Amanda Nummy is a senior polymer materials engineer with a decade of experience in the automotive industry, specializing in alternative energy and sustainable materials. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Polymer, Textile, and Fiber Engineering from Georgia Tech, a master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Wayne State University, and a master’s degree in Biomimicry through Arizona State University. She works at the Hyundai America Technical Center outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In her current role, she is responsible for plant support and new application development of all plastic components in North and South America, and leads several global collaborations for hydrogen fuel cells and electric vehicle development.
Biography coming soon.
Shannon Crawford is the director of recycling and environmental policy at WM, where she works with the government affairs team to coordinate responses to recycling legislation, regulations, and policy impacting WM operations. Previously, she worked as the director of state government affairs at the Plastics Industry Association, overseeing the association’s response to extended producer responsibility and recycled content legislation. Crawford started her career at SWANA, where she advanced to the position of manager of government relations.
Craig Cookson is the Senior Director of Plastics Sustainability for the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council, a trade association representing the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. Craig is responsible for leading the Plastics Division’s strategic national initiatives to grow and scale plastics recycling technology and promote awareness of plastics’ role in providing sustainable solutions to society’s greatest challenges.
Before coming to ACC, Craig was the Vice President of Integrated Business Strategies at 720 Strategies, where he designed and implemented strategic grassroots programs for corporate, association, and non-profit clients. Craig was also the Deputy Director of State-Federal Relations for Governor Mitt Romney. Craig advocated on behalf of Massachusetts’ interests on the issues of energy, transportation, education, and local commerce.
Craig holds a B.A. in Political Science from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and an MBA from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Craig is a long-time New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox fan and currently lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Elizabeth and their twin boys.
Candace manages Brightmark’s feedstock consultant team and oversees supply relationships, sourcing efforts, and strategic planning. She is a 25-year veteran of the post-consumer and post-industrial recycling space. She received her B.A. in Public Relations from Western Kentucky University and resides in Montgomery, Alabama.
Carson Potter is a product leader at AMP Robotics, where he focuses on automated facility development and applications of artificial intelligence. He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in computer science, and brings to AMP a background in machine learning and large scale data systems. Before joining AMP, he led a product team and the machine learning and data strategy for a company in the home services industry. Previously, he was head of product for a Y Combinator-backed employee rewards and recognition platform.
As the Strategic Initiatives Manager at Eastman, Holli Alexander translates the complexity of sustainability into action. She has worked closely within the plastic recycling industry for the last decade supporting collaborative system change. Holli represents Eastman in a variety of external organizations including the US Plastics Pact, the Recycling Partnership, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and the Association of Plastic Recyclers. She currently serves as an officer for the PLASTICS Industry Association and helped found their Advanced Recycling Committee. She launched the ANSI US Technical Advisory Group for the ISO committee on Chain of Custody and co-authored a chapter on mass balance in Current Topics in the Circular Economy of Polymers which was published by the American Chemistry Society in 2021.
Carlos graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He worked in industry before moving to the United Kingdom, to do his Ph.D at the University of Cambridge. During his doctoral research and subsequently as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate, he developed the basis of the Enval process to recycle plastic aluminium laminate pouches, sachets, tubes, etc.
As a result, Carlos founded Enval where he is CEO. The Company now has a commercial plant recycling laminates in the UK and is in the process of installing further units in other locations. Enval has also started to develop recycling processes for other materials, creating a link between the packaging world and the waste handling sector.
Jesus Atias is the North America Sustainability manager for Packaging & Specialty Plastics. Jesus is responsible for expanding the Hefty® EnergyBag® program, which represents a collaboration with strategic customer Reynolds Consumer Products and participating communities, diverting more plastics from landfill by converting them to valuable energy resources. He focuses on program growth and identifying partners across the value chain, including new end markets and applications. He is managing Dow’s responsibilities as the first Hefty® EnergyBag® program launches in Canada.
Jeremy DeBenedictis has been leading the development, operation, and commercialization of the Company’s Advanced Recycling technology since 2011. He is a co-inventor to Alterra’s continuous thermochemical liquefaction process with four U.S. pending patents. His passion is mentoring future leaders to carrying on the responsibility of creating a cleaner planet for future generations. Jeremy earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton and an MBA in Banking & Finance from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Tim Buwalda is a Principal at Circular Matters, a consulting firm dedicated to bringing about the circular economy. We work with companies, government entities, and industry organizations to make real progress toward sustainability goals. Tim has over 25 years experience in waste reduction and materials recovery, specializing in policy approaches, infrastructure planning and analysis, and recovered materials processing technologies. Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida, with a specialization in plastics.
Shannon Crawford is the director of recycling and environmental policy at WM, where she works with the government affairs team to coordinate responses to recycling legislation, regulations, and policy impacting WM operations. Previously, she worked as the director of state government affairs at the Plastics Industry Association, overseeing the association’s response to extended producer responsibility and recycled content legislation. Crawford started her career at SWANA, where she advanced to the position of manager of government relations.
