Summit Speaker Bios

TuesDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Speaker presentations can be accessed by clicking their name.
Welcome/Introductions -- 8:45 am-9:10 am
Nicole Smith, SERDC Chairperson

Nicole Smith is a sustainability director focusing on customer collaborations for Coca-Cola North America. Nicole joined Coca-Cola Refreshments in 2012, working with 80 manufacturing facilities, leading energy and water efficiency training/initiatives, as well as the recycling programs. In 2015, she transitioned to Coca-Cola North America, partnering with customer teams to collaborate on sustainability projects. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Nicole created and ran an environmental division for six years at Design & Source Productions, a boutique product and packaging design firm in New York City. She currently serves as Board Chair of SERDC (Southeast Recycling Development Council).

C. Brantley Moody, Charleston County Councilmember has spent 20 years as a commercial banker in Charleston.  Brantley enjoys spending time with extended family and friends, playing softball, taking walks in West Ashley and watching any game USC may be playing.  Brantley is active in community organizations in the Charleston region including the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors & Small Business Council Member, Total Resource Campaign Vice-Chairman, Junior Achievement, St. Andrews Rotary Club and John Wesley United Methodist Church.
Peter Shahid was elected to office November, 2015 as the Charleston City Councilmember for District 9. He is a practicing attorney in areas such as criminal defense, family law, and personal injury and is married to Mary Shahid, a practicing environmental law attorney at Nexsen Pruet.  He is a native of Charleston and resides in West Ashley.

Keynote Speaker -- 9:10 am-9:40 am
Bruce Karas
 is the VP of Environment & Sustainability for Coca-Cola North America. He has over 25 years of experience as an EHS professional and has practiced in a wide range of Industrial operations in North America. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist in Comprehensive Practice, a Certified Safety Professional and is a Registered Occupational Hygienist in Canada. He has served in various positions in national and local professional organizations in the Environment & Safety space and has presented on a wide range of topics ranging from Sustainability, Water Stewardship, Sustainable Packaging, ergonomics, and health effects of flavorings.
Plenary Session 1 –The Challenge of Recovered Material Quality and Value -- 9:40 am-10:30 am
Contamination is a national issue; a broad spectrum of the recycling community how the increased importance and emphasis on the quality of materials recovered.

Brent Bell currently is the President of WM Recycle America responsible for Operations of 100+ facilities and Sales/Marketing of 13M tons of recyclables.  He has been in the waste industry for over 20 years. Brent started at USA Waste in 1997 and worked at the corporate offices during the USA/Waste Management merger in the late 1990’s. Brent moved to the Recycling group a few years later and helped form Recycle America Alliance, a subsidiary of Waste Management, designed to attract regional recycling processors to join the “alliance”. Brent has held various positions in WM Recycling from Business Partner to VP of Business Development.
Annie White serves as the manager of Washington DC’s Department of Public Works’ Office of Waste Diversion. In this role, Annie leads programs related to recycling policy, outreach, and education, curbside composting and infrastructure planning, and the coordination of waste diversion programs across District agencies. Annie has over 15 years’ experience in the field of sustainable materials management including serving as the founding director of GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition and leading waste diversion and recycling initiatives for Global Green USA.

Stephanie Baker is the Director of Market Development for KW Plastics Recycling Division, and speaks to the economic advantages and opportunities for plastics recycling. Stephanie strives to live in a world where we don’t have to talk about what, where, or how to recycle plastic. In the meantime, she gets to talk a lot.   A hometown girl from KW Plastics’ headquarter operations in Troy, Alabama, Stephanie represents the world’s largest plastics recycler of HDPE and PP in projects surrounding sustainability, packaging design and increasing quality supply throughout North America


Panel Session 2 – Morphing MRF’s  -- 11:15 am-12:05 pm 
What’s happening at the MRF is critical at the point of collection and critical at market. Hear the southeast’s primary MRF operators discuss the challenges of operations in the current conditions and the advance of emerging technologies.

Mike Pope is the President of Sonoco Recycling which operates recycling facilities primarily in the Southeast, but also manages business nationally and supports Sonoco’s network of paper mills.  Sonoco Recycling supports a broad range of customers including municipalities, major retailers, manufacturers and Sonoco’s packaging customers.  Supplying all of the fiber for Sonoco’s paper mills in the US and Canada as well as other major paper companies domestically and internationally by exporting materials around the world.  Mike is a graduate of Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada and has been working for Sonoco/Sonoco Recycling since 2003.

Shawn State is currently the Senior VP Southern Region for Pratt’s Recycling Division, with the Southern Region Team having responsibility for operations and procurement in 14 recycling facilities from North Carolina to Texas.  Shawn has worked in the Corrugated Packaging and Recycling Industries for 25 years. Prior to joining Pratt’s Recycling Division 12 years ago, Shawn held various General Mgt., Operational Mgt. and Sales Mgt. positions in the Corrugated Packaging Industry. Shawn is currently the Senior VP Southern Region for Pratt’s Recycling Division, with the Southern Region Team having responsibility for operations and procurement in 14 recycling facilities from North Carolina to Texas. The team is also responsible for procurement into Pratt’s Shreveport, La. Containerboard mill and Pratt’s Conyers, Ga. Containerboard mill which combined consume over 900,000 tons of recovered fiber annually.

Kris Waldhauser is the Vice President, Strategic Commercial Operations for WestRock’s Recycling Division with responsibility for national accounts, converting scrap sales, and external/trade sales. WestRock is one of North America’s largest fiber recyclers, consuming 5 million tons of recovered fiber with its network of containerboard and paperboard mills, managing a total of 8 million tons of recyclables. Kris has been with WestRock since 2008, having filled various roles in recycling plant management, corrugated box management, and recycling strategic business development.


Lunch Speaker - The Economic Impact of Recycling -- 12:05 pm-1:15 pm

Robin Wiener is the President of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), in Washington DC which represents approximately 1,600 private, for-profit companies in approximately 36 countries. She joined ISRI in 1989 directing the environmental compliance activities and was appointed executive director in 1997 and then President in March 2000.  Robin was appointed to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Steel (ITAC-12) by the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative. She also serves as Chairwoman on the NMVTIS Advisory Board. Robin currently serves on the Boards of SERI, and the National Recycling Coalition. She is a Past Chair of NAM, is a member of the Key Industry Associations Committee (KIAC) of ASAE, and of the U.S. Chamber Committee of 100. She is also a Director of the International Environment Council of the Bureau of International Recycling in Brussels, a member of BIR’s E-Scrap Steering Co.

Plenary Session 3 – The Trouble with Mixed Paper -- 1:15 pm-2:00 pm
Hear an expert discuss the challenges of the mixed paper market and possible ways to help
address the quality and the value of mixed paper in
 today’s markets.

Bill Moore is the President of Moore & Associates, an international consulting firm providing a range of strategic services and research to the paper recycling industry. Prior to initiating Moore & Associates, Bill he held a series of positions in the solid waste, paper, and recycling industries. These include founder and Vice President of Paper Recycling International and the first Director of Recycling for Waste Management, Inc. At Moore & Associates, Bill has served over 330 clients on more than 550 projects. Mr. Moore’s knowledge base includes all aspects of the worldwide supply and demand of recovered paper.

Bill's presentation is available only upon request to jen.dabbs@serdc.org.

Plenary Session 4 - Taking on the Challenges of Contami-NATION and Citizen Engagement -- 2:00 pm-3:15 pm
Presenters discuss the latest tools in improving material quality at the curb.

Richard Chesley -- S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling. Richard began his career with DHEC in 1989 working with the Division of Media Relations following a 10-year newspaper career. He has been with the Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling (Office) since its beginning in 1991 and now manages the Office’s Education, Technical Assistance and Reporting Section. Key programs of the section include the Don’t Waste Food SC and RecycleMoreSC campaigns, “Action for a cleaner tomorrow: A South Carolina Environmental Curriculum Supplement,” the S.C. Smart Business Recycling Program, certification programs for local government and college/university recycling professionals as well as state agency recycling contacts. The section publishes the S.C. Solid Waste Management Annual Report.

Scott Mouw is the Senior Director of Technical Assistance at The Recycling Partnership. Passionate about taking a systems approach, Scott enjoys putting recycling data to work to help community programs thrive. Prior to joining The Partnership, Scott spent a career directing North Carolina’s highly regarded state recycling program. He has participated in a wide range of regional and national initiatives to advance recycling, including overseeing the development of The Recycling Partnership while serving on board of the Southeast Recycling Development Council and working with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the Association of Plastics Recyclers, the Glass Recycling Coalition, and AMERIPEN. Scott and his family call Raleigh, NC home.

Wendy Worley is the Section Chief for NC DEQ’s Recycling and Materials Management Section. In this role, Wendy leads the state’s recycling section overseeing non-regulatory assistance programs for local governments and recycling businesses. With more than 25 years of experience in recycling and solid waste management, Wendy has been with state government for the past 15 years. Most recently, she served as the Recycling Business Assistance Center (RBAC) Manager, leading the recycling economic development team to develop strategies to expand and support private sector recycling capacity in the state.



Plenary 5 -- Update on SERDC/ISRI MRF Contracting Project -- 3:45 pm-4:15 pm

Will Sagar is the Executive Director with the Southeast Recycling Development Council. He works from his home in Hendersonville, North Carolina. www.serdc.org Sagar has been with SERDC since 2010. Will Sagar graduated from the University of North Carolina with a double major in Economics and Mathematics.  He has worked in solid waste and recycling since 1989. He has 18 years’ experience as County Solid Waste Director in two counties in Western North Carolina. Will is a Past President of the Board of Directors the Carolina Recycling Association. 

Economist Dr. Lisa Skumatz is Principal of SERA with over 38 years’ experience advising community and industry clients. She is known for research and consulting work in PAYT rates, detailed quantitative programs, policy analysis, developing models of MRFs, composting sites, collection costs and operations. Lisa has received several National Lifetime Achievement Awards and is on the Board of the NRC and CO SWANA. Lisa has published over 150 articles, and has keynoted or spoken at hundreds of US and international conferences. Recent projects include assessing “extra” costs, benefits, and profits from adding one more material to collection and processing.


Plenary 6 – Mixed Waste Processing - Single Stream’s Next Step? -- 4:15 pm-5:15 pm
Experts discuss the expectations for the future of Mixed Waste Processing

Brian Gilhuly is the co-founder and chief executive officer of RePower South (RPS), a progressive recycling, recovery and renewable energy company. An entrepreneur and investment professional, Gilhuly has successfully transformed multiple businesses across a spectrum of industries, including energy, healthcare, real estate and media. Gilhuly’s current focus is diverting waste from landfill and reducing our carbon footprint through the development and commercialization of RPS’ innovative waste and energy solutions. A graduate of Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, Gilhuly, his wife and two children are residents of Charleston, S.C.

Shawn State is currently the Senior VP Southern Region for Pratt’s Recycling Division, with the Southern Region Team having responsibility for operations and procurement in 14 recycling facilities from North Carolina to Texas.  Shawn has worked in the Corrugated Packaging and Recycling Industries for 25 years. Prior to joining Pratt’s Recycling Division 12 years ago, Shawn held various General Mgt., Operational Mgt. and Sales Mgt. positions in the Corrugated Packaging Industry. Shawn is currently the Senior VP Southern Region for Pratt’s Recycling Division, with the Southern Region Team having responsibility for operations and procurement in 14 recycling facilities from North Carolina to Texas. The team is also responsible for procurement into Pratt’s Shreveport, La. Containerboard mill and Pratt’s Conyers, Ga. Containerboard mill which combined consume over 900,000 tons of recovered fiber annually.

Sarah Edwards is North America CEO for Eunomia Research & Consulting an international waste and resource management consultancy.  Sarah has a MSc in Waste management and over 18 years’ experience in the waste sector working across the public, private and consultancy sectors in the US, UK, South Africa and the Emirates. Sarah’s waste expertise includes design and delivery of waste and recycling collection services including organics as well as the design, procurement and project management of key waste infrastructure including MRF’s, AD facilities and WTS’s. Her breath of waste knowledge ensures that she can advise clients on a whole system cost benefit and deliverability approach.



Wednesday, November 14, 2018


Plenary 7 – Big Brand’s Bridge the Gap -- 9:15 am-10:30 am
America’s most recognizable Brands continue to grow investment in material recovery. In this
session, here these Brands talk about their continued investments and future intentions to be
a part of material recovery in the southeast and beyond.

John Layman is currently a Section Head in Corporate R&D at The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) in working to develop sustainable materials. John is also the Chief Technologist and Founding Inventor of PureCycle Technologies; a start-up company that is commercializing a new recycled resin purification technology invented by John in P&G’s corporate research laboratories. He earned his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Nicole Smith is a sustainability director focusing on customer collaborations for Coca-Cola North America. Nicole joined Coca-Cola Refreshments in 2012, working with 80 manufacturing facilities, leading energy and water efficiency training/initiatives, as well as the recycling programs. In 2015, she transitioned to Coca-Cola North America, partnering with customer teams to collaborate on sustainability projects. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Nicole created and ran an environmental division for six years at Design & Source Productions, a boutique product and packaging design firm in New York City. She currently serves as Board Chair of SERDC (Southeast Recycling Development Council).

Charlie Schwarze leads the North American Recycling Business for Unifi and product manages Unifi's REPREVE brand of recycled fibers and polymers. Prior to joining Unifi, he directed sustainability efforts for Amcor's rigid plastics business, with a deep focus on North American recycling programs and use of recycled content in Amcor's plastic packaging. Charlie holds degrees in engineering, business, and environmental science from the University of Michigan and is focused on improving recycling rates, consumer recycling awareness, and reducing the environmental and social footprint of products.

Plenary 8 – The Double Edge of the National Sword -- 11:00 am-12:10 pm
Presenters discusses the silver lining and the positive spinoff effects of China’s
National Sword.

Chantal Fryer is Director of the Recycling Market Development program at the SC Department of Commerce. Her work centers around promoting the positive economic development impact of recycling and leading recycling market development activities in South Carolina. She manages the Recycling Market Development Advisory Council, assists Commerce staff in bringing recycling businesses into the state, provides support to the Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council and the Your Bottle Means Jobs campaign, and provides recycling technical assistance to industry in SC. Her team also partners with DHEC on the Don’t Waste Food SC campaign to cut food waste in half in SC.

Adina Renee Adler, Senior Director for Government Relations & International Affairs, ISRI. Adina joined ISRI in December 2016 to represent the industry in international negotiations and to advocate trade-expanding opportunities for the scrap recycling industry. Prior to ISRI, Adina was Director of Global Government Affairs for Alcoa/Arconic and International Government Relations Advisor for Shell Oil Company, both positions based in Washington, to advise business leaders on trends in U.S. trade and international policy. Adina also served in the U.S. Government as Director for South Asia in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, both assignments responsible for U.S. commercial and trade policy with the countries of South Asia. 

Plenary 9 – “A Solution is Coming to Problem Near You!” -- 1:15 pm-2:45 pm
Cooperative Efforts Bridging the Gaps

The recycling industry has experienced numbers of challenges over the past few years. 
Learn from various organizations, partnerships and coalitions of the efforts to bridge 
the gaps in our nation’s recycling system.

Jim Nordmeyer is Vice President of Global Sustainability, at Owens-Illinois Inc. (NYSE: OI). He is based at the company’s world headquarters in Perrysburg, Ohio. As Vice President, Nordmeyer has responsibility for development and execution of O-I’s global sustainability strategy. This strategy aligns with O-I’s customers growing interest on sustainability, enhances business performance and supports the long-term growth of the organization. Jim works collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders defining the priorities and resource requirements needed to drive sustainability throughout the organization. Additionally, he serves as the internal leader and “go to” expert for sustainability, monitoring emerging trends, programs and issues, and communicating and educating others on sustainability topics.
Ms. Marjorie Griek is Principal of Pearl Consulting and Executive Director of the National Recycling Coalition: Ms. Griek is the former Executive Director of the Colorado Association for Recycling and is now the part-time Executive Director of the National Recycling Coalition and an independent consultant. Her background covers all aspects of solid waste materials management including pollution prevention, recycling, composting, reuse, sustainable purchasing, markets development and policy work. Ms. Griek has consulted nationally and internationally on collaborative projects involving government, businesses and citizens to leverage resources and improve recycling efficiencies and opportunities. As the director of NRC, she continues this work throughout the US.

Derric Brown is Director of Sustainability for Evergreen Packaging and is located in Canton, NC. Evergreen Packaging is the largest producer of paperboard-based gable top beverage packaging products globally and in the United States. He currently leads Evergreen’s sustainability programs including carton recycling and sustainable forestry initiatives. As Vice President of Sustainability of the Carton Council, Derric has worked to increase household recycling access and recovery of gable top and aseptic cartons from 18% in 2008 to over 60% today. Derric currently serves as a Board Member for the Carton Council, The Recycling Partnership, the Southeast Recycling Development Council and Haywood Waterways Association.

Eric Targgart is a Partner at Custom Polymers, Inc., Custom Polymers PET and Custom Synthetic Fibers. These companies cover the recycling spectrum by collecting and processing both post-industrial and post-consumers plastics and converting them into raw materials and finished products. He possesses 18 years in the recycling industry having served in various roles within the above companies. Today, Custom Polymers, Inc. and its affiliate companies combined rank as the 8th largest recycling and reprocessing company in North America.

Adjournment – Chairwoman’s Challenge -- 2:45 pm-3:00 pm
Nicole Smith, SERDC Chairperson


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