2018 SPEAKER SERIES
(MARCH 3 THROUGH MAY 30)
Welcome to the 2018 Accelerator Speaker series. Speakers and topics are subject to change without notice.
Webinars: 8 - 9 am PST. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call-in details: see your calendars.
Neighboorhood chats: 8-9 am PST on Wednesdays. Call-in detail: zoom ID 901-117-913
Exceptions will be communicated.
Video recordings of the webinars can be found in the albums tab on vimeo. Use pw acceler8.
DANIELLA RUSSO
March 6, 2018
Chief Executive Officer, Think Beyond Plastic
Kicking off the Speaker series. Introducing speakers, topics and details of the program.
JOHN ATCHESON
March 7, 2018
John Atcheson is the founder and CEO of Stuffstr, a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to increasing sustainability around the things we buy. Stuffstr's vision is "No Unused Stuff," and they are committed to helping consumers join the global movement toward a circular economy.
JANE PENTY
March 13, 2018
Jane Penty is a practising designer and a senior lecturer in Product Design at Central St. Martins and in Three Dimensional Design at the University of Brighton.
Her current research is focused on developing new approaches to design that will lead to more sustainable production and consumption solutions through practice based projects. Jane qualified as a Professional Mechanical Engineer in Quebec before completing a Masters in Industrial Design Engineering at The Royal College of Art. From 1984 – 91 she worked in London Consultancies including McColls, Allied International Designers and PSD and since 1991 has held several posts in Design Education as well as undertaking consultancy work. Current consultancy projects include site specific lighting and design commissions for public spaces
KEVIN VYSE
March 15, 2018
Kevin Vyse is a Senior Packaging Technologist and Circular Economy Lead at Marks & Spencers.
He has worked in the packaging industry for 30 years. He holds a degree in Industrial Design and Engineering and has held posts with some of Europe's best leading brands such as SJ Johnson, Muller and Tesco as well as being a director of a design and research agency in the late 90's. After a period as a consultant he joined M&S Foods as a senior packaging technologist with responsibility for innovation and materials strategy as well as day to day packaging development.
MARTIN STUCHTEY, PH.D.
March 20, 2018
Martin is the Founder and Managing partner of SystemIQ.
Martin worked at McKinsey for 20 years, most recently as Director of the Center for Business and Environment, particularly focusing on water management, circular industrial systems and ecosystem preservation. Previously he served as a leader of McKinsey’s Transport and Infrastructure Practice and as managing partner in McKinsey's Munich Office. He is an initiator of the 2030 Water Resources Group and a long-time strategic advisor to the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. He has a background of geology and economics, is professor at the University of Innsbruck and author of the book “A Good Disruption – Redefining Growth in the Twenty-first Century”. He is a father of six, an organic farmer and an avid alpinist.
DAVE RAPAPORT
March 22, 2018
Dave is a Global Mission Officer at Ben & Jerry's.
Ben & Jerry's is founded on & dedicated to a sustainable corporate concept of linked prosperity.
GINA NUCCI
March 27, 2018
Founding member, Mann Packing Company.
Mann Packing company is a a majority women-owned and operated business, and one of the world's leading suppliers of fresh vegetables, including the proprietary Broccolini® product and award-winning Stringless Sugar Snap Peas.
Gina Nucci started her career with Mann Packing Company as New Product Development Manager. Her responsibilities included developing a marketing strategy for Broccamole. Nucci is active in industry and local organizations, serving on the foodservice division board of Produce Marketing Association. She leads the company's sustainability efforts.
CONRAD MACKERRON
March 29, 2018
Conrad is the Senior Vice President of As You Sow, working with shareholders to change corporate sustainability.
Conrad MacKerron has more than a decade of experience managing corporate dialogues and shareholder advocacy initiatives on cutting-edge social and environmental issues. Conrad founded the As You Sow Corporate Social Responsibility Program in 1997. He is former senior social researcher at Piper Jaffray Philanthropic & Social Investment Consulting, and Social Research Director at Progressive Asset Management (both social investment firms). He also served as Senior Analyst, Energy and Environment, at the Investor Responsibility Research Center (now part of RiskMetrics Group). Formerly a journalist, he was Washington Bureau Chief for Chemical Week and a writer for BNA’s Environment Reporter. He is author of Business in the Rainforests: Corporations, Deforestation and Sustainability (IRRC, 1993) and Unlocking the Power of the Proxy (2004). Conrad served on the board of the Social Investment Forum (SIF), and was chair of the steering committee for its Advocacy and Public Policy Program. He also served on the As You Sow Board of Directors from 1993 until 2005. In 2007, he received the SRI Service Award from SIF for “outstanding contributions to the SRI community.” He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism and Public Affairs from The American University.
CARLA FRIEDRICH
April 3, 2018
Carla is a Programme Officer for UN Environment North America.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
JOI DANIELSON
April 5, 2018
Joi Danielson is the Founder of Vital Ocean and a Senior Fellow of Program Innovation at the Ocean Conservancy, with the mission of sustainably reducing the volume of plastic waste leaking into the ocean annually by 50% globally by 2025. She is currently solving how to unlock entrepreneurial and private investment interest in waste management by developing market based approaches and piloting innovative technology to maximize the inherent value in waste, thereby reducing the significant financial burden on municipalities to provide full waste collection services to all households. Ms. Danielson is an experienced strategist who enjoys working at the intersection of technology, market forces and the environment. She has ten years of international experience (five years as a McKinsey consultant) shaping and executing commercial and environmental strategy across the ocean, energy, technology, mining, consumer packaged goods and government sectors, with a heavy focus on Asian and African rapidly developing economies.
SEGO JACKSON
April 10, 2018
Sustainability officer, City of Seattle
Sego Jackson is Strategic Advisor for Waste Prevention and Product Stewardship for Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). SPU’s primary strategic approach is “Solving Problems at Their Source.” His responsibilities include, in part, implementation of Seattle’s foam, bag and food service packaging ordinances, waste prevention approaches to packaging, and working “upstream” to reduce contamination and improve the composting and recycling of packaging. Sego serves on the steering committee of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council and chairs its Packaging and Policy Subcommittees.
SANDEEP KULKARNI
April 12, 2018
The Pepsi Cola company.
Sandeep Kulkarni has been working since 2010 in PepsiCo's Global R&D, where he was responsible for research and development on sustainable beverage packaging. Sandeep's work involves driving increased recycling of PET bottles and other beverage containers, guiding and ensuring all beverage packaging is sustainably sourced and manufactured.
MARK SCHROPE
April 19, 2018
Sr. Director, Investments Schmidt Marine Partners
Mark Shrope is Schmidt Marine's Program Director, applying skills developed as both a scientist and writer to the identification and evaluation of promising marine technologies. Mark began his career studying deep ocean carbon cycling at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, after receiving a B.S. in Biology from Wake Forest University, and an M.S. in Chemical Oceanography from Florida State University. In 1999, after completing the Science Communications program at UC Santa Cruz, he converted to ocean-focused journalism and outreach. Mark’s articles, often including his own photos, have appeared in Nature, Scientific American, Popular Science, Outside, The New York Times, and other publications. He has consulted for clients such as the Scripps Research Institute, Sea Grant, The Living Oceans Foundation, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, and Yale University. Mark has worked on over a dozen research vessels on expeditions around the world.
KELLY WILLIAMS
April 24, 2018
The Futamura Group
Kelly Williams is the Sustainability Strategist for Futamura’s NatureFlexTM films business. Prior to joining Futamura, Kelly was an industry consultant helping digital label printers make the transition into flexible packaging and co-founder of FPK Resources LLC, an educational and advocacy organization about the future of flexible packaging. Kelly is a proven thought leader in the packaging industry with great insights into how digital printing and operational workflows will change the way packaging is produced over the next decade. Kelly has been in myriad of roles in the flexible packaging industry throughout his 20+ years since he earned his degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
FREDERIC MICHEL
April 26, 2018
SKY Ocean Ventures
Frederic Michel is a Group Director at Sky PLC, Europe’s leading entertainment company. He currently heads the Sky Ocean Innovation Fund, a new venture focused on new technologies and systems innovation designed to help accelerate solutions to ocean plastics. He was Director of the Bigger Picture which launched the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign. Frederic was formerly Executive Vice President, Corporate Reputation and Special Projects at Sky Italia; senior adviser to the CEO of Sky Italia and 21st Century Fox; Global Public Affairs Director at Telefonica and Senior Vice President, Europe at News Corporation. He’s also the Founding Director of the international think-tank Policy Network and the management consultancy Reputation Inc.
PETE THURLOW, ESQ.
May 1, 2018
Partner at Polsinelli Law
Pete is the current First Vice President of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA), the primary intellectual property law association in New York with more than 1,250 members. Based on Pete's extensive experience working on matters at the USPTO, he received a second three-year term starting in January 2016 from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to serve on the USPTO's Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC). The PPAC includes nine experienced patent practitioners that advise the Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO on USPTO patent policies and procedures. Each of the nine PPAC members chair one PPAC subcommittee. Based on Pete's significant experience on USPTO post-grant matters, Pete chairs the USPTO's PTAB subcommittee. The PPAC provides an annual report to the White House, U.S. Commerce Department, House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and the USPTO.
NIKKI RODONI
May 10, 2018
Founder and CEO, Measure to Improve
Nikki Rodoni is a recognized leader in the produce industry known for building successful sustainability programs and implementing innovative solutions. She is an experienced conference speaker, industry educator, and visionary with numerous awards and recognition for leadership and innovation in sustainability. Nikki’s professional career has always been about building synergy between the three crucial aspects of a successful agriculture business: People, Planet, and Profit.
Currently, Nikki is the Founder and CEO of Measure to Improve, LLC (MTI). Prior to starting Measure to Improve, Nikki served as the Director of Sustainability for Gills Onions LLC, one of the largest producers of fresh-cut onions in the United States. She established the sustainability department in 2007, setting ambitious goals to increase the efficiency of the operation and reduce waste and emissions. Nikki’s initiative helped Gills Onions move to the forefront in sustainability in the food processing and agricultural industries.
RICARDO BAYON
May 15, 2018
Managing partner, Encourage Capital
Ricardo Bayon is a Partner and a member of the Board of Directors of Encourage Capital. Ricardo leads the water team and new business and innovation at Encourage and works across several other investment sectors. Ricardo is a member of the Investment Committee of the EKO Green Carbon Fund. Prior to co-founding EKO in 2007, Ricardo helped found and served as the Managing Director of the Ecosystem Marketplace, a web site and information/analysis service covering the emerging environmental markets. In that capacity he co-authored a number of publications on voluntary carbon markets, mitigation banking, and ecosystem services, including The State of Voluntary Carbon Markets 2007: Picking up Steam and Voluntary Carbon Markets: An International Business Guide to What They Are and How They Work, and Conservation and Biodiversity Banking: A Guide to Setting Up and Running Biodiversity Credit Trading System. For nearly two decades he has specialized on issues related to finance, banking, and the environment. He has done work for a number of organizations, including Insight Investments, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, Domini Social Investment, among others. His articles have appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, and the International Herald Tribune. He has also written numerous publications and chapters on mitigation banking, biodiversity markets, markets for water quality, and other environmental markets. He was born in Bogota, Colombia, and is currently based in San Francisco. Ricardo graduated with a B.A. degree from Brown University
RACHEL GOLDSTEIN
May 17, 2018
Global Sustainability Director, MARS
Ms. Goldstein leads the internal Packaging Sustainability Team and is responsible for developing, aligning and deploying policy and governance on global goals. She leads Mars' engagement in the New Plastics Economy
Ms. Goldstein leads implementation of sustainability claims policy, focusing on substantiation of claims on packaging, social media, and other communication platforms. She monitors global regulatory framework to ensure compliance with claims policy.
She leads Mars’ participation in the Sustainability Consortium’s (TSC) Food, Beverage and Agriculture (FBA) workgroup. Current co-chair of FBA, facilitating collaboration between FBA members and TSC and to enable the membership to drive better sustainability decision making and performance through the value chain.
She is a contributing member of the Mars Global Sustainability Corporate Working Group, assessing science, non-governmental organization activity, and materiality to develop goals, targets, and metrics for the Mars sustainability program.
She is a co-chair of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Forest Products Working Group and represents Mars on the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s Sustainability Task Force
T. PHAN BAI
Sustainability, Veolia
May
BEN JORDAN
Coca Cola
May 2018
EBEN BAYER
Founder and CEO, Ecovative Design
May, 2018
WOOD TURNER
Vice president
Agriculture Capital