Speakers

Eben Bayer, CEO, Co-founder of Ecovative

Eben uses biology and engineering to create disruptive solutions that are good for people and the planet. Based on his inventions, Eben has evangelized a strategy of bio-adaptation around the world, including presentations at TED Global, PopTech, and Davos. Today, Eben is the CEO and co-founder of Ecovative, which takes its name from ecology and innovation. Ecovative is a biomaterials company growing sustainable materials and products with unique living organisms.

Monica Becker, Principal, Monica Becker & Associates Sustainability Consultants

Tara Brown, Manager, Sustainability, Target

Mikhail Davis, Director, Restorative Enterprise at Interface

Mikhail Davis is Director of Restorative Enterprise at Interface, the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet. He is responsible for building partnerships that shift the marketplace toward sustainability and supports the company’s efforts to become a restorative enterprise. He leads Interface’s product transparency efforts and is the Co-Chair of the Materials Working Group of BizNGO. He is editor and lead author of the Radical Industrialists column at GreenBiz.com and is a certified Biomimicry Specialist.

Steve Domeck, Vice President, U.S. Commercial, InnoCentive

Tracey Easthope, MPH, Director, Environmental Health Program

Ms. Easthope currently oversees the Ecology Center's environmental health programs, including the Green Chemistry and Safer Materials Project, the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health, and the organization's health care and chemical industry projects. She is an advisor to the Center's HealthyStuff project. Ms. Easthope helped found and direct sector campaigns related to chemicals including Health Care Without Harm's safer materials work. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition and the Business NGO Working Group. Tracey received an appointment to the State of Michigan Green Chemistry Roundtable and has served since its founding in 2008. Tracey holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan and a BFA in sculpture from Eastern Michigan University.

Sally Edwards, Sc.D Research Associate , Lowell Center for Sustainable Production

Dr. Edwards has over 25 years of experience in the field of environmental health, including 14 years in the public sector at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Massachusetts and Alaska. She has also worked as a consultant on environmental sustainability with businesses and communities. Sally holds a MS in Environmental Health Science from Harvard University and a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University. She completed her doctorate in Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her book, Beyond Child’s Play: Sustainable Product Design in the Global Doll-Making Industry has recently been released by Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.

Patrick Harmon, Industry Manager, Industrial Petrochemicals ,BASF Corporation

Patrick Harmon is responsible for new business development, innovation, and product advocacy for the Industrial Petrochemicals group at BASF Corporation. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Georgia Tech and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Vanderbilt University. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife Alice and their teenage daughter and son.

Marc A. Hillmyer, Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Polymers, University of Minnesota

Marc Hillmyer received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1994. After completing a postdoctoral research position in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science he joined the Chemistry faculty at Minnesota in 1997. He is currently a Distinguished McKnight University Professor of chemistry and leads a research group focused on the synthesis and self-assembly of multifunctional polymers. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Marc also serves as an Associate Editor for the ACS journal Macromolecules and is the director of the Center for Sustainable Polymers at the University of Minnesota, a National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation.

Bob Israel, Ph.D.,Director, Global Product Stewardship, Valspar Corporation

Dr. Israel has had 30 years of experience in product stewardship, regulatory affairs and corporate sustainability strategy. At Valspar, he is responsible for developing strategic initiatives in continuous improvement and product sustainability. Prior to joining Valspar, Bob spent 14 years at Diversey where he led in defining the company’s sustainability and product portfolio continuous improvement programs. Bob was the recipient of Diversey’s first ever Samuel C. Johnson Environmental Stewardship Award.

Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, EPA

President Obama nominated Jim Jones to be the Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) in January 2012. Jim was confirmed by the U.S. senate August 1, 2013. He is responsible for managing the office which implements the nation’s pesticide, toxic chemical, and pollution prevention laws. Jim’s career with EPA spans more than 26 years. He has an M.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a B.A. from the University of Maryland, both in Economics.

Robert Kaplan, Sustainability Director, Walmart Stores, Inc.

As a Director of Sustainability for Walmart Stores Inc., Rob Kaplan drives product and supply chain innovation by integrating sustainability and business strategy. He leads sustainability strategy and implementation for the Consumables and Health & Wellness businesses. In addition, he is responsible for customer engagement, packaging, and liaison with Europe, Canada, and Africa. Prior to joining Walmart, Rob helped lead corporate responsibility and brand strategy for Brown-Forman Corporation, producer and marketer of spirits brands such as Jack Daniels.

Kaichang Li, Professor, Oregon State University

Professor in the Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University, a recipient of 2007 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, Inventor of formaldehyde-free soy-based adhesives, vegetable-oil-based pressure sensitive adhesives, and vegetable-oil-based styrene-free unsaturated polyester resins.

Roger McFadden, Vice President, Senior Scientist, Staples, Inc.

Roger McFadden is a charter member of the Green Chemistry Commerce Council and currently co-chairs a committee to advance Green Chemistry through the U.S. EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) Formulator Initiative. Roger believes that we need a revolution in product design with an environmental conscience and commitment to green chemistry.

Greg Morose, Industry Research Project Manager, Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Greg Morose is a Research Manager for TURI and is currently working with industry to address the use of toxic chemicals throughout the supply chain. Greg has conducted comprehensive investigations of alternatives to products containing mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium, phthalates, radioactive materials, and brominated flame retardants. Greg has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master's of Science degree in Environmental Studies, a Master's of Business Administration degree, and a Doctoral degree in Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention. Greg is also an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt. Greg is a Research Professor for the College of Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Martin J. Mulvihill, Ph.D.,Executive Director, Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry

Marty Mulvihill is committed to meeting the challenges of global sustainability by pioneering interdisciplinary approaches to research and education—and the subsequent integration of this newly expanded understanding in social, political and business practices. Since 2010 Marty has been the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry (BCGC) while continuing as a researcher in both Public Health and Environmental Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in 2009 from the University of California, Berkeley in Chemistry and Nanoscience. Subsequently, Marty completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories doing research in the Materials Science and Earth Science Divisions.

Amy Perlmutter, Principal, Perlmutter Associates

Amy Perlmutter is an independent consultant whose practice includes strategy, stakeholder engagement, communications, and facilitation to build the green economy. Prior to consulting, Amy was the founding director of the Chelsea Center for Recycling and Economic Development, working with businesses, researchers, and government to increase the use of recycled materials in manufacturing processes in Massachusetts. She has served as the Director of Recycling for the City of San Francisco.

Babette Pettersen, VP Marketing & Sales, BioAmber Green Technologies

Babette Pettersen was recently appointed VP Marketing & Sales for BioAmber Technologies, a US Venture-backed start up in renewable chemistry. Prior to this, she was Vice-president of New Business Development for the Performance Materials Cluster at the Life and Material Sciences Company, Royal DSM NV.

Babette has over 20 years of experience in New Business Development and Marketing. Before joining DSM, she worked at the silicon-based technology company Dow Corning in various Marketing and Business Development roles in a broad range of industries, from Personal & Household care, through to Electronics. There she also led Marketing and Business Development in Dow Corning’s Business & Technology Incubator, as well as the Global Marketing Excellence Council for the corporation.

She has a BSc in Biology from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, United States and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainbleau, France.

Michael A. Saltzberg, Business Director, BioMaterials, Dupont Industrial Biosciences

Michael A. Saltzberg is the Business Director for BioMaterials in DuPont Industrial BioSciences, leading development of a portfolio of emerging and growth businesses based on new processes to make industrially important chemicals and materials from renewable feedstocks. He has twenty-six years of experience in a variety of businesses and functions in DuPont. Dr. Saltzberg is a native of Philadelphia, Pa and holds a B.A. with honors in Chemistry from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

John Linc Stine, MPCA Commissioner

John Linc Stine was appointed Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) by Governor Mark Dayton effective May 14, 2012. John joined the MPCA in March 2011, as Deputy Commissioner. Prior to joining the MPCA, John served as Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Health where he was responsible for overseeing the department’s public health emergency preparedness, environmental health, infectious disease prevention/control and the public health laboratory functions. John also worked for 25 years with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a hydrologist and administrator specializing in shoreland, flood plain, and wild and scenic river programs, water resource management and regulation. He also served as Assistant Director of the Trails and Waterways Division. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Soil and Water Resource Management from the University of Minnesota. He is married with two sons.

Homer, Swei, Associate Director, Product Stewardship, Johnson & Johnson

Homer is responsible for managing and developing ingredient policy for Consumer Products worldwide and committed to developing products that are gentle on people and gentle on the environment. Homer has over 20 years of industry experience with ingredients, covering all aspects of the supply chain, from material design, sourcing, regulations, and product and development. Prior to Johnson & Johnson, he worked for Exxon Chemical, Raychem, Union Carbide, and Dow Chemical. Homer received a Chemical Engineering PhD from Northwestern University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of California/Berkeley.

Joel Tickner, Director, Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative, Lowell Center for Sustainability

Dr. Joel Tickner is Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he also directs the Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. He is a leading expert on chemicals regulation, regulatory science, and application of the alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served as an advisor and researcher for several government agencies, international agencies, non-profit environmental groups companies, and trade unions both in the U.S. and abroad during the past businesses years. He served on the EPA’s National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Committee as well as the National Academy of Sciences Panel on the Future of Science at the Environmental Protection Agency. He also directs the undergraduate environmental health BS program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Doctor of Science Degree from the Department of Work Environment at University of Massachusetts Lowell and for three years was an Environmental Protection Agency STAR Fellow.

Marc Verbruggen, President and Chief Executive Officer, NatureWorks LLC

Todd Vogelsinger , Director of Marketing , Columbia Forest Products

Todd Vogelsinger spent over twenty years in the sales and marketing of building materials like high pressure laminate, solid surfacing, and laminate flooring before joining Columbia Forest Products as their Director of Marketing in 2006. In this role, he is responsible for strategies and programs that support the company's veneer and hardwood plywood operations, and innovations like PureBond® formaldehyde-free technology. He has a degree in Economics from the University of Virginia and lives in Summerfield, NC. He has served on the boards of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), and the National Association of Building Material Distributors (NBMDA), as well as the Greensboro, NC affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.

Martin Wolf, Director, Product Sustainability & Authenticity, Seventh Generation, Inc.

Mr. Wolf is responsible for assuring the sustainable design of products at Seventh Generation, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of ecological household and personal care products. Mr. Wolf brings over 40 years of experience in industrial and environmental chemistry to his work including life cycle studies of industrial processes, designing more sustainable household cleaning products, and developing frameworks for environmental product design, Mr. Wolf received a 2010 EPA Region 1 Environmental Merit Award for his work, and in 2013 was appointed by the National Academy of Science to the Committee on Design and Evaluation of Safer Chemical Substitutions. Mr. Wolf holds an M.A. in Chemistry from Yeshiva University (New York) and a B.S. in Chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Massachusetts).

Ken Zarker, Pollution Prevention Section Manager, State of Washington

Ken Zarker has been actively involved with hazardous waste, pollution prevention and toxics reduction programs for over thirty years. Ken has been responsible for managing state environmental programs in Texas and Washington State on hazardous waste permitting, policy, toxics reduction, and sustainability. Ken has served in a leadership capacity at the national and international levels as Chairman of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable. Ken serves on several boards and committees, including the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) Cross Media Committee, Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2), Green Chemistry in Commerce Council (GC3) and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC). Ken has been working actively to support the development of Northwest Green Chemistry, a new regional center in the Pacific Northwest. Ken holds a B.S. in Environmental Management from the University of Houston at Clear Lake City.