Mark Dancy is the President and Founder of WasteZero. For more than 35 years, he has developed innovative, customized solutions that help municipalities reduce waste, save money, and improve their solid waste programs. 

Working directly with local governments across the United States, Mark has developed practical, resident-focused, data-driven programs that balance environmental responsibility with fiscal stewardship. His expertise includes unit-based pricing (Pay-As-You-Throw), recycling program optimization, and municipal solid waste policy. 

Through his work at WasteZero, Mark also leads the development of technology that builds accountability and incentives into industry recycling programs, supporting improved material recovery, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from George Washington University and an MBA from the College of William & Mary. 

Sami Ki is the Senior Manager of Sustainability and Product Stewardship at the Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA), where she leads the Association's Aerosol Recycling Initiative and works on sustainability programs addressing product stewardship, recycling, and environmental policy for household and commercial products. In this role, she collaborates with manufacturers, recyclers, government agencies, and industry partners to advance aerosol recycling access and improve end-of-life management for aerosol products across the United States.

Prior to joining HCPA, Sami spent more than a decade in sourcing and product development within the apparel industry, most recently serving as Raw Material Operations Lead at Madewell, where she focused on sustainable supply chain operations. She holds a Master's degree in Sustainability from Bard College and a Bachelor's degree in Design Management from Parsons School of Design. Outside of work, Sami is an avid gardener and enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two young children.

Erin Victor, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine. Her research focuses on the social dimensions of circular economy policies and sustainable materials management. Drawing on her prior experience managing solid waste and sustainability initiatives for state and local government, Dr. Victor is dedicated to collaborative research that informs just and effective environmental policy solutions. She received her B.A. from Kalamazoo College, her M.S. from the University of Michigan, and her Ph.D. from the University of Maine, where her dissertation examined the politics of disposable packaging in the U.S. and Canada. 

Mikey Pasciuto currently serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer at Scrapp, a start-up dedicated to creating data-driven sustainable waste programs. Through Scrapp, Mikey specializes in product and packaging recyclability globally, zero-waste programs, and all things sustainable packaging. He recently had the privilege to present to his Majesty the King at COP28, as part of Scotland's delegation, about sustainable materials management. Mikey also serves as the President of Collaborative Solid Waste Strategies (CSWS), a local non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainable waste management in New Hampshire. Mikey was born and raised in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2021 with a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Sustainability. His professional interests include renewable energy, recycling, and sustainable systems. Whenever Mikey isn't working, you can catch him gardening, composting, or spending time with his animals. 

Cynthia Andela is President of Andela Products, a leading manufacturer of glass recycling equipment and systems.  Andela Products has developed a unique technology for processing glass and provides creative solutions and systems engineering for all types of scrap glass reduction and separation. Andela Products is also leading the industry with the development of processing plants that produce recycled glass commodities that are being introduced into a variety of new markets. 

Ms. Andela holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of New York. 

Ms. Andela has spoken on glass recycling and has extensive information and knowledge related to the use of recycled crushed and pulverized glass in a variety of applications both in the USA and around the world. 

John Minagawa-Webster is Co-Founder of Ecourage Global, a sustainability technology company developing smart refill and reuse infrastructure to help brands, retailers, and institutions reduce single-use packaging waste. With nearly two decades of experience in packaging, consumer products, and packaging equipment, John has held roles spanning quality engineering, technical sales, product management, and business development.

A graduate of Michigan State University's School of Packaging, John earned his MBA from the University of Louisville and has built a career at the intersection of packaging innovation and commercial strategy. Today, he leads initiatives focused on scaling reusable packaging systems and advancing circular economy solutions through data-enabled refill technology.

John is passionate about creating practical, economically viable pathways to reduce packaging waste while improving efficiency across the value chain.

Katie Greer is the Chief of the Bureau of Sustainability at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), a role that gives her the privilege of championing sustainable actions across the state’s communities and businesses. The bureau provides environmental compliance assistance, manages the state’s pollution prevention program, hosts the New Jersey Sustainable Business Registry, and provides sustainability outreach and education. Her broader sustainability career spans recycling and waste reduction programs, energy policy, local food distribution, workforce development, and environmental outreach from government, nonprofit, and university settings, giving her a holistic perspective on sustainable systems. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Energy Regulation and Law from Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Mike Newman is the CEO of Returnity, where he builds logistics tools designed to improve efficiency across last-mile delivery, returns, and retail operations. He leads the development of The Last Box, a durable shipping and returns packaging solution built to replace inefficient cardboard workflows with standardized infrastructure at scale. Mike also serves as Board Chair for the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative forum where the plastics value chain comes together to implement practical, scalable packaging systems that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits.

With more than 20 years of experience across operations, policy, and sustainability, Mike has helped build national-scale recovery and logistics programs for leading brands. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Seth Hackman serves as Director of the Division of Sustainable Waste Management in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.  Seth has a bachelors degree in Geography and a masters degree in business administration, both from Rutgers University.  As Director, Seth oversees three Bureaus – Planning and Licensing, Recycling and Hazardous Waste Management and Solid Waste Permitting. The Division is tasked with implementing many of the recently passed legislations including Dirty Dirt, Single-use Reduction, Food Waste Recycling, Recycled Content, and Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Battery Management Laws. Seth’s role also includes oversight of the A-901 licensing program for solid/hazardous waste and soil and fill recycling entities and the issuance of grant funding to counties, municipalities and institutions of higher education pursuant to New Jersey’s Recycling Enhancement Act.

Celeste McMickle is the Director of Market Transformation and Development certification with the USGBC. Celeste has a background in architecture and is a TRUE Advisor, LEED AP and LEED Green Rater. She worked as a LEED consultant for many years before her passion for recycling and composting led her to the world of zero waste and the circular economy.  She serves on the board of NYSAR3 and the NRC and is a certified Master Composter and Permaculture Designer. She is a 2021 recipient for the 40 under 40 award by Waste360. Celeste holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and a Master of Science in Sustainable Design from the San Francisco Institute of Architecture.

Yarden Harari AIA, LEED AP (BD+C, ID+C, O+M) is a licensed Architect and sustainability advisor at Arcadis. She has led CSR initiatives such as the Just Label and Ecovadis frameworks. Her collaborations on building material reuse, including CoLab workshops, the All For Reuse initiative, and crowdsourced mapping resources bring people together to move toward an inclusive and circular economy in the built environment. Yarden currently serves on the Board of Build Reuse, the premier national nonprofit organization building capacity for deconstruction and reuse. Yarden was recognized in 2021 as a DFC Emerging Leader and an ICSC Centerbuild Leader Under 40 for her ongoing efforts in sustainability and social action.

Laura is the CEO and co-founder of WATS (Waste Administration + Tracking Software).

WATS makes waste a trackable utility, like energy and water, by automating data collection and processing to deliver real-time visibility, enabling teams to use waste data to take action and unlock cost savings and waste-reduction opportunities.

Previously, Laura was Head of Client Services at Foodprint Group, where she helped bring standardization and industry best practices to waste management programs for multi-location hospitality and food businesses.

Laura was the founder and Executive Director of Common Ground Compost LLC, where she now serves as a strategic advisor and owner. Earlier in her career, Laura worked in the commercial waste sector, including with a Norwegian-based technology company piloting in-vessel organics processing in NYC.

Laura is a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor, and her rescue dog is terrified of garbage trucks.

Véronique Lambert oversees the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program for public preK-12 schools throughout New Jersey.  She leads outreach and training to schools about the program and resources to support implementation. She also works on initiatives to bring new content and resources to the program, including a current effort to help schools tackle food waste.  With degrees in Agronomy and Geography, and a recent business certificate, Véronique has extensive experience in sustainability education and community outreach, and has led cropping systems research in Hawaii and Guyana. 

Mark Lennon is the founder and principal of The Reuse Network. With the Reuse Network team, Mark manages the largest, most experienced, and most successful program in the U.S. to facilitate the reuse of surplus furniture and equipment from schools and other organizations. In more than 3,000 projects since 2002, IRN has matched over 2,000,000 items of furnishings with nonprofit organizations assisting communities in 47 U.S. states and 71 countries around the world, keeping more than 100,000,000 pounds of useful assets out of American landfills. 

Before founding IRN, Mark was head of recycling, planning and community assistance for the State of NH. 

In earlier work, Mark was a consultant to the U.S. EPA and other public and private clients in solid and hazardous waste and energy issues. He graduated from Dartmouth College and has a Master’s degree in Ecosystems Research from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. 

Eric Ascalon has spent his career bringing people together to solve complex challenges. Today, he applies that expertise to one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues: “eliminating the idea of waste” as TerraCycle’s Global Director of Community Affairs.

He works at the intersection of environmental innovation and community engagement, building relationships among businesses, governments, and nonprofits to create practical solutions for waste streams that traditional recycling systems leave behind.

Eric remains convinced that the most interesting conversations usually begin with someone saying, “You can’t recycle that.” Proving otherwise has become something of a specialty.

He also serves as Chair of the Garden State Film Festival, New Jersey’s premier independent film festival. He holds a B.A. in PoliSci from Rutgers and a law degree from American.

Outside of work, Eric is an accomplished endurance athlete and outdoor enthusiast. Whether running questionable trails or skiing gnarly lines, those pursuits keep him grounded, reflecting the persistence and curiosity he brings to his professional life.

Eric and his wife, Tanya, live in South Jersey. They have three children recently welcomed twin grandsons. He fully intends to turn them into first-rate recyclers before they can even walk.