Jo Banner co-founded The Descendants Project, where she channels her affection and knowledge into challenging systems, primarily legal systems that have exploited the descendants, such as herself, of those enslaved to plantations. She is now working to gain recognition of the burial grounds of the enslaved as sacred sites and aims to protect such sites…
Jeremy Drake is a Zero Waste consultant with over 10 years of experience in project management, program planning and implementation, collection system procurement, stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, and education. He holds a MA in Urban Sustainability from Antioch University – Los Angeles and is a Zero Waste USA-certified Zero Waste Associate. After a decade in…
Kaela Martins is Manager, Recycling and Packaging Sustainability at the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA). In this capacity, she manages projects related to packaging (containerboard/kraft) and recovered fiber initiatives. Martins has an expansive history in the sustainability field, including having led industry committees, developed guiding resources, and provided regulatory support on critical waste and…
A first-generation American, Martin has held influential roles in many sectors of the wine industry since 2002: wine director, importer, educator, international judge, award-winning winemaker, resilience activist, and writer. His wine story began with an over-indulgent Parisian dinner as a Stanford undergrad; soon after he was stocking shelves at K&L. In 2011, Martin became the principal buyer for national…
Jarrod Otta has worked in the Food Manufacturing Industry for the past 35 years in different Dairy Processing and Plant Nutrition Facilities in multiple states. He has a Dairy Manufacturing Degree from South Dakota State University and is a Certified TRUE Advisor leading 16 plants to TRUE Certification by the end of 2025. Jarrod was…
I am an enthusiastic and energic person, who is always looking for new challenges and growth opportunities both personally and professionally. Creativity and imagination are my guidelines and I love to be free to experience at firsthand, learning from each error. Currently I’m running my own startup, Re Learn. We are facing the waste-management problem…
As the new CEO of Repowered, Heather combines her experience as a business leader with her chemical engineering education to drive a passion for people, planet and technology. Her career has developed across many markets including automotive, consumer products, business software, industrial chemicals, and now electronics recycling and reuse. Whether she is developing new products,…
Zeynep Çelikel is an Adviser in the Human Rights & Humanitarian Team in the Office of the President of the 77th session of the General Assembly. Zeynep is a career diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye since 2015. Before assuming her duties at the Office of the President of the General Assembly, she…
Hailing originally from Georgia, Alexis Young (she/her) has been a broadcast reporter for the Emmy® award-winning public affairs show New York NOW. Prior to this, she was an investigative journalist at The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism; founder, host, and engineer of the podcast A Pinch of Perspective; and worked at Cronkite News in Arizona…
Jonathan Levy is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Zero Waste Pro, an environmental consultant company helping municipalities, waste haulers, and corporations implement waste reduction strategies to comply with California’s complex regulatory climate. As an independent consulting firm, Zero Waste Pro provides customer-tailored solutions that are best for its clients.