Speakers - Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology

Focal Point Annual Conference -- Paper-Based Food Packaging and Serviceware

Focal Point 2019 Speakers

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Jessica Marshall

McDonald's

Manager, Global Sustainability

Jessica Marshall is a manager in the Global Sustainability department for McDonald’s Corporation. She has been in this role since February 2016.

In her role, Marshall is the Sustainability lead for Packaging, Waste and Recycling. She is managing the execution of McDonald’s Scale For Good goals around packaging and recycling in the US. She will also be supporting the execution of McDonald’s overall waste strategy.

Marshall spent her first two years in Sustainability initiating and executing efficiency measures in the U.S. restaurants for energy and water. This includes supporting initiatives to find efficient products, piloting and testing in restaurants, measuring the efficiency, and implementing to the system.

Marshall joined McDonald’s in January 2012 and spent the next four years in the Indirect Procurement department. She started on the Development Sourcing team, working with cross-functional teams on sourcing initiatives including Seating & Décor, Signage, and Lighting. She was then promoted to a Business Services Supervisor managing suppliers like FedEx, Office Max, and Shoes for Crews.

Marshall holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business and International Management from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Prior to joining McDonald’s, Marshall spent three years at a third-party logistics company in the Chicago suburbs.

Steve Wrobel

Kwik Trip

Public Relations

Steve Wrobel is grateful to have been a Kwik Trip co-worker for 20 years!

His first career was in education where he served as principal and teacher at schools in Wisconsin, California, and Minnesota. After years devoted to guiding elementary and middle school-aged kids, he decided to go a different direction.

Moving back to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he grew up, Wrobel was hired for a store leader position. One day his district leader visited the store and suggested that he apply for an opening in the Kwik Trip training department.

In the training department, Wrobel was able to use his background in education to develop and conduct topics on culture and customer service. This position has developed into his current role in public relations for Kwik Trip.

Anne Rutanen

CP Kelco

Innovation Manager

Anne Rutanen leads the pulp and paper application team at CP Kelco’s CMC business unit. The main focus of the team’s work is the development of new products and concepts for the pulp and paper applications globally. She has more than 20 years of experience in carboxymethyl cellulose R&D and technical support for paper and board customers. She has also worked in paper and board R&D at Metsä-Serla with a focus on coating and surface characterization.

Rutanen has a M.Sc (Tech.) in process chemistry from Lappeenranta University of Technology and a Lic.Sc. (Tech.) in paper technology from Helsinki University of Technology. She has authored several scientific articles in the field of coating and coating dispersion stability and holds two patents using hydrocolloids in paper surface treatment application. Additionally, she has given many presentations at international conferences.

Christine Miller

Adams County Solid Waste and Recycling

Director

Christine Miller oversees the landfill, material recovery facility and hauling operations on behalf of the 30 municipalities within Adams County. She continually researches recycling commodity markets and negotiates the sale of baled materials while coordinating the household hazardous waste program. She manages universal waste streams and is involved in many waste reduction projects.

Prior to her new role in Adams County, Miller spent the last 12 years with Outagamie County serving as recycling coordinator and managing their waste streams. Additionally, Miller is a board member of the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin and a board member of the Wisconsin Counties Solid Waste Management Association. Graduating from Fox Valley Technical College with a degree in natural resources, Miller she specialized in waste water, water quality, forestry and wildlife. She is the mother of five and enjoys camping, motorcycle riding, snowmobiling, golf and most importantly, her grandchildren.

Natha Dempsey

Foodservice Packaging Institute

Vice President

Natha Dempsey was recently named as the new president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), effective November 1, after having served as the institute's vice president since 2010. The FPI is the trade association for the North American foodservice packaging industry. Members include packaging converters, their raw material and machinery suppliers, as well as foodservice operators, distributors and group purchasing organizations. At FPI, she has led the industry’s efforts to expand recycling and composting of foodservice packaging and also works in the areas of communications, technical and research and she is looking forward in her new role to advancing FPI as an authority on foodservice packaging.

Mark Bond

Sustana

Recycled Fibers Sales Manager

Mark Bond is the recycled fibers sales manager at Sustana, a leading producer of FSC® certified, premium post-consumer recycled fiber which takes its role as a steward of the environment seriously. Sustana uses highly automated proprietary processes to turn post-consumer wastepaper into the highest quality fiber for use in the production of printing and writing papers, tissue paper, formed molded fiber packaging, and in addition, fiber that is compliant with FDA standards for food service packaging. Bond graduated from The Pennsylvania State University and has held sales and marketing roles in the paper industry. He joined Sustana in early 2017 and has achieved a consistent growth in sales for North America.

Paul Fowler

Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology

Executive Director

Paul Fowler, WIST executive director, has 18 years of experience in contract research and development of new products and opportunities from biobased materials. At WIST, Fowler networks with public- and private-sector organizations and companies to develop new sustainable technologies with commercial applications to benefit the economy and the environment. Before taking the helm at WIST in 2010, he was director of the Welsh Institute for Natural Resources, a financially self-supporting unit at Bangor University in Wales, UK. Fowler has a doctorate in organic chemistry and extensive knowledge of biobased, renewable materials and applications.

Jim Fogg

Solenis

North America Business Development Manager for Barrier Coatings

Jim Fogg’s experiences stretches across eight years as a machine supervisor at Mohawk Paper Mills, seven years in coating and specialty product business development at International Paper, nine years in specialty packaging URB business development at Sonoco Products and five years in barrier and coating product and business development at Ingredion. He is currently North America business development manager for barrier coatings at Solenis LLC. Fogg holds two patents for a recycled packaging concept and has two patent applications in process for a novel coating concept.

Fogg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in paper science from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. He is married with four children and one grandchild.

Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable TechnologyCollege of Natural Resources