the work of our Supply Chain Corporate Partnerships team, which develops and implements joint projects with leading companies to create environmental change.

Leading our team of people working with Walmart to create broad environmental change in areas including climate change, agriculture, toxics in products and renewable energy.

Led our FedEx project to develop environmentally advanced medium-duty delivery vehicles.

Led our project with UPS to create innovative change in their express delivery packaging, resulting in environmental, business and customer benefits.

Background

Environmental Consultant for the EPA, through Harvard University, on global climate change (1996); Systems Consultant, Bank of Boston (1993-1994); Policy Analyst, Office of Management and Budget (1995); Computer Consultant, Alliance Computer Group (1989-1992).

Surfrider Foundation Board of Directors (1998-2001), President (2000); Founder and former Chair, Surfrider Foundation Massachusetts' chapter; Board of Directors, Environmental League of Massachusetts (1999-2002); Board of Directors, The Sustainability Consortium (2014).

Degrees

Masters in Public Policy, Environment and Natural Resources Policy, Harvard Kennedy School (1996). Bachelors in Political Science and Communication, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, University of Minnesota.

Rachel is a sustainable business strategist and leader focused on integrating sustainability and corporate responsibility into the operation and culture of large-scale businesses. At Sodexo, she develops and manages a wide range of global and national initiatives to advance environmental sustainability, wellness, and women’s empowerment while enhancing and protecting customer value and corporate performance. Rachel also developed and led the first enterprise-wide sustainability function for U.S. Foods, the second largest food distributor in North America.  She has advised Ford Motor Company, Volvo, the U.S. EPA and others on integrating business strategy and sustainability and she holds both an M.B.A. and M.S.  from the University of Michigan with a focus on sustainable business strategy.

Kristen Tetrick is the Director of Sustainability for Lucky’s Market, where she leads the sustainability strategy and programming across the company. Her programs focus on food waste reduction, recycling, in-house packaging improvements, sourcing policies, increased efficiencies to water and energy usage, and building the culture of sustainability awareness among their team members. She has been with Lucky’s since 2013 and was previously their Director of Marketing and Community Impact, where she developed the company’s social impact strategy. In her spare time, she volunteers for the nonprofit Slow Food USA, where she serves as the Slow Food State Governor for Colorado and serves on the Board of Directors for Slow Food Denver. She holds an MBA in marketing and a BFA in graphic design. She is passionate about food that is good, clean, and fair while achieving a shared well-being of the planet through meaningful connections and actions.

Paul provides leadership for SFI’s conservation programs, principal liaison with conservation organizations, and guidance toward the development of standards and programs that ensure the attainment of conservation objectives. He works to maintain partnerships, grow the network of conservation organizations involved in the SFI Program, and to ensure relevance of SFI’s work in promoting sustainable supply chains and responsible sourcing. Paul oversees SFI’s Conservation Impact initiative and its Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program. He monitors conservation research developments and advancements in sustainable forestry to identify opportunities to further the SFI Program and activities of SFI Program Participants. Paul brings nearly 30 years of experience in forestry, non-profit management, forest certification, collaborative partnerships, and landscape-scale conservation. Before joining SFI, Paul was Director of Southern Forest Conservation for the American Forest Foundation. Prior to AFF, Paul held numerous positions with The Nature Conservancy for almost 20 years, including roles in executive management, and nearly 10 years directing forest conservation strategies in the southeastern United States. Paul has a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from Virginia Tech, and a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University.

Eduardo Tugendhat spearheads Palladium’s catalytic role in the design and execution of Inclusive Growth strategies through commercial facilities structured to finance the transformation of natural business systems at scale. This involves partnering with large companies to move beyond traditional sustainability programs to design and implement transformational and commercially viable business approaches that achieve measurable business, social and environmental outcomes. Mr. Tugendhat has particular expertise in food, agriculture and agroforestry but has worked across a range of industries and geographies.