Letter from the New Executive Director, Jason Pearson

Dear Change Chemistry Members, 

I am honored to write to you for the first time as Executive Director, a role I stepped into just over a month ago. In these early weeks, I have devoted myself to learning, listening, and connecting—immersing myself in what makes our organization and this community so remarkable. 

My days have been rich with discovery: meeting several times a week with Change Chemistry’s Founder, Joel Tickner, engaging in thoughtful discussions with the Change Chemistry team, interviewing Advisory Committee members and general members, and reaching out to current and potential partners. Each conversation has offered valuable insights and reinforced my belief that Change Chemistry stands at a unique and critical intersection in the journey toward safer and more sustainable chemicals. 

A few key themes have emerged from my conversations so far: 

• A Big Tent: Change Chemistry’s greatest strength is our ability to bring together a diverse, cross-sector community united by a shared purpose. Here, connections are forged across industries and along value chains—connections that simply could not happen anywhere else. This inclusive spirit is our core value and sets us apart. 

• Market Transformation: We are positioned to meaningfully influence four powerful market drivers that will continue to shape the future landscape of chemicals: customer demand, policy & advocacy, regulatory frameworks, and investor pressure. In this work, we can both amplify positive incentives and address negative barriers on the path to safe and sustainable chemicals. 

• Measuring Impact: Our members—and the broader community—seek consistent, robust methods for measuring and quantifying progress toward safe and sustainable chemistry at the product, portfolio, enterprise, sector, and ecosystem levels. This is particularly relevant as we seek to empower the investor community to assess chemistry-related risks and opportunities in their portfolios. 

• Constructive Tensions: Every organization benefits from constructive tensions that animate its work. In our case, the diversity of our community—which all of our members value—is in tension with each of our (very diverse!) member’s needs, based on their size, sector, value chain position, or level of maturity. Our program strategy must respond to this tension with clarity and flexibility. 

• Partnership & Humility: Change Chemistry is part of a global ecosystem of civil society organizations working to advance a positive future for chemicals. We can best contribute to the collective success of these efforts by showing up in a mode of humble, constructive collaboration.

In my conversations with many of you, I have been struck by the spirit of innovation and willingness to engage across perspectives that characterizes our membership. Our community doesn’t shy away from hard questions or uncomfortable truths. Instead, we seek creative, pragmatic solutions and value the open exchange of ideas. This willingness to work together—across sectors and stakeholder groups—fuels the momentum driving our shared mission. 

As I continue my discovery process over the next few months, my top priority will be to deepen my understanding of how different stakeholders—members, partners, advisors, and staff—see the challenges and opportunities before us. This collective wisdom will guide us as we collaborate with the Board, Advisory Committee, and members to shape a crisp, coherent, and results-oriented strategy for 2026—one that reflects our shared vision and enables our whole community to move forward together. 

You will be hearing from us throughout this process, as we seek your input, insights, and candid feedback. In the spirit of openness and collaboration that defines Change Chemistry, I also encourage you to reach out to me directly at any time—whether you have ideas to share, questions to ask, or simply want to connect. Please also check out my recent interview with Matt Blois from Chemical & Engineering News. 

Thank you for welcoming me into this extraordinary community. I look forward to the conversations ahead, and to building a future for Change Chemistry that we can all be proud of. 

With appreciation and anticipation, 

Executive Director 

Change Chemistry