Beginning in the afternoon on Wednesday, March 8, Sustainability in Packaging US will kick-off with three pre-conference workshops followed by two exciting days of general sessions on March 9 - 10. Hear from representatives from across the supply chain, and extend your learnings by choosing a ticket with one of the 2023 workshops.
Sheida Sahandy is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Encina, a circular chemicals company. Ms. Sahandy has a cross-section of experience spanning business, government, science, and law. After graduating from Columbia Law School, she practiced corporate and securities law, focusing on access to capital markets and M&A transactions. She then earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government with a focus on environmental science and policy. She has experience in regulatory, legislative, and governance systems at the federal, state, and local levels with deep experience in the creation of public/private partnerships to advance environmental and social goals.
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.
David Nelson is the Corporate Innovation Director of Eastman's Biopolymers platform. He is an experienced entrepreneur who has successfully led start-ups, consulted new ventures and executed strategic growth projects for fortune 500 companies. He holds a Bachelors degree in Marketing and an MBA in Finance & Entrepreneurship.
Graeme Smith leads the Global Sustainable Packaging Program for Mars Petcare, delivering a portfolio of packaging solutions with sustainability at the forefront. With over 25 years of polymer processing experience in Technical, R&D and manufacturing environments, Graeme has developed processes and materials for automotive, aerospace and civil engineering applications. Through his understanding of the environmental impacts of packaging, recycling infrastructure and legislative drivers, he is passionate about driving the conversation to understand and activate packaging development and solutions for the future.
Bio coming soon!
Originally from Australia, Tristan’s experience ranged across several technical industries including advanced manufacturing, oil & gas, and mining. After graduating from the London Business School MBA programme in 2015, Tristan joined the brand strategy consultancy Millward Brown Vermeer, in their New York City office, working across global food and beverage clients running segmentation, brand extension, and new market entry projects. Upon returning to the UK, he joined as the Group Commercial Director for Bread Holdings - a PE-backed bakery portfolio business with brands such as GAIL’s and The Bertinet Bakery - before coming to Notpla, a sustainable packaging start-up in early 2021. There, he is leading the commercialisation of a portfolio of packaging products based on seaweed and plant extracts. On a personal note, Tristan had an idyllic childhood growing up on vineyards around Australia, is a passionate road cyclist, and father to a very determined seven-year-old son.
Cheryl T Coleman is the Vice President for Sustainability at The Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Cheryl has over 30 years of experience in materials management. In her current role at ISRI, she is leading efforts with ISRI members and other stakeholders to strengthen the industry’s voice in domestic and global policy sustainability discussions including Environmental, Social & Governance; the development of a Recyclability Protocol Program for fiber-based packaging; and is working with higher education schools to increase awareness of career opportunities in the recycling industry by providing apprenticeships, internships, and fellowships for students and includes an emphasis on recruiting students from underrepresented communities in the recycling industry.
Cheryl previously served as the Director of the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division at US Environmental Protection Agency where she led efforts to improve the US recycling system, reduce food loss and waste, used electronics management and beneficial use of industrial materials
Prior to her tenure at EPA, Cheryl was the Director for RCRA and CERCLA related programs at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Ana Espinosa is a passionate about Storytelling, Packaging Sustainability and Circularity innovation and design. In her role, she helps move forward the Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) Packaging Sustainability goals via strategic work, sustainability education, partnerships, and innovation projects with all brands inside of the ELC portfolio. She supports key internal functions, external stakeholders like retailers, suppliers, and sustainability organizations helping define the future of packaging sustainability in the cosmetics industry. Her brand of leadership revolves around collaboration, conscious design, and generation of purpose driven value.
Ana seeks to build and implement strategies that help mainstream sustainability-by-design. She’s experienced in launching and implementing sustainability metric tools in supply chain, warehousing, corporate sustainability and packaging. She continues to expand her work bringing engineering and design to consumer insights and how to leverage them to design packages and marketing campaigns. She partners with internal functions, from marketing to distribution, and helps to steer teams to innovate via the lens of sustainability. She partners with external stakeholders to continue to move forward sustainability-by design in a holistic, comprehensive way aiming to create system-wide change.
She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and a MS in Sustainability Management and is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.
Greg has a strong background in digital B2B sales and channel sales. And this experience has afforded him an invaluable skill set – despite the ever-changing landscape of the B2B marketplace, he’s been able to pivot and adapt in order to consistently achieve organic growth for a wealth of businesses across the globe.
A strong sales professional, his career has involved several senior commercial appointments in the electrical and electronic manufacturing industry. He’s most content in these positions: perhaps a hark back to student days, when he gained his masters’ degree in Industrial Distribution and Industrial Engineering.
In a previous role as CEO/President of Omega Engineering, Greg led a global provider of sensing, control, and monitoring tech through a major digital and commercial transformation.
Other career highlights include senior roles at Arrow Electronics and Grainger. He also spent seven years at Valin Corporation, manufacturer of instrumentation, controls, and automation products. As Executive VP, he led commercial, digital, and supplier relationship strategies.
Greg has been busy making sure that the rapid growth of Industrial Physics aligns with customer expectations. Drawing upon his deep industry knowledge and relationship building skills, his leadership allows us to be proactive when faced with the ever-changing needs of the industries we serve.
Lynn Hoffman is a Co-President of Eureka Recycling, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, whose mission is to demonstrate that waste is preventable, not inevitable. With the two largest recycling contracts in the state servicing the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Eureka operates a collection fleet and 100,000 tons-per-year single stream MRF with a mission-driven triple-bottom-line approach that balances environmental, social and economic benefit. Their business units aim to drive meaningful systems change by demonstrating ways in which recycling can be an effective cornerstone of a truly regenerative economy and support a shift towards source reduction and zero waste.
Considered a national expert in Zero Waste recycling systems and policies, Lynn works with other organizations, companies, and governments to advise, strategize, and implement authentic recycling, plastics reduction, and Zero Waste policy and program solutions. In 2020 and 2022, Lynn was invited to testify before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on recycling and climate change. Lynn is the National Coordinator for AMBR (the Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers), and has served on the boards of the Minnesota Composting Council the Minnesota Environmental Fund, and the Advisory Council for the US Plastics Pact.
Jeff Travis has been in the packaging industry for over 30 years involved with both rigid and flexible packaging. He is currently the Manager of Innovation & Sustainability for American Packaging Corporation responsible for support and development of the sustainable product platforms, outreach, and integration of these platforms to the brands. Prior to working at American Packaging Corporation, Jeff worked at CL&D Graphics and Alcan packaging in package development and customer interface roles. Jeff has a BS in Plastics Engineering from University of Lowell in MA and a MBA from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.
Albert Douer is the Chairman & Co-CEO of UBQ Materials. A veteran of the materials sector for over 40 years, Albert uses deep industry knowledge and proven expertise in corporate global expansion to maximize UBQ Materials’ impact as a world-changing company.
Martin has an EMBA and an MSc in Technology and Entrepreneurship. Before joining Tembo, he co-founded two companies in Argentina in the food and beverage industry.
Martin’s love of business development drew him to his role at ITM, where he has been Area Sales Manager for Latin America. And he took the same passion to his role at Tembo Paper.
Tembo Paper is part of Tembo Group, a global, family-owned group of companies that use technology and innovation to create sustainable manufacturing solutions in the fast-moving consumer goods market.
At Tembo Paper, Martin works with a talented team who help global brands be the first to launch next generation products by combining world-class product and machine development. This unique approach means clients and partners can make a smooth transition from plastic straws to high-quality, food-safety-compliant, and environmentally-friendly paper straws.
Tembo Paper’s unique paper straw technology enables high-volume paper straw production. By working only with the best suppliers and materials, and by minimising waste, Tembo Paper ensures optimal quality while keeping the environmental footprint low.
Raphaël Bardet is Head of the Product Management and R&D at Ahlstrom, one of the world's leading players in sustainable and innovative fiber solutions.
Amongst his current responsibilities is the business management and development of fiber-based solutions dedicated to sustainable food packaging applications used in everyday life. He mainly focuses on solutions contributing to replace non-renewable materials. For instance, he was recently involved in product launch such as new paper straws materials or recyclable and compostable materials for baking molds.
Raphaël has a MSc degree in Papermaking and a PhD in Biobased Nanomaterials from Grenoble Institute of Technology in France. He has more than 10 years of experience in the field of sustainable solutions, with expertise both in the business and technical fields, in particular in product development and innovation.
Raphaël is convinced that innovation in fiber-based solutions will help to better protect the planet and contribute to a better tomorrow for future generations.
Zach is the Corporate Sustainability Manager for Plastic Ingenuity, a leading custom thermoformer based in Madison, WI, where he is responsible for helping packaging professionals realize their sustainability goals. Zach has dedicated his career of 19 years to the thermoformed packaging industry with roles ranging from product development to commercial sales.
Ryan is the Program Manager of Sustainability for Global Packaging with Abbvie and holds a B.S. in Packaging Sciences from Michigan State University. He has more than 15 years of product and package design, engineering, and manufacturing experience across the consumer goods and pharmaceutical industries.
Being a dad of identical twin boys, and loving the great outdoors year-round, Ryan has a vested and personal interested in leaving this planet in better care than we found it. The struggles and fights of today will leave their mark with our kids tomorrow.
Erin L’Hotta is the H.B. Fuller Global Marketing Manager for Packaging division. Erin has several years of experience in developing award-winning sustainable market leading innovations in Rigid Packaging and 10+ years in the adhesive industry. Erin is passionate about sustainable packaging and how adhesives, coatings and tapes can support sustainable packaging design.
Erin works to drive positive change across industries by leading WWF’s packaging and material science program. Key to conservation is the overall protection of the planet’s natural resources, and packaging plays a vital role in that.
Through her efforts, she works with business and industry to help them make informed, sustainable material choices for their products and packaging. Her work focuses on the major commodities that go into packaging, which come in many different forms and materials, and how to integrate sustainability into the decisions and trade-offs that must be evaluated across a product’s lifecycle.
Erin works with companies to strategically address their packaging work streams by focusing on developing transparency in the supply chain for the major packaging materials and pursuing strategies that reduce the environmental impact of these materials through responsible sourcing.
Prior to joining WWF, Erin worked at Hewlett Packard for 10 years as a packaging engineer responsible for the design and implementation of laser jet printer and media packaging. Her expertise is in material science, design innovation, procurement, manufacturing, logistical and point of purchase aspects of packaging.
Nate Pajka, Sustainability Specialist, Metsӓ Board, Americas, works in tandem with the Product Safety and Sustainability team in Finland to provide a range of sustainability services to the Americas and serves as Metsä Board’s sustainability expert in the region. Based in the Norwalk, CT, office, he is responsible for providing sustainability data, information and education to help clients reduce the environmental impact of their packaging. Before joining Metsӓ, he worked for one of the largest healthcare companies in Massachusetts as well as serving as a sustainability ambassador for one of the largest utilities in New England. Nate holds an MBA in Sustainability and Social Change and an MS in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University, Worcester, MA.
Rob’s professional career has focused on the intersection of software and business model innovation with Circular Economy and Smart City challenges. He is Director of Industry Relations and Strategic Partnerships at AMP Robotics. In this role he develops and maintains AMP’s position as the global leader in providing AI-powered automation to economically and sustainably improve our recycling system. This involves collaboration across resource recovery industries to increase material supply and availability of recycling, modernize recycling infrastructure, and develop market demand for secondary materials.
Prior to AMP Robotics he was a Product Manager at Intrado (acquired by West), and his teams commercialized the core geographic technology for the world’s first cellular 9-1-1 call routing systems. He served in a Partnership Development role at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory collaborating with startups and small businesses developing energy, grid, and built environment technologies. At Innosphere Ventures he directed the incubation and early-stage financings for cleantech startups in the firm’s portfolio.
Ashley Elzinga is director of sustainability and outreach for the Foodservice Packaging Institute, the trade association for the North American foodservice packaging industry. At FPI, work primarily focuses around communications, outreach and FPI’s recovery efforts.
Prior to joining the association, Elzinga has worked in different positions within the sustainability and environmental fields. Her most recent position was with Dart Container Corp. where she was the social responsibility and sustainability specialist. Before that position, she acted as the company’s recycling and community outreach specialist.
Elzinga holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Grand Valley State University with a minor in Environmental Studies. When not going on adventures with their corgi, Dutch, Ashley and her husband enjoy working toward their goal to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums — 10 down, 20 still to go.
Dr. Sandeep Kulkarni is the founder and President of KoolEarth Solutions Inc., a technical consulting and business development company focused on helping companies develop and commercialize new sustainable packaging solutions as well as to improve the sustainability footprint of existing packaging and to reduce/eliminate packaging waste. He is also VP, Plastics and Packaging at Ubuntoo (www.ubuntoo.com), a unique environmental solutions platform to address plastic waste, plastic litter, food waste, sustainable fashion and so on.
Sandeep has over 20 years of industry experience working for several large packaging companies, such as International Paper, Neenah Paper and Georgia Pacific. Most recently he worked for PepsiCo, in the area of sustainable beverage packaging. His diverse expertise includes recycling, bioplastics, paper based as well as molded fiber packaging. Sandeep has 7 granted patents as well as several publications in industry journals. He has also served on conference advisory boards and has delivered several invited presentations, at international conferences, on the topics of sustainability and sustainable packaging. Sandeep serves as an Adjunct Professor at The Packaging School (a spinoff from Clemson University) as well as the North Carolina State University. Recently he was elected to serve as member of the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) for 3 year term (2021-2024)
James leads insight and innovation for Cambridge Design Partnership across major CPG food and drink clients, with responsibility for ‘joining up the dots’ between consumer needs and breakthrough packaging innovation. James helps clients tackle their biggest challenges, with a resolute passion for improving brands and businesses, by overcoming the barriers and unlocking opportunities to move toward a sustainable circular economy.
James has over 25 years of experience in the innovation and design industry, working for leaders in brand consulting and pack design, such as Landor Associates and Design Bridge prior to CDP.
Valerie Langer has been engaged in forest conservation initiatives for over 30 years. She works with non-profit, Canopy (www.canopyplanet.org) to accelerate globally availability of Next Generation alternatives to tree fibre pulp for manufacturing paper, packaging and Man Made Cellulosic Fibres. Valerie’s focus is on large scale forest conservation by leveraging markets, investments and innovation. She was on Canopy’s founding Steering Committee, is a Donella Meadows Fellow and, along with colleagues who helped craft the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements, was a recipient of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award.
Bio coming soon!
Dan Felton is Executive Director of AMERIPEN – the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment. He is a well-known policy and trade association leader who has worked within the bottled water, credit card, healthcare and information management industries. He is particularly passionate about environmental, sustainability and packaging issues and has engaged extensively in those areas at the state and federal levels. He has chaired committees and led task forces for several national trade associations and has served on the board of the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC) where he is a graduate of the their nationally recognized professional certificate programs. A former professional actor and musician, he has run the finances and served on the board of a nationally recognized theatre education non-profit. He has also been involved with the Commission on Presidential Debates since 2000 in support of their quad-annual presidential and vice presidential debates. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, Dan lives in the Washington DC area.
Brant Wunderlich is the caps and closures market manager at NOVA Chemicals. In his role, Brant is responsible for leading development and execution of market strategy in this segment to support growth and innovation across the closures industry. Previously Brant spent several years as a caps and closures technical service specialist at NOVA Chemicals where he worked in close collaboration with customers to qualify new resins, optimize closure molding, and develop new applications. Prior to joining NOVA Chemicals in 2016, Wunderlich worked in the consulting industry on fluid and heat transfer simulations. Wunderlich holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo where he graduated with the prestigious Academic Achievement Award from the Sandford Fleming Foundation. A 2021 Plastics News Rising Star, Wunderlich is active in the beverage and packaging industry and currently chairs the membership committee for AMERIPEN. Brant has also served as a technical lead on the ISBT Canada organizing committee and was a member of the ISBT “Correlation of CO2 Methods” committee. Brant lives and works in the Vancouver, British Columbia area and enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including backpacking and scuba diving.
On the Consumer Health team at Environmental Defense Fund, Cassie focuses on creating a safer and more sustainable marketplace by driving down toxic chemicals in everyday products and food. She works with leading companies to develop and adopt solutions to eliminate toxic chemicals in their supply chain, use verified safer alternatives, and drive a more circular future. Prior to joining Environmental Defense Fund, Cassie worked in health sciences consulting, a state health department, and in environmental toxicology research. Cassie has a Master of Public Health degree in environmental health and is an expert in toxicology, exposure science, epidemiology and risk assessment.
As the CEO & Co-Founder of erthos, Nuha is on a mission to build a new standard for sustainable materials that put our earth first. Nuha founded erthos while still completing her Business & Environmental Economics degree at the University of Toronto (Rotman). During her time at UofT, she actively contributed to the growth of young leaders in Canada. Under her leadership, Enactus, a student-run social innovation organization, grew from 7 to 70 members and her efforts were recognized by HSBC with the 2017 Woman Leader of Tomorrow Award. When her peers headed off to full-time jobs after graduation, she decided to go full-speed with erthos, scaling the company to a team of 20, raising over $7.3M and launching global manufacturing pilots to tackle the issue worldwide. As an entrepreneur in an emerging technology space, Nuha plays an active role in supporting the development of the diverse innovation ecosystem in Canada. From serving as an advisor to National technology accelerators like NEXT Canada, acting as a Board Member of Natural Step Canada, to mentoring young entrepreneurs and women in STEM, she is dedicated to supporting the next generation of leaders who are collectively working together to create a positive impact on this planet. Nuha’s work in building erthos has been recognized globally, and the rapid expansion of erthos as one of Canada’s fastest-growing cleantech companies, was recently awarded by Bay Street Bull 30x30.
For the past 6 years, Dustin Schadt has worked with Stora Enso as the Director of Business Development and Key Account Manager for Specialty Papers and Packaging Materials in North America. His key objective is to build partnerships with Retailers, Brand Owners, and Converters who have specific Objectives to increase the effectiveness of their Paper and Packaging. Though Quality, Service, and Logistics are all key objectives for these companies, Dustin focuses on clients whose primary goal is to find Sustainable Packaging Solutions. Bringing 18 years of experience from the Folding Carton Industry, he ties in many different components of the supply chain in order to find innovative solutions and bring value to the changing market. When he’s not talking about micro fibers, blank paper, or empty boxes, Dustin likes to travel with his family, creating many adventures along the way. Between his love for family and love for paper, there’s never a moment to rest.
Marika Knorr is the Head of Sustainability and Communication at CCL Label since April 2020 and is dedicated to grow the “Sustainable Product Family” while driving CCL’s Sustainability roadmap. Marika holds a Master‘s Degree in Art from Cologne University and Arizona State University and started her career as a newspaper and magazine writer before moving into Corporate Communications at international companies including TÜV Rheinland, LANXESS AG and Constantia Flexibles. She has held varied and senior positions in marketing and communications and has extensive experience in our industry focusing on sustainability and communication. Marika is based in Cologne, Germany.
Suzanne is the voice and the vision of Shelton Group. Drawing on her extensive experience in energy and the environment – and 25+ years in the marketing and advertising industry – Suzanne provides high-level strategic insights for our clients and guidance for our research and creative departments. She regularly speaks at conferences around the country, including Sustainable Brands, Fortune Brainstorm E and the International Builders’ Show, and serves as a guest columnist for publications like Fast Company, Green Builder and GreenBiz.com.
Ian Montgomery is the Founder and Creative Director of Guacamole Airplane, a San Francisco-based design agency focused on sustainable packaging. GA has worked for organizations including Nike, Dell, and Whole Foods on a range of structural packaging and sustainability strategy projects. Ian did his undergraduate coursework in Environmental Science at Stanford and masters work in Packaging Design at Pratt, where he received funding from the National Science Foundation to build a series of experimental recycling machines.
Tim has over 11 years’ experience in all the paper and packaging industry in various sales and marketing analytical functions. Much of his expertise has been in analyzing market trends and insights, market research, data analysis and forecasting. He brings his exemplary leadership, analytical, and communication skills to our consultancy division to help clients maximize their business objectives.
