SBSI: Speakers

2019 Keynote Speakers

Andrea Koppel, CEO and Chief Java Junkie, Time4Coffee

During her 30+ years as a working professional in journalism, public affairs, public relations, and the non-profit worlds, Andrea Koppel routinely provided free advice, over countless cups of coffee, to scores of young people trying to build their own careers. But, one day in 2017 while she was walking her dog, it occurred to her that this was an incredibly inefficient way to reach thousands of young people in need of professional counsel and advice. So, to level the playing field and scale what she, and so many other professionals do one-on-one, Andrea founded social enterprise Time4Coffee LLC, a podcast and website with a mission to help college students and recent graduates turn their college degrees into careers they love. The Time4Coffee podcast features weekly interviews with professionals in dozens of careers providing students, and recent graduates, with the opportunity to have a virtual “networking coffee” 24/7 with someone they otherwise might not meet. To date, Andrea has interviewed over 100+ professionals about what they do in their current jobs, what they studied in college, and how they built their careers.
Andrea began her career in 1986 as a journalist, and spent 14 years as a correspondent with CNN, where she started as a foreign correspondent in Japan and China, before being promoted to State Department correspondent, and eventually Capitol Hill correspondent in Washington, DC. Her reporting won some of journalism’s highest honors – the Emmy, Gracie, DuPont, and Peabody awards.
In February 2008, Andrea moved into public relations and joined M & R Strategic Services, a full-service public affairs consulting firm, to head up their strategic communications team. Then, in 2010, just two weeks after the devastating Haiti earthquake, she took on the role of Director of International Communications at the American Red Cross. She later joined Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian and development NGO, as Vice President of Global Engagement and Policy, where she spent six years before quitting in June 2017 to be a full-time mom to her then 13-year old son.
Andrea is also passionate about health and wellness because, she believes, it doesn’t make sense to have a job you love if your mental and/or physical health is suffering. Therefore, the Time4Coffee platform also features interviews with experts to provide information and inspiration to young people as to how they can achieve and maintain good health, self-care and all around wellness.
Andrea holds a BA in Political Science and Asian Studies from Middlebury College. She also speaks Mandarin Chinese and French. She is married and has one 15-year old son.

Mary Merrill, Managing Partner, Purpose Matters

Mary Merrill is a Managing Partner at Purpose Matters.
Prior to Purpose Matters, Mary was the Senior Global Director for Sustainability Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company, a company for which she worked for 20+ years. In this role, she helped drive the development of the social purpose, mission and vision for Global Marketing as part of the organization’s long-term roadmap. She was also a start-up leadership team member for the Global Office of Sustainability, which was created at The Coca-Cola Company in 2011. As Chief of Staff for the Chief Sustainability Officer, she helped to develop The Company’s first set of worldwide sustainability commitments and strategic framework to drive focus, collaboration and scale behind the priorities of well-being, women and water.
Earlier in her career at The Coca-Cola Company, Mary led key brand positions in North America and Asia as Director of Sports and Energy Drinks, Ready-to-Drink Coffee, Portfolio Strategies and Innovation and Still Beverages spanning over 20 countries in Asia and managing budgets of over $50 million. Over the years, her new product launches led to interviews in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Her extensive experience also includes strategic marketing roles at Hallmark Cards and retail buying at Lord & Taylor.
Mary holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. She completed additional studies on Shared Value at Harvard Business School, Executive Education and has lectured at Stanford University, University of Georgia, Kennesaw State and SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) and has been a speaker at 3M, the Shared Value Summit and the Women’s Leadership Conference at Georgia Tech. Mary was also a member of the IPSOS Global Reputation Council.

Follow PURPOSE MATTERS @pmpractitioners

Matt Kopac, Sustainable Business & Innovation Manager, Burt's Bees

Matt Kopac is the Sustainable Business & Innovation Manager for Burt’s Bees, a leading natural health and beauty care business, where he protects and promotes livelihoods and nature by setting and delivering on the brand’s sustainability strategy.

Matt’s work spans responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging, operational footprint management, customer and industry relations, cause marketing, and employee engagement. Matt is also a champion of community and culture, directing community service efforts and serving as Vice President and Treasurer of The Burt’s Bees Foundation.

Beyond Burt’s Bees, Matt promotes a more equitable local economy as Co-founder and Chair of the Durham Living Wage Project, and advises local government officials on environmental policy as an appointee and Chair of the Durham Environmental Affairs Board. As a recent Eisenhower Fellow, Matt has immersed himself in the circular transition of local economies.

Prior to joining Burt’s Bees in 2012, Matt led sustainability efforts for a tech company in North Carolina, was a consultant to high impact social enterprises on three continents, advocated for triple-bottom line community economic development policy in Washington, DC, and was a Small Enterprise Development Peace Corps Volunteer supporting women’s cooperatives in Benin, West Africa.

Matt has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Yale School of Management, where he was elected Student Body President. He is a Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40 Awardee, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, an avid international traveler, and a student of languages and cultures. Matt lives in Durham with his wife and two boys.

Paulette Frank, Vice President, Worldwide Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability, Johnson & Johnson

Paulette Frank, is Vice President of Worldwide Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability for Johnson & Johnson. In this role, Ms. Frank leads the J&J EHS&S function and maintains oversight and governance of EHS&S operations across the J&J Family of Companies. She is a member of the J&J Supply Chain Leadership Team and chairs the J&J EHS&S Leadership Team.
Ms. Frank has been working in the fields of environmental stewardship, employee health & safety and sustainability for over 25 years. She is a sought-after speaker and frequent chair at workshops and international conferences, providing a voice for the company’s values and commitment to help create a healthy future for people, our communities, and the planet. She is co-chair of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale Advisory Board.

Ms. Frank earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Duke University and her Master of Environmental Studies degree from Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Investing for Impact

MODERATOR: Cathy Clark, Faculty Director, CASE, Duke University

Named in 2014 one of the top 20 women in the USA working in philanthropy, social innovation and civic engagement, Cathy Clark has been an active pioneer, researchers, educator and consultant for over 25 years in the fields of impact investing and social entrepreneurship. She serves as Faculty Director at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she founded and directs the CASE i3 Initiative on Impact Investing and co-leads the Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator at Duke (SEAD), an accelerator working to scale impact of global health ventures in India and East Africa. She is also lead author of CASE’s online learning series for impact entrepreneurs, CASE Smart Impact Capital, and co-author of CASE’s #ScalingPathways series, in partnership with the Skoll Foundation, USAID’s Global Development Lab and MercyCorps.
A former impact investment fund manager and private foundation program officer, who taught at Columbia Business School for 9 years before coming to Duke, Clark’s work has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, intermediaries, and governments around the globe improve their ability to use business as a tool for good. She helped develop the standards for B Corporations, and has coordinated global research across 15 universities using data from $4.5 billion of impact assets under management and from over 11,000 impact entrepreneurs in 29 countries. Clark was also the sole academic member of the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce US National Advisory Board, and was invited to track $2.5 billion in new impact investments by the Obama White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Engagement. She is co-author of The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism, which reached #18 in finance textbooks on Amazon in 2014. Cathy holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and has published over 25 books, articles and case studies. She publishes #OnImpact, a weekly newsletter on impact investing and social innovation read in over 100 countries, and tweets at @cathyhc.

Beth Bafford, Vice President of Syndications and Strategy, Calvert Impact Capital

Beth Bafford is Vice President of Syndications and Strategy. She leads Calvert Impact Capital's services to accelerate capital flows into communities through loan structuring and syndications. She also oversees the organization's strategy, communications, and impact measurement functions.

Prior to joining Calvert Impact Capital, Beth was a consultant in McKinsey & Company's D.C. office where she focused on U.S. Health Reform strategy. She has also worked as a Special Assistant at the White House Office of Management and Budget during the drafting and passage of the Affordable Care Act, as a Regional Field Director for the 2008 Obama for America campaign, and as a Senior Associate at UBS Financial Services.

Beth is a die-hard Duke fan (go devils!), where she received both her BA in Public Policy and MBA in Social Entrepreneurship. At Duke’s Fuqua School of Business she helped launch the CASE Initiative on Impact Investing (CASE i3).

Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal, Blue Haven Initiative

Liesel Pritzker Simmons is Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative, where she oversees, as an investment strategist, a portfolio focused on holdings that generate competitive financial returns and address social and environmental challenges. The portfolio spans asset classes, from traditional equities and direct investments to philanthropic programs.
In addition to working closely with entrepreneurs, nonprofits and co-investors on companies and initiatives that create social, environmental and financial value, Liesel develops strategic partnerships with organizations that support and advance more informed investing.

Liesel co-founded Blue Haven with her husband, Ian Simmons. Together, they systematically assessed their portfolios based on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria and financial performance. The restructured portfolios became the foundation of Blue Haven, one of the first family offices created with impact investing as its focus.

Liesel is also Co-Founder of IDP Foundation, a private Chicago-based foundation focused on achieving universal primary education. There, she helped create the IDP Rising Schools Program, which leverages microfinance networks to empower nearly 450 low-cost private schools—established and managed by local entrepreneurs—in some of the least-developed regions of the world.

Liesel, an engaging and sought-after speaker on impact investing and Next-Gen investors, serves on for-profit and nonprofit boards and investment committees of organizations including ImpactAssets, Synergos, Toniic, Eco-Post, and The ImPact, a network of families committed to the conscientious stewardship of wealth.

Liesel attended Columbia University in New York City, where she studied African History. She lives in the Boston area with Ian and their daughters.

Justin Desrosiers, Managing Principal, SustainVC

Justin has over 16 years of managerial, entrepreneurial and investment experience. He started his career as an environmental engineer and spent eight years advising Fortune 500 clients. Then after running his own startup, he joined Investors’ Circle in 2012 as Director of Investments, where he vetted early-stage, impact companies and facilitated due diligence. In 2013, he joined the SustainVC team to manage the PCC ’13/’15 funds and has been involved in the entire investment process, from sourcing deals through conducting due diligence, and portfolio management as a board observer for five portfolio companies. Justin has strong sector experience and interest in energy, sustainability, education and health & wellness sectors.

In his limited free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family (also known as chasing around his two young children) in Durham, NC.

Neil Goslin, Director of Development, Self-Help

Neill serves as Director of Development for Self-Help, a community development lender, credit union, and real estate developer that works to create and protect economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, and rural and low-wealth communities. In this role, Neill manages Self-Help’s efforts to raise the funds (grants, deposits, and debt/equity investments) needed to support its mission and liaises directly with a variety of external funders and partners including foundations, government agencies, and other financial institutions. Prior to joining Self-Help in 2006, Neill worked for nearly a decade New Orleans, where his work focused on linking low-income residents to financial education and asset-building opportunities. Neill graduated from Duke University and holds graduate degrees from Tulane and the University of South Florida. Since 2000, he has served on the board of the Strachan Family Foundation, supporting their mission of promoting education and health initiatives in Central America.

Taking a Stand

MODERATOR: Aaron Chatterji Professor, Duke University

MODERATOR:
Aaron Chatterji, Ph.D. is a Professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Sanford School of Public Policy. He previously served as a Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) where he worked on policies relating to entrepreneurship, innovation, infrastructure and economic growth. Chatterji is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and was previously a visiting Associate Professor at The Harvard Business School.
Chatterji works at the intersection of academia, public policy and business, investigating the most important forces shaping our economy and society. His academic work has been published in the top journals in strategic management, economics, finance and organizational studies and he has received several awards for his research, including the 2017 Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in entrepreneurship, the Rising Star award from the Aspen Institute, and the Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar award.
His new book, co-authored with Michael Lenox, is “Can Business Save the Earth?” (Stanford University Press).
Chatterji has won multiple teaching awards at Duke, both for his teaching in the core curriculum and electives. He is a frequent keynote speaker and experienced facilitator who has worked with top companies in finance, healthcare, technology, energy, retail, and sports.
Chatterji has authored several op-ed pieces in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He writes widely for management and policy audiences with several recent pieces in Harvard Business Review and for the Brookings Institution.
Chatterji was previously a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. He received his Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and his B.A. in Economics from Cornell University.

Laura Gitman, Chief Operating Officer, Business for Social Responsibility

Laura is a global expert on corporate sustainability, with two decades of experience in strategy consulting and has advised senior executives at global companies across a range of industry sectors and sustainability issues.
Laura has also been a leader in BSR’s organizational growth and impact. She launched BSR’s financial services practice and New York office, and she is currently the Chief Operating Officer, leveraging her strengths in strategy, organizational change, and people management.
Laura works with leading global companies to develop and enhance their sustainability strategies to maximize value for business and society. She is sought after to facilitate senior-level strategy workshops and multistakeholder collaborations. She has published reports on environmental, social, and governance trends among investors as well as sustainability integration and leadership. From 2006 to 2010, she facilitated the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, growing the initiative from 15 to more than 50 companies.
Laura previously worked for Deloitte Consulting, where she acquired extensive strategy experience advising multinational financial services companies. She also worked on several community and economic development projects in Latin America.
Laura holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. She is an adjunct professor in the Bard M.B.A. in Sustainability program and a member of the UN Global Compact Expert Network.

Peter Horst, Founder, CMO Inc.

Peter is a Fortune 500 CMO and innovation leader with 30 years of experience across diverse industries in consumer and business products, services and technology for market leaders such as Capital One, Hershey, General Mills, US WEST (CenturyLink), and TD Ameritrade. His ability to ignite dramatic growth and profits with breakthrough strategies and innovation has characterized all his work. As Founder of CMO Inc., Peter now consults on brand and marketing strategy and coaches up-and-coming marketing leaders. He’s a Forbes contributor and author of the bestselling, Marketing in the #FakeNews Era. Peter is on the board of advisors of several early stage companies in technology and consumer products.

Mary Merrill, Managing Partner, Purpose Matters

Rebecca Wainess, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Kenneth Cole

Rebecca is the Director of Kenneth Cole’s Corporate Social Responsibility team. In this role, she works to create strategic, impactful programs that drive the business forward: from supply chain management and non-profit partnerships, to brand advocacy. Before joining Kenneth Cole, Rebecca worked with global brands as a social impact consultant at Edelman. Her experience also includes government affairs and non-profit communications.

When Every Drop Counts

MODERATOR: Dan Vermeer, Associate Professor, Duke University

Daniel Vermeer, Ph.D. Associate Professor of the Practice of Energy & Environment Executive Director Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE) Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Dr. Daniel Vermeer is founder and director of Duke University's Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE), an initiative that harnesses the power of business to meet the global demand for energy, resources, and improved quality of life. Through education, thought leadership, and outreach, EDGE helps to develop promising new solutions to global energy and sustainability challenges, and convenes business, civic, and academic leaders to scale these solutions for maximum impact.
Since EDGE’s founding in 2010, Vermeer has launched several new programs including the Energy Industry Fundamentals workshop, EDGE Seminar on Energy & Environment, EDGE Chats video series, EDGE Notes blog, and the EDGE Forum (2014 Forum on the China Cleantech Revolution). He has also recruited 12 leading global companies to participate in the EDGE Advisory Council, including ABB, Duke Energy, Chevron, Coca-Cola, SunRun and Walmart. EDGE plays a major role in supporting several student clubs (e.g. Energy Club, Net Impact Club, MEM-MBA Club), and coorganizing the annual Energy Conference, Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference, and Week-in-Cities tours.
Vermeer is Associate Professor of the Practice at Fuqua School of Business and Nicholas School of the Environment, where he teaches sustainability, energy, and international business courses. In addition to his Business Strategies for Sustainability class, Vermeer leads the EDGE Seminar Series, advises student teams through the Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum, and co-leads the China GATE Course, an immersive introduction to Chinese culture and business that includes a 2-week trip to four Chinese cities. In his consulting practice, he works on sustainability challenges with leading companies and organizations including Bank of America, ABB, GE, Walmart, Dupont, The Nature Conservancy, UN Global Compact, Claremont Creek Ventures, and other private and public organizations.
His areas of expertise include sustainability strategy, risk management, energy & behavior, value chains, resource productivity, water and ecosystem services, sustainable agriculture, industrial efficiency, product certification, and sustainable development. His current research focuses natural capital considerations in business decision-making, water risk and resilience, data and analytics for sustainable agriculture, cleantech urban development, and energy innovation in emerging markets.
At Duke, Vermeer collaborates with several related initiatives, including the Duke University Energy Initiative, Center for Sustainability and Commerce, Duke Campus Sustainability Committee, Food Sustainability Committee, and the Duke Campus Farm. He is the faculty advisor to several student Master’s Projects at the Nicholas School for the Environment and Sanford School for Public Policy. He also serves on the Duke Brazil Initiative Board, and is a partner on a Mellon grant focused on Energy Geopolitics in the Western Hemisphere.
Beyond Duke, Vermeer is an editor for the Frontiers in Energy Systems and Policy journal, and serves on the Award Nominating Committee for the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS). He also is on Sustainability Advisory Boards for Ingersoll Rand and Xylem. He currently serves on USAID’s Powering Agriculture Mentoring Council, where he advises entrepreneurial ventures that provide energy solutions for agriculture in the developing world.
Vermeer joined Duke from The Coca-Cola Company, where he led the Global Water Initiative, an industry-leading effort to protect the quality and availability of the company's primary ingredient. As part of this work, he designed a new risk management methodology for assessing Coca-Cola’s global manufacturing facilities, and founded Coca-Cola’s Community Water Partnerships program, resulting in nearly 500 public-private partnerships in over 90 countries.
During his tenure at Coca-Cola, he also launched the company’s Sustainable Agriculture program to manage lifecycle impacts of agricultural supply chain inputs, and led the Sustainable Value Chain initiative to embed sustainability capabilities across business functions, including finance, strategy, operations, marketing, and procurement.
Vermeer plays a leading public role in advocating for business sustainability through speaking, research, and institution-building. He is the founder and chief architect of the Global Water Challenge, a multi-partner organization for innovative water and sanitation initiatives, co-author of the CEO Water Mandate (signed by more than 50 Fortune 500 companies), and lead contributor to several policy documents issued through the World Economic Forum, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Foundation.
Vermeer is trained as an anthropologist, and did extensive fieldwork and research in the Himalayas of India and Nepal as part of his Master’s thesis at the University of Virginia. He completed his Ph.D. in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University, where he conducted research on organizational learning and change at Xerox PARC in Silicon Valley. Currently, he lives in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife and two children.

Matt Inbusch, Manager, Natural Capital Stewardship, International Paper

As Manager, Natural Capital Stewardship, Matt works across teams to shape strategy and drive execution on environmental and social sustainability at International Paper, a leading global producer of paper, pulp, and fiber-based packaging. Since joining IP in 2016 Matt has supported various sustainability efforts across the company, working primarily in responsible sourcing. As of 2019 he is focused on building out the company’s water stewardship approach within the context of IP’s “next-generation” sustainability strategy. Previously, Matt served as a “Water & Sanitation” Peace Corps volunteer in Peru, and has worked in international economic development out of Washington, DC. Matt has an MBA from Vanderbilt University, where he led the Net Impact chapter, and a BA in International Relations from Colgate University. Travel, the outdoors, and music (hearing/seeing/making) are some of his favorite things. He lives in Memphis, TN, just a few hundred yards from the Mighty Mississippi.

Roian Atwood, Director of Sustainability, Wrangler and Lee Jeans, VF Corp.

Roian Atwood is the Director of Sustainability for Wrangler and Lee jeans. Atwood leads brand sustainability strategy, engages suppliers globally to drive greater social and environmental performance, and works cross functionally with product development and marketing to create more sustainable products and share brand relevant stories.

With fifteen years’ experience in footwear & apparel sustainability, Roian has a track record of managing a diverse set of projects and leading teams into an action-oriented, results driven approach to corporate sustainability.

Atwood’s undergraduate work was in Complex Systems at Naropa University, and he holds a Master’s of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.

Andre Fourie, Global Director, Water Sustainability, AB InBev

Andre Fourie is Global Director, Water Sustainability at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), the world's largest brewer. He leads the company’s work on water stewardship such as investing in watershed protection in high-stress areas. ABI’s portfolio comprises over 500 beer brands includes global brands Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, and numerous multi-country brands.

Lindsay Bass, Manager, Corporate Water Stewardship, World Wildlife Fund

With Lindsay at the helm, WWF’s Corporate Water Stewardship initiative is leveraging private sector partnerships to conserve water resources and freshwater ecosystems. As the water stewardship lead for WWF-US, she develops and implements water strategies for corporate partners. Currently, she works with a variety of partners including The Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks, Levis and Ecolab on issues ranging from water risk assessments to collective solutions in river basins around the world.
For Lindsay, working with businesses is crucial to addressing the threats facing fresh water. “Water is the ultimate shared resource. No single entity can ensure the sustainability of freshwater resources,” she says. “In developing solutions to the challenges we face, we must work across sectors and traditional boundaries.”
Lindsay is involved in on-the-ground field work, policy advocacy, and stakeholder fora on water stewardship, including the CEO Water Mandate. She is an alternate on the World Water Council’s Board of Governors. Before joining WWF, Lindsay worked with Patagonia, Inc. on water footprinting and the launch of an international water campaign. She has written extensively on environment and trade issues.

Changing Business Models

MODERATOR: Jessica Thomas, Director, Business Sustainability Collaborative, NC State University

Jessica Thomas has over fifteen years of experience working domestically and internationally in sustainable enterprise, social innovation and business development. She is director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative at the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. She focuses on engaging the local and global business community, working with faculty to integrate sustainability in their research and teaching as well as expanding student engagement opportunities. She serves on the faculty in the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship where she teaches sustainable business, social innovation and business ethics in the undergraduate and MBA programs. Jessica also serves as the faculty advisor for the NC State undergraduate and graduate Net Impact chapters.

Jessica manages the B Corp Clinic, a co-curricular program that connects interdisciplinary students from six North Carolina colleges and universities to aspiring and certified B Corporations to help them improve their environmental and social impact. She leads the B Corp Academic Community, which brings together faculty from around the world to share best practices in B Corp curriculum development and experiential learning and to identify collaborative research opportunities. In 2016, she received the Bill Clark B the Change award recognizing the individual outside of a certified B Corp who has done the most to support the global B Corp community.

She previously worked as managing director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and program director of that center’s Business Accelerator for Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Additionally, she has held leadership roles at Duke University’s Competition for Underserved and Resource-poor Economies (CUREs) and CFED, an economic development corporation in Durham, N.C., and new product development roles in the educational toy and communications companies.

She has written or co-authored white papers, case studies and research reports on the topics of corporate sustainability strategy, employee engagement, and microfinancing. She has published two novels, “How Not to Save the World” and “How Not to Make Friends,” via Lulu Press. Jessica received her BS in Engineering from Stanford University and her MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Jessica is also a graduate of Leadership North Carolina Class XXII.

Alden Zecha, Founding Partner, We Scale Impact

Alden Zecha is a Founding Partner at boutique consulting firm We Scale Impact to which he brings more than 30 years of broad-range executive expertise in operations, strategy and finance, and vast experience from work in more than 35 countries. He leads the firm’s strategy and finance practices developing pragmatic, actionable plans for clients and stimulating greater productivity by delivering more with fewer resources. He regularly speaks on health and entrepreneurship around the world including at Harvard, MIT, the Savings Lives at Birth DevelopmentXChange, the Global Grand Challenges Summit, the Mobile Health Summit and the White House and has been quoted in the Wall St. Journal and CFO Magazine. Alden currently also serves as Executive in Residence at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business where he lectures and writes about issues in social entrepreneurship and is a contributor to the Smart Impact Capital series of training modules.

Immediately prior to We Scale Impact, Alden was a co-founder and CFO and Strategist of Sproxil, the first mobile, anti-counterfeiting solution focused on the pharmaceutical industry in Africa and named the world’s most innovative company in health care by FastCompany in 2013. Alden helped grow Sproxil to profitably operating in 7 countries across Africa, Asia and America and providing lifesaving services to millions of people.

Alden received his MSE and BSE with honors in chemical engineering from Princeton University, where he was a United Technologies Scholar and Institute of Nuclear Power Operators Scholar, with his research focused on computer models of early stage treatments for HIV. He also holds a certificate in finance from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a certificate in innovation from the IXL Center.

Arlan Peters, Head of Sustainability, Novozymes North America

Arlan Peters is the Head of Sustainability for Novozymes North America where he develops Novoyzmes’ regional sustainability initiatives, builds organizational capacity, manages Novozymes’ corporate citizenship programs, and engages with external stakeholders on issues relating to life-cycle impacts of biotechnology.

He has represented Novozymes in several organizations including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and the Sustainability Consortium where he served as co-chair for TSC’s Corporate Advisory Council.

Prior to his current role, Arlan managed business development projects in animal health and regional marketing for bio-energy in Asia.

Before joining Novozymes, Arlan coordinated community education programs for Japan’s Ministry of Education. He also worked on public-private partnerships for international development at USAID’s Global Development Alliance Secretariat.

He holds a BA in Biology from Oberlin College and was a recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study economic and environmental impacts of aquaculture in Latin America and Asia. He received his MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School where he concentrated in Sustainable Enterprise.

Jackie Bennett, Senior Analyst, SJF Ventures

Jackie Bennett joined SJF as a Senior Analyst in the North Carolina office in 2017. Jackie previously worked in finance for Schoology, a high-growth education technology company. Prior to Schoology, Jackie was an investment banking analyst for Centerview Partners, an independent M&A, restructuring and strategic advisory firm.
Jackie graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics and concentrations in Finance and Management. Jackie also served as the treasurer for the Junior Board of Girls Inc of NYC.

Circular Economy

MODERATOR: Dr. Jesse Daystar, Chief Sustainability Officer and VP, Sustainability, Cotton Incorporated

Dr. Jesse Daystar is the Chief Sustainability Officer and VP, Sustainability at Cotton Incorporated where he directs internal and external sustainability efforts including: directing sustainability research, working with cotton industry stakeholders to develop industry sustainability goals, assisting in the communication of sustainability messages; and providing technical insights to Cotton Incorporated, the cotton industry, and brands. Prior to Cotton Incorporated, Dr. Jesse Daystar was the Assistant Director of the Center for Sustainability and Commerce at Duke University where he worked to deliver impactful research and education programs at the nexus of sustainability and commerce.

Throughout his career, Dr. Daystar has led research and consulting efforts in aspects of product sustainability, biomaterials, biochemicals, and bioenergy focused on identifying environmental tradeoffs, environmental and technical risks, and environmental impacts. This research and consulting has produced publications, sustainability and chemical engineering tools, and certifications for clients including Argonne National Laboratory, the USDA, DOE, Eastman Chemical and Piedmont biofuels. He has also co-authored two reports to the United States Congress quantifying the economic and environmental impacts of the bioproducts industry in the United States.

Dr. Daystar's teaching experience includes Life Cycle Assessment training curriculum at both NC State University and Duke University. He is an instructor at the Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and an Adjunct Professor at NC State University in the Department of Forest Biomaterials. He advises graduate student sustainability research at both Duke University and NC State University.

Dr. Daystar holds B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering, Paper & Pulp Engineering, and both a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Forest Biomaterials from NC State University.

Taylor Price, Global Manager, EHS & Sustainability, Aptargroup Inc.

Taylor Price is the Global Manager of EHS & Sustainability for AptarGroup, Inc., a leader in the global market for dispensing systems for the packaging industry. With business food, beverage, beauty, personal care, and pharmaceuticals, Taylor drives sustainability efforts in all segments of the business and communicates results with both internal and external stakeholders. She also works to advocate for a circular economy to address social and environmental imperatives that create purpose and shared societal value. Taylor believes that 100% of plastic packaging should be recycled.
Taylor has a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University's Nicholas School Environment where she graduated with a concentration in Environmental Economics and Policy (Business & Environment Track), and a certificate in Environmental Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Taylor also has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies (BA) with a concentration in Environmental Behavior and Decision Making from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Previously, she worked as a College Adviser via The Carolina College Advising Corps, an AmeriCorps-affiliated program. The College Advising Corps assists low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students find their way to colleges that will serve them well.

Balaji Jayaseelan, Head of Global Sustainability, Newell Brands

Balaji Jayaseelan leads the overall sustainability program at Newell Brands. Jayaseelan’s primary responsibilities involve providing strategic advice to business units on a wide range of sustainability issues including energy/climate change, digital manufacturing, green product innovations and lifecycle management. He advises startup firms in the field of IOT and currently is working on machine learning implementation for energy and safety management in key factories.

Katherine Hand, Global Head of Strategic Communications, Sustainability, and Social Innovation, HP Inc.

Katherine Hand is the Global Head of Strategic Communications for HP’s Sustainability and Social Innovation Team. She develops and drives strategy to promote HP’s programs, commitments and progress on issues related to the planet, people and communities worldwide. Katherine coordinates global teams and key external partners to execute communications across social, digital and print media, company events, executive speaking engagements, internal channels and HP’s annual Sustainable Impact Report.
Katherine has nearly 10 years’ experience inspiring audiences at Fortune 500 companies to change behaviour through compelling storytelling and reputational risk strategies.
Previously, Katherine was Client Director with Context Group, a boutique corporate sustainability consultancy, where she spent three years leading communications and strategy projects for technology, food and beverage, apparel, and manufacturing companies both in New York and London. Prior to this, Katherine worked with B Lab in San Francisco, where she conducted audits of food, technology and service companies using the B Corp assessment. She spent the first four years of her career in the non-profit sector with a focus on shaping impact around education, economic and workforce development, reproductive rights, criminal justice and the environment.
Katherine holds an MBA in Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Kellogg School of Management, where she was a Youn Impact Scholar and Chapter Leader of Net Impact. She also holds a BA in Urban Studies from Vassar College.

Crystal Dreisbach, Executive Director, Don't Waste Durham and Founder, GreenToGo

Crystal Dreisbach is the Executive Director of a non-profit organization in Durham, North Carolina called Don't Waste Durham whose mission is to create solutions that prevent trash at its source. She invented GreenToGo reusable takeout container service which operates in Durham restaurants and grocery stores. The goal of GreenToGo is to disrupt the status quo of our take-and-trash economy while inspiring and proliferating the circular economy everywhere. Crystal has a Masters in Public Health and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, the mother of two small boys, and a long-distance runner.

Diversity in Tech

MODERATOR: Ishita Shah, Consultant, New Schools Venture Fund

Ishita is a venture philanthropy consultant for New Schools Venture Fund, demonstrating her deep passion for the intersection of education, technology and impact investing. Residing in New York City, she helps the Oakland-based organization determine which innovative education ideas and enterprises are best-fit investments to redesign education.

Ishita was a Director of Strategic Initiatives and Deputy to the Chief Program Officer at New Classrooms, an ed tech nonprofit in NYC, where she was a swiss army knife for the organization – leading high-stakes initiatives across data & evaluation, policy, research, and external partnerships. Her experience in the education space also includes a year and half with Huron as a Education Strategy Consultant, and she is an Education Pioneers Alum (New Orleans, 2015).

In addition to her education expertise, she brings an array of impact investing experience through consulting engagements for MacArthur Foundation, MercyCorps’ Social Venture Fund, and Growth Mosaic, an incubator in Ghana.

Prior to business school, Ishita spent 4 years at Bloomberg in client management and business development. Determined to make an industry change through business school, Ishita spent two years at Fuqua immersed in the many opportunities Fuqua provided: CASEi3 Fellowship, COLE Fellowship, Net Impact Cabinet member and South Durham Farmers Market’s Board. Her most memorable part of Fuqua was a BOLD trip to Argentina, spending 5 days trekking Patagonia with 10 students across Duke University’s graduate programs.

Erika Mason, Systems Engineer, Northrop Grumman

Erika Mason was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She attended Rochester Institute of Technology where she received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Biomedical Engineering. She is currently working in the defense field as a Systems Engineer with a focus on integrating communication devises. Erika recently started a business focusing on developing content that is used to help support women of color through workshops and retreats.

Sue Harnett, Founder and President, Rewriting the Code

Sue Harnett has been a serial entrepreneur in the technology space since 2003. Her most recent venture is a virtuous startup: Rewriting the Code. RTC couples Harnett’s passions for mentorship and technology. The organization's mission is to recruit, retain + advance college women-in-tech. Since the nonprofit’s launch in November 2016, 2,000+ undergraduates and 160 universities joined the RTC community. RTC is conducting prospective research to understand and address why women leave technology-related degree programs and jobs at unprecedented rates.

Harnett entered the startup arena when she founded Replay Photos – a sports e-commerce + technology business with a host of top collegiate and professional brands. Harnett sold Replay Photos to Raleigh-based Lulu in October 2013.

Harnett’s success with intellectual property commercialization, college students, entrepreneurs and start-up companies comes from her passion and ability to recognize the viability of a concept, develop a foundational infrastructure for it, and quickly scale the idea into a business. She attributes the largest part of her success to creating teams of highly-motivated colleagues who embrace a culture of independence + motivation to do great things every day.

Harnett, a native of Staten Island, NY, holds two degrees from Duke University, including a master’s degree in Health Care Administration. Harnett received and All-America honors as a 4-year starter for the Duke women’s basketball team. She is a charter inductee of the Duke Basketball Hall of Honor and the 4th all-time leading scorer with a career point total of 1,785 points. Harnett continued her basketball career after she received her graduate degree and played on the professional level in Belgium.

2019 Speakers