Speaker Bios

September 10, 2025

SESSION 1: Twenty Years of Changing Chemistry: What have we learned? Where do we need to go?

MODERATOR

JOEL TICKNER

Strategic Advisor at Change Chemistry

Dr. Joel Tickner is a Professor of Public Health at the UMass Lowell. He is founder and Strategic Advisor of Change Chemistry (formerly Green Chemistry & Commerce Council). He is a leading expert on application of green chemistry and alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served on a number of EPA and National Academy of Sciences advisory committees and advises government agencies around the world. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Doctor of Science Degree from the Department of Work Environment at UMass Lowell.

PRESENTER

DARCY PRATHER

Founder and CEO at Kalion, Inc.

Darcy is the founder and CEO of Kalion, an industrial biotech company focused on manufacturing glucaric acid and related molecules. He formerly worked at McKinsey & Co. and several different startups. While at McKinsey, one of his key assignments was to develop a strategy for a key bioengineered product for a Fortune 500 company. The strategy proved widely successful for the company, and for over a decade, has driven billions in profits. He received his MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics while studying at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He received two S.B.'s from MIT, one in Electrical Engineering and one in Science, Technology and Society. He is a former member of the Massachussets Institute of Technology's board of trustees and Great Lakes Industrial Technology Council (GLITeC) Advisory Board.

PRESENTER

MARK ROSSI

Senior Research Associate at UMass Lowell

Mark Rossi is a senior research associate at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (LCSP). He is a leader in creating innovative solutions to the challenges of hazardous chemicals in products, manufacturing operations, and supply chains.

Rossi led and co-created solutions for safer alternatives to chemical pollution from 2004-2025 as the co-director and then executive director at the non-profit environmental organization, Clean Production Action. Recognizing that no single organization can solve the complex problems of chemical pollution, he founded in 2006 the multi-stakeholder collaboration, BizNGO Working Group for Safer Chemicals and Sustainable Materials, to bring together business leaders, regulators, and environmentalists to co-create safer solutions.

In the search for reducing the complexity of finding safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals, Rossi led the development of and co-created the chemical hazard assessment method, GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals in 2007, and the ecolabel standard, GreenScreen Certified® in 2017. Today, companies across the globe use GreenScreen to select safer chemicals and products in the building, electronics, retail, textile, health care, firefighting foam, apparel, and food service ware sectors. Seeing the need for a metric to track progress away from hazardous chemicals to safer solutions, he co-founded the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) in 2014. The concept of chemical footprinting as defined by CFP is now integrated into the international Global Framework on Chemicals. With LCSP team members he has co-authored many research reports, including: Chemical Footprint Project annual reports (2016-2020); Alternatives to Methylene Chloride in Paint and Varnish Strippers (2015); Guidelines for Sustainable Plastics (2009); and Alternatives Assessment Framework of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (2006).

SESSION 2: Measuring Progress: How do we know if we are moving the needle on sustainable chemistry? 

MODERATOR

ALEXANDRA MCPHERSON

Director of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) at Clean Production Action

Alexandra McPherson is director of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) for Clean Production Action (CPA), a nonprofit advancing market and policy-based solutions for a safer chemicals economy.  Through IEHN, Alexandra supports investor led corporate engagement efforts to advance green chemistry and reduce financial risks associated with chemical pollution.  Alexandra is also the principle of Niagara Share where she co-leads the Collaborative for the Regenerative Economy (CoRE) with the University at Buffalo's Materials Design and Innovation Department and Clean Production Action. CoRE advances new tools essential to accelerating the development of safer materials for clean energy technologies. Alexandra has co-authored several publications outlining the transformative change that is within our reach, including, “Elements of Change: Moving forward together toward a cleaner, safer future”, and “Greening Consumer Electronics: the Move Away from Chlorine and Bromine”.  Alexandra is an adjunct professor for the University at Buffalo’s School of Management, teaching their PMBA course on Sustainability as a Business Strategy. She also serves on the board of Clean and Healthy New York. 

SESSION 3: Scaling Sustainable Chemistries - Strategies and Roadmaps to Grow Adoption and Scale - Solvents Focused

MODERATOR

RUI RESENDES

Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Change Chemistry

Dr. Rui Resendes is a technology commercialization professional with expertise in business development, technology marketing and licensing, IP management and start-up company creation and financing. Through his various roles within multinational corporations, start-up companies and technology incubators, Dr. Resendes has advanced technology commercialization, through multi-stakeholder partnerships, across several technology sectors.

PRESENTER

JEFFREY WHITFORD

Vice President of Sustainability and Social Business Innovation at MilliporeSigma, the U.S and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany 

SESSION 4: Creating Sustainable Chemistry Champions within Companies Across the Value Chain

MODERATOR

JENNY MACKELLAR

Program Director at Change Chemistry

Jenny is responsible for coordinating the expansive portfolio of Change Chemistry member offerings that include projects, work groups and more. She works closely with the Change Chemistry membership to help organizations optimize their engagement. Jenny is also lead on all Change Chemistry events, including the annual Innovators Roundtables and European Forums. Before joining the Change Chemistry, Jenny spent nine years at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute coordinating green chemistry education initiatives, awards programs, and events, including the annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference. Prior to that, Jenny worked with various U.S. government agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. In these roles, she focused on science communication, science policy, federal grant management, and information technology solutions. Jenny holds a M.Sc. degree in molecular and integrative physiology from the University of Michigan and received her B.S. from the University of Denver in molecular biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish.

September 11, 2025

Keynote Address

PRESENTER

MICHAEL LEFENFELD

President & CEO, Hexion Inc.

Michael Lefenfeld is President and Chief Executive Officer at Hexion Inc. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hexion Inc. and serves as a member of the Board of Managers for ASP Resins Holdings LP. Michael joined Hexion in January 2023.

Prior to joining Hexion and beginning in 2018, Michael served as President and CEO of Cyanco International, where he led the world’s largest manufacturer of gold and silver extraction materials, while driving the effort to make recovery safer and more efficient.  From 2007 to 2017, he was President and CEO of SIGNa Chemistry, a global chemical manufacturer of reactive metal materials serving oil & gas recovery, petrochemical refining, alternative energy and chemical processing industries. Michael also founded Alkami Consulting Group, a technology investment advisory group, and Blood Gas Diagnostics, a medical device technology growth company. 
With a unique combination of executive, operational and entrepreneurial experience, Michael holds more than 100 patents and patents pending that are intended to collectively address some of the world’s most pressing environmental and sustainable product-related challenges.   A serial entrepreneur, he has been named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum in 2016, while SIGNa was recognized with the EPA’s Presidential Green Chemistry Award under his leadership. Michael earned a Master of Philosophy and Master of Science in Chemistry from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. 

SESSION 5: Changing the Nature of Policy to Drive Sustainable Chemistry

MODERATOR

JOEL TICKNER

Strategic Advisor at Change Chemistry

Dr. Joel Tickner is a Professor of Public Health at the UMass Lowell. He is founder and Strategic Advisor of Change Chemistry (formerly Green Chemistry & Commerce Council). He is a leading expert on application of green chemistry and alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served on a number of EPA and National Academy of Sciences advisory committees and advises government agencies around the world. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Doctor of Science Degree from the Department of Work Environment at UMass Lowell.

PRESENTER

JAN AHLSKOG

Senior Adviser - Food, Industrials, Chemicals & Environment at FIPRA International

Jan Ahlskog brings more than 25 years of expertise advising Fortune 500 companies on some of their toughest public affairs challenges to FIPRA clients. He is known for his especially effective counsel on consumer goods matters, notably concerning food and beverages regulation. He is also sought after for his strategic insights on chemicals and mining matters, as well as policies to support the green transition.

Working alongside clients in these sensitive industries, Jan has also become a trusted adviser on corporate social responsibility (CSR). His counsel enables clients to enhance their brand reputation, anticipate regulatory trends and build trust with key stakeholders.

Previously, Jan led the public policy management practice for a leading international public affairs firm. Before that, he was a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Consultative Committee and served as Counsellor on European Affairs for the Finnish Central Chamber of Commerce in Helsinki.

Jan holds a MA in international relations and management from Schiller University.

PRESENTER

MICHAEL GRUBER

Executive Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy at Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA)

Michael Gruber serves as Executive Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy. As part of the executive leadership team, Mike will further strengthen and help drive HCPA’s presence, influence, and effectiveness across the federal and state legislative and regulatory landscapes. In this position, Mike will leverage his bi-partisan Capitol Hill and state experience to lead the Association’s advocacy efforts.

Gruber previously served as vice president, public policy, at the Consumer Brands Association where he was responsible for shaping policy positions for state and federal advocacy initiatives to advance “smart regulations” for the consumer packaged goods industry. Since joining the Consumer Brands Association (formerly, Grocery Manufacturers Association) in 2012, Gruber helped drive enactment of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, lead federal legislative advocacy for the regulatory implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, provided leadership on state packaging sustainability legislation, and engagement support on federal and state chemicals management rules.

In addition, Michael contributed to the development and growth of SmartLabel™, the leading digital consumer transparency platform shaping federal and state ingredient disclosure policies. In 2014, he coordinated funding and directed victorious ballot measure campaigns in Colorado and Oregon to prevent a patchwork of state labeling laws.

Prior to his arrival at GMA, Gruber was a senior policy adviser to the House Energy & Commerce Committee where he managed budget and spending-related matters with the Congressional Budget Office, House Committee on Appropriations, House Leadership, and the Budget Committee. His role with the committee included oversight activities on federal chemical security regulations, consumer protection policy and energy initiatives.

Michael served as chief of staff, appropriations associate staff to the House Appropriations Committee, and legislative director to Representative Tom Latham of Iowa. During his tenure with Latham, he helped enact spending bills for every corner of the federal government. Michael arrived in D.C. in 1994, after serving as field director for George Nethercutt’s victorious campaign against Speaker of the House Tom Foley. He later served Congressman Nethercutt as a legislative assistant, district director and re-election campaign manager.

Gruber also worked as senior account executive for gabbegroup, a New York City based corporate public relations firm. In addition, he served as a director of federal affairs at Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick, a Portland, Oregon based public affairs firm.

Michael lives on Capitol Hill with his spouse, Gretchen Lamberg, two teenage children, and a couple of ill-tempered rescue dogs.

SESSION 6: Molecular Accounting & Data Transparency: How to Measure so we can Manage

MODERATOR

JENNY MACKELLAR

Program Director at Change Chemistry

Jenny is responsible for coordinating the expansive portfolio of Change Chemistry member offerings that include projects, work groups and more. She works closely with the Change Chemistry membership to help organizations optimize their engagement. Jenny is also lead on all Change Chemistry events, including the annual Innovators Roundtables and European Forums. Before joining the Change Chemistry, Jenny spent nine years at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute coordinating green chemistry education initiatives, awards programs, and events, including the annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference. Prior to that, Jenny worked with various U.S. government agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. In these roles, she focused on science communication, science policy, federal grant management, and information technology solutions. Jenny holds a M.Sc. degree in molecular and integrative physiology from the University of Michigan and received her B.S. from the University of Denver in molecular biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish.

PRESENTER

MIKE DELEE

Global Business Product Stewardship Director at Dow

Mike DeLee serves as the Global Product Stewardship Director at Dow in Packaging, Specialty Plastics, Olefins, Aromatics, Hydrocarbons, and Consumer Solutions (e.g. Silicones). He leads a global team of product stewards responsible for tracking chemical regulations, assessing products for safety and sustainability information, ensuring regulatory compliance, and communicating relevant information to customers and stakeholders. He has a passion for people, planet, and partnership. 

Prior to this role, he has worked in the chemical industry, predominantly polymers and plastics, for 18+ in a variety of functions such as analytical, manufacturing, quality, and product stewardship with two international assignments in the Middle East and Europe. He represents Dow’s environment, health, safety, and sustainability function in various leadership, steering, and governance teams, as well as industry associations. Mike currently serves as co-chair of ICCA Additive working group increasing transparency on chemical additives in plastics, and is actively engaged in trade association work on the plastics treaty, Microplastics and Circularity. 

He has a degree in Polymer Chemistry from Louisiana State University, and is actively engaged in employee resource groups supporting persons with disabilities and diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

PRESENTER

MOLLY STRAUSBAUGH

Director, Scientific Content and Commercial Chemistry at CAS

Molly directs scientific content management, specializing in chemistry commercialization, supply chain, formulations, regulatory, and sustainability. She also oversees and supports consulting agreements and all special substance services. Molly leads several cross-functional teams to support CAS products and services, including the formulations content collection. CAS customers rely on the experience of Molly and her team for regulatory reporting, consulting on business, content, technology, and resource challenges, as well as data structuring and discovery, and data-enabled risk management.

Molly holds a B.S. in Chemistry and MBA degrees from Ohio Dominican University and is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. An active participant in global chemistry activities, Molly brings her informatics expertise to life in her home kitchen, where she explores global ingredients and flavors.

SESSION 7: Future Fit Materials - Addressing the Challenge 

MODERATOR

RUI RESENDES

Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Change Chemistry

Dr. Rui Resendes is a technology commercialization professional with expertise in business development, technology marketing and licensing, IP management and start-up company creation and financing. Through his various roles within multinational corporations, start-up companies and technology incubators, Dr. Resendes has advanced technology commercialization, through multi-stakeholder partnerships, across several technology sectors.

PRESENTER

TODD CLINE

Senior Director, Sustainable Innovation, Global Research & Development at Procter & Gamble

Todd Cline currently serves as Senior Director, Sustainable Innovation - Global Research & Development at Procter & Gamble. In this role, he works to integrate materials and processes into P&G innovation plans which deliver sustainability benefits and to bring P&G-patented technologies to industry scale. He is enthusiastic about creating superior performing products which are both sustainable and beneficial to everyday life. Over the past decade Todd provided leadership across multiple product innovation launches in both the US and Europe. His most recent focus has been on P&G’s largest business, Fabric Care, where he led product and package sustainability efforts and Tide's focus on cold water washing, including product innovation, consumer education, and key partnerships including World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and appliance manufacturers to accelerate habit change progress. Prior to joining the North America Fabric Care business Todd led innovation programs for several P&G brands such as Swiffer, Mr Clean, and P&G Professional. Todd holds a MBA from Xavier University and earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky.

PRESENTER

STEVEN EVANS

Research Fellow at BioMADE

Steven L. Evans spent 30 years bringing biotechnology products to the field in small and large companies. Steve’s research blended high-resolution chemical analysis with enzymology and recombinant protein expression to explore agricultural and environmental applications of biotechnology. In 1988 he joined Mycogen Corporation, now Corteva Agriscience, where he was involved in developing natural and recombinant biopesticides, including several crop traits from the Mycogen genome pipeline. He worked to commercialize biochemical actives from natural products, several transgenic crops, and plant genome editing technology. After retiring as a Fellow from Dow AgroSciences he founded Re-Knowvate LLC. His passion is to use this experience and repurpose it today in organizations which drive 21st century biotechnology so that they may learn from the actions of the early pioneers in applied biotechnology, thus accelerating their ability to develop and deploy new technologies to benefit our world. Steve has been active in public-private partnerships such as the National Science Foundation–sponsored SynBERC synthetic biology consortium, which is now the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC). He served as Chair of the SynBERC the Industrial Advisory Board, and is now active in various roles at the EBRC. Steve served on the National Academies of Sciences Future Products of Biotechnology study and is currently on the NAS Safeguarding the Bioeconomy study. He was co-chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s Industrial and Environmental Section synthetic biology subteam. He received his BA and BS degrees in chemistry and microbiology from the University of Mississippi and a PhD in microbial physiology from the University of Mississippi Medical School. He was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and subsequently with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Peoria, Illinois.

PRESENTER

MICHAEL HERSHOWITZ

Director of Global Sustainability & Sustainable Innovation at
International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. IFF

Michael Hershkowitz serves as the Director of Global Sustainability & Sustainable Innovation at IFF since March 2018, with a focus on developing product sustainability strategies across taste, scent, and delivery systems, while embedding Circular Design principles into R&D and product development. Prior to this role, Michael held various positions at The Clorox Company from November 2014 to March 2018, including R&D Group Manager for Kingsford and Foods R&D Group Manager. Michael's experience also includes work as a Research Engineer at Cobalt Technologies, where responsibility involved process development for cellulosic sugar production, as well as serving as a Senior Research Associate at Novozymes, focusing on Biomass to Ethanol processes. Michael holds a BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MBA from North Carolina State University, and has completed the WBCSD Leadership Program in Sustainability Studies at Yale School of Management.

Closing Remarks

PRESENTER

JOEL TICKNER

Strategic Advisor at Change Chemistry

Dr. Joel Tickner is a Professor of Public Health at the UMass Lowell. He is founder and Strategic Advisor of Change Chemistry (formerly Green Chemistry & Commerce Council). He is a leading expert on application of green chemistry and alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served on a number of EPA and National Academy of Sciences advisory committees and advises government agencies around the world. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Doctor of Science Degree from the Department of Work Environment at UMass Lowell.