Webinar: Investing in Zero Waste Infrastructure

Laura Hennemann,

With over a decade of experience, Laura brings a background in industrial by-product recycling and commercialization in 32 countries.  Today, Laura handles many glass recycling industry challenges through coordination with trade organizations – she sits on the Executive Board for the Glass Recycling Foundation (501c3 non-profit), is an active member of the Glass Recycling Coalition and the Glass Packaging Institute. Laura is a LEED Green Associate® and GBCI TRUE Advisor.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Master of Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University.

Arley Owens,

Arley is a National Recycling Coalition (NRC) Board Member and serves as the Chairman of the NRC’s Diversity Equity Inclusion Council. Arley is also the Founder and President of the critically acclaimed Earth Team Green Eco-Thriller Comic Book Franchise. Arley earned an MBA in Marketing from the University of Phoenix, a BA in Communications from THE Ohio State University and a SWANA Certified Residential Recycling Manager.

Brian Hawkinson is American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Executive Director, Recovered Fiber. In this role, he manages issues and programs that promote increased paper recycling and maintain member company access to recovered fiber for use in manufacturing new pulp, paper and paperboard.

Before joining AF&PA, he held leadership positions with: Hawkinson Group, LLC, where he assisted AF&PA in establishing the Paper+Packaging Board; DDC Advocacy, where he provided strategic counsel to clients interested in improving the effectiveness of their employee political engagement efforts; Public Affairs Council, where he led the organization’s management consulting practice, helping members adapt effective practices to improve corporate public affairs operations; and, United Way of America, where he managed the United Way system’s relationships with Fortune 500 companies.

Brian is a former adjunct faculty member of The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. He is a member of the board of directors of The Recycling Partnership and a past member of the board of directors of the National Recycling Coalition. Brian holds a BBA from James Madison University and an MBA from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.

Rachel serves as the Chief of Staff to the Chief Sustainability Officer at PureCycle Technologies. Rachel works across PureCycle’s supply and sustainability workstreams, working with businesses, communities, and organizations to develop and deploy new programs to divert polypropylene waste from landfills, environments and waterways to be repurposed into PureCycle’s ultra-pure recycled resin. Rachel was part of the original leadership team that took PureCycle from startup to publicly traded company and was instrumental in closing $250M in municipal bonds that are funding the construction and operation of PureCycle’s first commercial plant. 

Frank Franciosi,

Mr. Franciosi is the current Executive Director of both the US Composting Council and the Compost Council Research & Education Foundation. He has spent over 29 years working with residuals management and composting both in operations management as well as sales and marketing. In 1993, he started North Carolina’s first source separated organics composting facility. As past principal of Akkadia Consulting, Frank provided professional consulting services on projects of animal waste management, biosolids management, coal ash residuals, composting of industrial residuals, product development and marketing. He has facilitated the turnkey start-up of award winning composting facilities, taking them from concept to feasibility to operational, overseeing permitting, equipment selection, hiring and training of personnel, as well as the development and execution of the product marketing plan. Frank also managed the Novozymes’ Nature’s GREEN-RELEAF™ composting facility from 2003-2015. In 2014, Frank was the recipient of the Hi Kellogg Award for displaying outstanding service to the US composting industry over a period of many years. He has a BS in Plant and Soil Sciences from West Virginia University.

Scott Breen is Vice President of Sustainability at the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI). CMI represents U.S. metal can manufacturers and their suppliers. His responsibilities include promoting the can as a sustainable/circular package, advocating for federal and state legislation and regulation that reflect the can’s sustainability advantages, and leading the industry’s efforts to build upon the can industry’s leading recycling rates.

Scott’s roles prior to CMI were associate manager of the Sustainability and Circular Economy Program at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and attorney-adviser at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Along with his position at CMI, Scott also explores various aspects of sustainability as creator and co-host of the podcast Sustainability Defined. Sustainability Defined has monthly episodes that reach thousands of listeners across more than 100 countries and all 50 states.

Terrence R. (Terry) McDonald became the executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Inc. (SVdP) on June 14, 1984 and is a hands-on visionary leader of the agency. With degrees in Political Science and History and a Masters of Education from the University of Oregon, Terry’s energies are focused on affordable housing and economic development projects that create jobs while improving the environment and the community. In recognition of his accomplishments, Terry was named 2013 First Citizen by the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, one of many such awards.

SVdP is the largest non-profit humanitarian agency in Lane County, Ore., with over 600 employees, 1,600 units of affordable housing built, 5 emergency service programs, 12 retail thrift stores (as well as 3 online), a vocational services department, an appliance shop, and 4 mattress recycling warehouses.