Alyssa Macy is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon and was raised on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She is of the Wasco, Navajo, and Hopi descent. Most recently, she served her Nation as the Chief Operations Officer where she was responsible for $33 million in tribal programming and services. Her previous experiences include working transportation, campaign management, communications and international advocacy within United Nations bodies. She is a published writer and co-authored the first ever national report on Native American voting in 2005. Alyssa has been a foster parent to 6 children and her oldest daughter is in her second year of college. In her spare time, she spends time reading, traveling, and spending time outdoors.

Jon Smieja works to accelerate the transition from a linear to a circular economy. He is the Vice President and Senior Analyst on the circular economy at GreenBiz Group, where he leads the company’s circularity strategy, programs, and partnerships.

Elected in 2012, Jay Inslee is the longest serving governor in the United States. Washington has seen historic economic growth over that time and has been consistently ranked as one of the best states to live, work and do business. He has helped put Washington state at the forefront of fighting climate change; put massive new investments into education, behavioral health and housing; and helped families by funding the Working Families Tax Credit and implementing the nation’s best paid family leave program.

Bryan Lewis leads the Emerging Leaders program at GreenBiz.org, which elevates, cultivates and supports the next generation of Black, Indigenous and other leaders of color (BIPOC) in the climate community. Prior to joining GreenBiz, Bryan served as Executive Director of EcoWorks Detroit where he led climate and energy education, building decarbonization, and local community organizing initiatives. He has a background in youth mentorship and career development and currently leads a network of emerging clean energy leaders in Michigan.

Brad Sparks is Executive Director of A4S (Accounting for Sustainability), part of The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation. He leads the US Chapter of the A4S CFO Leadership Network, supporting Fortune 500 CFOs and their finance teams in embedding sustainability into strategy and business decision-making. He also leads A4S activities across the US, including working with asset managers, asset owners and the wider finance community. Brad previously served as an Executive Director with KPMG focused on ESG issues. Brad is a lecturer at UCLA Anderson and an Executive-in-Residence at Cornell University’s Center for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

Erin works to drive positive change across industries by leading WWF’s packaging and material science program. Key to conservation is the overall protection of the planet’s natural resources, and packaging plays a vital role in that. Through her efforts, she works with business and industry to help them make informed, sustainable material choices for their products and packaging. Her work focuses on the major commodities that go into packaging, which come in many different forms and materials, and how to integrate sustainability into the decisions and trade-offs that must be evaluated across a product’s lifecycle. Erin works with companies to strategically address their packaging work streams by focusing on developing transparency in the supply chain for the major packaging materials and pursuing strategies that reduce the environmental impact of these materials through responsible sourcing.

Rob is a member of the Executive Leadership team at the Foundation, where he oversees the Foundation's plastics, fashion, food, and finance initiatives. Before arriving at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Rob worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. A software engineer by training, Rob also holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Elizabeth Nichols, PhD, is the Foreign Affairs Officer of the U.S. Department of State.

Allison Lin is the Global VP of Packaging Sustainability at Mars, Inc., where she leads the cross-segment strategy to improve the sustainability impact of Mars’ packaging. She was previously the SVP of Sustainability and Market Development at Westfall Technik, and has spent the majority of her career driving Packaging Sustainability at Brand Owners such as P&G, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola, launching multiple projects to move packaging to reusable or recyclable formats, or utilizing higher levels of recycled and renewable content.

Mr. Kamenash Co-Founded Camston Wrather LLC in 2014 and currently serves as the Chief Innovation Officer; overseeing all aspects of process design, engineering, implementation, and optimization of plant operations for Camston Wrather's Carlsbad, CA Resource Recovery Facility as well as the development of the next generation of process facilities. He was previously financial advisor and planned giving specialist with MassMutual Insurance Co. where he created charitable giving platforms utilizing insurance and financial instruments for non- profit organizations in San Diego and across the country while also facilitating bank note trades to fund large infrastructure projects around the world.

Destana is an Associate at Regeneration.VC where he has worked since the firm's inception, performing key functions across investment analysis, marketing strategy, operations, and platform development. As an Analyst, Destana helped diligence and underwrite the fund’s initial investments spanning carbon capture, deep tech, AI/ML-driven recommerce and apparel. Previously, Destana analyzed impact investment opportunities at Avivar Capital, an institutional capital and foundation-focused RIA.

Sofia Rivas Herrera self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, sharing her passion for the field in her daily life. She has been recognized as upcoming thought leader in the field and invited to participate in several podcasts, international conferences, digital magazines, webinars and guest lectures to discuss topics such as digital transformation, network design, data analysis, automation and future skill sets for supply chain professionals. Winner of the Coup de Coeur Award at the Global Women Supply Chain Leaders 2021 by B2G Consulting. Sofia is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey University and alumni from MIT Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (GCLOG). Additionally, she has enriched her education with international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team. Mainly focused on leading projects for overall cost optimization and process improvement for warehouse operations, demand planning, last mile delivery and reversed logistics. Sofia has also led M&A company integrations from a logistics operations workstream. Sofia has previous experience working in Latin American markets in ecommerce sales and operations planning at Mercado Libre, and in data analytics and operations within the airport industry at Pacific Airport Group.

Suraya Souidi is the Emerging Leader of Circularity 23.

As a Partner and Managing Director of IDEO's Play Lab, Michelle Lee leads an integrated research, design, and development team that brings engaging, interactive, and playful experiences to market. Building upon IDEO’s 30+ years in toy invention and Michelle’s own background in toy design, the lab leverages the principles of play to connect with people on a deeper emotional level that captivates, delights, and empowers. Michelle is an expert at addressing difficult challenges and creating meaningful change across industries by applying a lens of play. She has helped clients enhance workplace culture, championed responsible digital design, inspired underrepresented students to pursue careers in STEM, and supported organizations as they adopted practices in line with a circular economy. Michelle has shared her passion for play at SXSW, The Delight Conference, The Culture Summit, and through numerous podcasts and articles.

Nethra Rajendran is the Sustainability Analyst at Greenbiz. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems with a double minor in Geography and Sustainability from the University of Georgia. She instructed a course at Brown University’s Environmental Leadership Lab in Alaska on sustainability and indigenous perspectives. She is passionate about environmental education, grassroots initiatives, intersectional solutions, and cooking plant-based meals.

Kenny is a designer and an advocate for the circular economy. In his work he leverages play as an approach to engage people, reframe challenges, and make a positive impact. As Senior Manager of Service Design for North America, at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, he supports leading organizations in their effort to operationalize circular economy principles and strategies. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kenny worked across industries as an innovation consultant and industrial designer to develop new products and services.

Bruce Harrell was born and raised in Seattle, worked as an attorney before serving on City Council, and is currently mayor – Seattle's first Asian American, first biracial, and second Black mayor. He grew up in Seattle’s redlined Central District, his African American father worked for the city’s electric utility and his Japanese American mother worked for the city’s library. Bruce graduated Garfield High School and then attended the University of Washington on a football scholarship, where he won a Rose Bowl and received a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He went on to earn a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law and worked as an attorney on technology issues and later public interest law.

Dr. Priscilla Johnson is a Mom, water resources engineer, and educator. With an enduring passion for the environment and 25 years in the chemical, water/wastewater, energy and tech industries, she believes that our planet can thrive without depleting natural resources. In 2022, she joined Upstream as Chief Strategy Officer, where she inspires leaders to ideate, accelerate, and scale circular strategies that create thriving communities and build the reuse service infrastructure of tomorrow.Prior to arriving at Upstream, Dr. Johnson led one of the most aggressive water reduction strategies for Microsoft Cloud as Director of Water Strategy and co-crafting Microsoft’s net positive water strategy.She also served as expert evaluator for the Commercial, Agricultural and Industrial Energy Efficiency Evaluation program at PG&E, the largest private utility in California serving 15 million customers. She helped businesses operationalize sustainability through monetary incentives and managing complex regulatory issues. She has extensive experience with addressing complex environmental contamination sites, including the Dow Chemical Saginaw Bay Watershed Dioxin Contamination cleanup which spanned 22 counties in mid- Michigan.

Jo Banner is the Founder and Director of The Descendants Project.

Dr. Joy Banner is Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Descendants Project, a nonprofit foundation committed to the liberation of the Black descendant community through the dismantling of inequitable and discriminatory economic, environmental, and social systems inherent in the violent legacies of slavery. As part of this work, Dr. Banner is on the front lines of the struggle against environmental racism in the form of petrochemical plants and heavy industry along Louisiana’s River Road, otherwise known as “Cancer Alley.”

Suz is inspired by innovation that balances sustainability and social responsibility in pursuit of a more circular future. As GreenBiz’s Director of Design Strategy & Senior Analyst, Circular Economy, she follows circularity issues, trends and innovations and designs programming for GreenBiz events. Suz’s background is in development and corporate partnerships in non-profits.

Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman founded and built the Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI) in 2017 on the fabric of social and environmental justice. The nonprofit's mission is to partner with refugee and immigrant women for a prosperous transition to America through skill training and microbusiness. To date, RAI has created jobs for over thirty refugee and immigrant women by upcycling over 120,000 items and has kept 40,000 pounds of materials out of the landfill. Ming-Ming has won multiple awards and recognitions for her tireless effort on a circular and equitable economy.

With more than a decade of experience with plastics, recycling, and materials management, Emily brings her skills of stakeholder engagement, industry expertise, and passion for reducing climate change to the U.S. Plastics Pact. The U.S. Plastics Pact is a solutions driven consortium with more than 100 diverse businesses and organizations across the plastics value chain working to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics, to create a path toward a circular economy for plastic in the United States. Through previous work with the research and consulting company MORE Recycling and the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council, Emily built incredible knowledge and value chain connections that support her work today as Executive Director of the U.S. Plastics Pact.

Ashley C. Hall is a Director of Sustainability for Walmart Stores Inc. Based in Bentonville, Arkansas, she works with Walmart associates, suppliers, NGOs and other organizations on nature, plastic, and packaging issues. Ashley is focused on helping increase the adoption of sustainable and regenerative practices in supply chains, reduce the use of virgin plastic, and accelerate Walmart’s Private Brand commitments to achieve 100% recyclable, reusable, and compostable packaging. In her spare time, you can find Ashley with her nose in a good mystery novel or playing outside with her two boys.

Bridget Croke is a Managing Director and founding team member at Closed Loop Partners, an investment and innovation firm working to accelerate a more circular economy. Bridget has spent the last 20 years building movements to help drive a more sustainable economy – from the local food movement to the circular economy. This work has included a national campaign to improve quality of life with less consumption; building and executing campaign tools to move consumers to Buy Fresh, Buy Local; a start up turned growth company incentivizing consumers to recycle right and Purpose, a consultancy and incubator leveraging the tools of movement building to solve global challenges.

Jake Mitchell manages the Accelerate program at GreenBiz, which includes searching and selecting startups to participate in VERGE programming. He also collaborates on event design, strategy, and content to grow GreenBiz’s innovation ecosystem. Prior to GreenBiz, Jake worked across various industries including film & podcast production, sales & marketing for early stage startups, and non profits in renewable energy and economic development. Currently, Jake is pursuing his MBA in Sustainability at Bard College. Outside of work, you can find him in the woods playing disc golf, upside down in a handstand, or following the whims of his golden retriever.

Gene Eidelman is a cofounder of Azure Printed Homes. Azure is fundamentally changing the construction industry by 3D printing homes with recycled polymers 70% faster and 30% less expensive than current construction methods with positive environmental impact. Gene immigrated to Los Angeles from Ukraine. He was recognized for resettling 6,000 refugees from the former Soviet Union, and appeared on Oprah Winfrey Show. He also served on boards of numerous non-profit educational organizations in the US, India, and the UK.

Ciara Imani May, Founder, and CEO of Rebundle, is creating space for Black women in clean beauty with the first U.S -made plant-based hair extensions brand. Ciara's combined passion for sustainability and understanding of health disparities in personal care products inspired the vision for Rebundle's first product, braidbetter.

Vanessa Vongsouthi is the Research Co-Founder, Head of Protein Engineering of Samsara Eco.

Rob Lawson Shank is the CEO and co-founder of Molg, a circular manufacturing company. He is passionate about using circular design and automation to transform the lifecycle of electronics.

Sandra Gonza is an Impact Strategist & Consultant.