michele banik-rake senior director of worldwide...
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MICHELE BANIK-RAKESENIOR DIRECTOR OF WORLDWIDE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT | McDONALD’S CORPORATION
Michele is a 35-year veteran of McDonald’s Corporation where she has a track record of strong performance within Supply Chain in a variety of roles. She is currently the Director of Sustainability – Worldwide Supply Chain responsible for integrating sustainability and supporting key performance indicators into product supply chain strategies. Prior to her current role she completed a 3-year secondment with McDonald’s UK which included leading McDonald’s supply chain for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Michele earned her MBA from the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She and her husband reside in Chicago.
ERIC BIELACTING ASSOCIATE DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS | U.S. DEPT OF LABOR
In his role at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), Eric Biel works on a diverse portfolio of issues, including supply chains and submissions under the labor chapters of free trade agreements. Before joining DOL/ILAB, he had an extensive career in both the private and nonprofit sectors, holding senior positions at Burson-Marsteller, Human Rights First and Fontheim International. He has also held leadership roles with the U.S. Department of Commerce and Senate organizations. Mr. Biel holds degrees in law and public policy from Yale and Princeton respectively and teaches at Georgetown University Law Center.
MARGARET BISHOPFASHION EXECUTIVE | FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (FIT)
Margaret Bishop is a seasoned and passionate apparel executive with extensive global experience. She has managed trade development and job creation programs across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East; Ms. Bishop has consulted to business leaders, factories, artisans, and fashion designers in the apparel sector worldwide.
Ms. Bishop holds Master’s degrees in Global Fashion Management (The Fashion Institute of Technology) and Management /Marketing (Purdue University); she holds a Bachelor’s in Textile Technology (North Carolina State University College of Textiles). Ms. Bishop has studied luxury fashion at the prestigious institute Français de la Mode in Paris, China’s evolving fashion industry at Hong Kong Poly U, and Shangai. In 2012, she was honored by North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles as an Executive in Residence.
Currently Ms. Bishop teaches International Business, Strategic Management, International Marketing Research, Global Sourcing for Textiles and Comparative Fabrics to university students, luxury retailers, and industry executive at New York City’s leading fashion and design schools, The Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons New School for Design, and The Fashion Institute of Technology.
Ms. Bishop has written and published the Tipping Point: Restoring Garment Production from China to the United States, and the autobiographical book of travel essays, Now I Can Sit With the Old Men-Journeys on the Road to Wisdom.
DOUG CAHNPRINCIPAL | THE CAHN GROUP, LLC
Doug Cahn is the principal of The Cahn Group, LLC, a corporate responsibility consultancy dedicated to creating sound business practices that are consistent with societal needs and stakeholder expectations. He also operates Clear Voice, an initiative that builds effective grievance mechanisms in factories and farms.
Doug is a pioneer in applying corporate codes of conduct to factories with over a decade of experience as vice president of Human Rights Programs at Reebok International. Doug is a board member of Verite and an advisory board member of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse and Good Weave.
MARCUS CHUNGSOURCING AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LEAD | THE CHILDREN’S PLACE
A recognized leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR), Marcus Chung has held CSR and strategic corporate communications roles at Gap, McKesson, Talbots and Fleishman-Hillard. He built deep CSR expertise by developing and executing strategies for CSR integration, supply chain social compliance, environmental sustainability, CSR reporting, corporate philanthropy signature programs, stakeholder engagement, cause marketing and employee engagement. Marcus has also supported corporate efforts in direct-to-consumer marketing communications, crisis communications, social media strategy, reputation management, brand positioning, assessing new market opportunities and strategic planning. Marcus earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with honors from Wesleyan University and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He served two terms on the board of directors for Net Impact, a non-profit organization whose mission is to mobilize a new generation to use their careers to drive transformational change in their workplaces and the world.
JOHN EAPENVP ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY/ SUSTAINABILITY | AMERICAN & EFIRD, LLC
John Eapen is the Vice President - Environmental, Health & Safety/ Sustainability for its global industrial sewing thread, Embroidery Thread and Technical Textiles operations. A&E is a global thread manufacturer with international operations in 43 countries around the world. In that capacity, John is responsible for Worldwide Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS), Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Risk Management. A&E maintains a Restricted Substances List and certifies compliance to it and customers’ RSL through testing and review of technical data.
John Eapen is chairman of the Environmental Committee (EC), American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA). It is the group’s responsibility to ensure that member companies are apprised of environmental sustainability issues, legislative and regulatory developments that could impact their global operations, and to educate policymakers on the group’s efforts to be responsible environmental stewards and minimize pollution. Developing a Global Restricted Substances List and providing training in this area to member companies and their suppliers is a major project EC has undertaken to help its members.
John Eapen graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia with a M.S. in Chemical Engineering and has worked at A&E for 22 years.
JOHN GABRIELMANAGER OF SUPPLY CHAIN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & CHAIR OF THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY CITIZENSHIP COALITION, INC. | IBM GLOBAL SUPPLY
John M. Gabriel is serving on the Board of Directors of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), and is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors.
John is also corporate manager of IBM’s Supply Chain Social Responsibility program. Appointed to this position in January 2004, he oversees a global team responsible for IBM’s Supply Chain Social Responsibility initiative. Under Mr. Gabriel’s leadership, the program has been deployed to its suppliers in nearly 30 growth market countries.
Mr. Gabriel holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Union College (Schenectady, NY) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA).
John is also actively involved in documenting the evolution of railroads in the Northeastern United States and is active in the restoration of numerous historical railroad locomotives.
GREG GARDNERPRESIDENT & CEO | ARCHE ADVISORS
Greg Gardner has advised brands and retailers on Corporate Social Responsibility since 1995. He has audited over 2,000 factories, farms, and processing plants for Fortune 500 companies in over 80 countries. While President of CSCC (later called STR Responsible Sourcing) he audited coal mines in Siberia, NGOs in Burkina Faso, state-owned factories in Iraq, Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, and managed a global team of 350 professionals doing 22,000 CSR assessments in 150 countries each year. Greg has worked on supply chain and traceability projects in 14 African countries. He earned his BA in Political Science at SDSU and his MBA at Thunderbird, and completed the Executive Education Programme in International Management from Stanford/National University of Singapore.
MS. MAUREEN F. GORSEN, ESQ.PARTNER | ALSTON AND BIRD, LLP
Ms. Gorsen focuses on providing strategic public policy, litigation and regulatory advocacy and counsel to a wide range of product manufacturers, brand owners, industrial facilities and landowners. She represents clients in enforcement defense and regulatory compliance issues before administrative agencies in Sacramento, and in numerous state capitols, and provides permit and compliance issues on environmental, product and supply chain regulation issues in the United States and abroad. With laws governing corporate social responsibility on the rise, Ms. Gorsen assists clients in developing their corporate policies to meet sustainability, anti-slavery and human trafficking, conflict minerals and related statutes.Ms. Gorsen earned her law degree from Georgetown University, received her master’s degree in international energy and environmental policy from Johns Hopkins University, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
NATE HERMANVICE PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE | AAFA
Nate Herman joined AAFA in 2001. Mr. Herman manages AAFA’s regulatory and legislative affairs activities, advocating on behalf of, and providing information to, the industry on international trade and corporate social responsibility issues. Mr. Herman also handles product safety, customs, transportation and other technical (slip resistance, safety toe, etc.) issues as well as labeling matters for AAFA’s footwear members as co-leader of AAFA’s Footwear Team.
In addition, Mr. Herman develops all apparel and footwear industry data and statistics as AAFA’s resident economist. Prior to joining AAFA, Mr. Herman worked for six years at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) assisting U.S. firms in entering the global market. Mr. Herman spent the last two years as the Department’s industry analyst for the footwear and travel goods industries. Mr. Herman received a Masters of Public and International Affairs (MPIA) from the University of Pittsburgh in 1994 and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Economics from the University of Delaware in 1992.
PETER HILLANSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CORPORATE PRACTICE LEAD | FLEISHMAN-HILLARD
Peter Hillan offers Fleishman-Hillard clients a constructive voice at the intersection of communications, business and politics. He brings clear client messages to the marketplace to derive business success and reputational gains.
He has provided salient counsel for Visa Inc., Oracle Corp., Union Bank of California, Allied Waste, Hyatt Corp., Pacific Gas & Electric, DMB Associates and the San Francisco 49ers. He sits on FH’s Global Crisis Practice steering committee and oversees FH’s corporate practice in San Francisco. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bay Area Council, the region’s preeminent economic voice, and, until recently, George Mark Children’s House, a pediatric palliative care facility, and MediaTile, a leading digital signage and data provider.
His crisis work includes managing responses to environmental impact reviews, product recalls, accidental death, hospital litigation, ongoing union job actions, executive flight from federal law enforcement and multiple legislative efforts in the Bay Area and California.
Prior to joining Fleishman-Hillard, Hillan was senior vice president at the Zeno Group and FitzGerald Communications, where he directed work on behalf of emerging technology companies. He was editor of Government West - a government trade magazine - a board member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and business program director of the Foundation for American Communications.
Hillan spent two decades as a journalist, developing and training some of today’s most influential business reporters during his eight-year tenure as Executive Business Editor of the San Jose Mercury News through 2000. His relationships and business knowledge extend into the academic world, where he has taught economics and finance programs at Stanford University, New York University and the University of Minnesota.
Before working at the San Jose Mercury News, Hillan was National/Foreign Editor at the Dallas Times Herald and News Editor at the Wisconsin State Journal. He attended the University of Wisconsin and lives in Scotts Valley, Ca. with his wife and two children.
PAUL O. HIROSESENIOR COUNSEL | PERKINS COIE, LLP
Paul O. Hirose is Senior Counsel with Perkins Coie LLP where he is a member of the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility & Supply Chain Compliance practice – the first such dedicated practice among the United States’ largest law firms. As a former Certified Public Accountant, he possesses audit and compliance experience. Paul has worked closely with or served in the legal departments of several multinational and mid-market companies and for the past 17 years, has been Marketing Counsel for Isuzu North America.
Paul recently served as President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, representing the interests of over 40,000 attorneys.
Paul is also the Business CSR Advisor to the Tronie Foundation – a nonprofit organization, founded by a human trafficking survivor, dedicated to ending modern day slavery and mentoring survivors of human trafficking.
BETH GINSBERG HOLZMANSENIOR MANAGER OF CSR STRATEGY AND REPORTING | THE TIMBERLAND COMPANY
Beth Ginsberg Holzman is Senior Manager of CSR Strategy and Reporting at The Timberland Company. She is responsible for developing an integrated CSR strategy that leverages the company’s social and environmental leadership while delivering improved business performance. In this capacity, Ms. Holzman manages engagement with Timberland’s Sustainability Steering Committee, develops and implements the company’s innovative approach to transparency, and partners with Timberland’s marketing team to integrate CSR issues into the brand’s storytelling efforts.
Prior to Timberland, Ms. Holzman was Manager of Corporate Accountability Programs at Ceres, where she shaped companies’ sustainability strategies and reporting efforts, as well as convened multi-stakeholder groups within that process. Ms. Holzman has worked with companies in the apparel/ footwear and consumer products sectors including Nike, Gap, Dell, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Ben & Jerry’s (among others). She also directed the Facility Reporting Project, advising facilities across the U.S. on materiality analysis, community engagement, and disclosure.
Ms. Holzman previously worked for the Environmental Careers Organization and ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability. She has a B.A. in Sociology from Tufts University, where she has taught undergraduate students on Sustainable Business as an Adjunct Lecturer.
PATRICIA JUREWICZDIRECTOR | RESPONSIBLE SOURCING NETWORK
Patricia Jurewicz – is the Director for the Responsible Sourcing Network, a project of As You Sow, where she has worked with the shareholder community to address labor and human rights abuses since 2006. Currently she sits on governing or advisory committees for the PPA for Responsible Mineral Trade, the Cotton Coalition, ICCR’s Human Trafficking Group, and the Conflict Free Smelter Program. She has over 20 years of diverse experiences related to corporate responsibility and has held positions with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Gap, Inc., and women’s cooperatives in Latin America. She has degrees from Thunderbird Business School, Cornell University, and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
LUNA LEEHUMAN RIGHTS SPECIALIST | EILEEN FISHER
Luna Lee - As Human Rights Specialist and a member of the Social Consciousness Team for women’s clothing designer EILEEN FISHER, Luna supports the company’s human rights work in its supply chain. In her role, Luna helps expand the company’s human rights program, going deeper and wider into the supply chain. She has launched innovative programs such as a cellphone survey of workers in India, brought trainings on human trafficking and ethical trade to company employees and held a worker video contest in China factories. Luna came to EILEEN FISHER with extensive volunteer background with the YWCA. Originally from Malaysia, Luna can speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay, and English.
AMY LEHRASSOCIATE, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK MITIGATION PRACTICE | FOLEY HOAG, LLP
Amy Lehr is part of Foley Hoag’s unique Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practice. In this role, she provides advice to major multinational corporations on best practices with regard to human rights, labor rights, and indigenous rights issues, as well as on stakeholder relations with local communities, host governments, security providers, and non-governmental organizations. Working with clients in a broad range of industry sectors, she provides advice on managing both the challenges and the opportunities of globalization, as well as on risk management issues, particularly those deriving from the Alien Tort Statute in the US. She also carries out human rights impact assessments and other forms of due diligence for clients.
Before coming to Foley Hoag, Amy served as a legal advisor to the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights. She also previously worked for development NGOs in Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand. During law school, Amy clerked at the International Criminal Court.
CHRISTOPHE LIEBONVICE PRESIDENT, SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT | INTERTEK GROUP
Christophe is a food engineer and joined Intertek in 1998 as a consultant and trainer for the food and pharmaceutical sector. Since then he has occupied several positions in the organization on quality, compliance and sustainability in Europe, Middle East and Africa where he has notably developed the network of capabilities and business in Social Compliance, Quality, Security and Environment. Based in Hong Kong, Christophe is currently the Vice President of Supplier Management.
AMY LUINSTRAPROGRAM MANAGER | IFC - BETTER WORK
Ms. Luinstra is the Program Manager for Better Work in IFC’s Sustainable Business Advisory department. Better Work is a joint initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and IFC to improve working conditions in the global apparel supply chain. Ms. Luinstra serves on the global management team of Better and leads the team responsible for impact assessment, research, and policy. She was on secondment to the ILO in Geneva to help launch Better Work in 2007 through early 2011. Prior to Better Work, Ms. Luinstra was in the World Bank Social Protection and Labor unit where she worked on labor market policy and coordinated the Bank’s dialogue with the international trade union movement.
CONGRESSWOMAN CAROLYN B. MALONEYU.S. REPRESENTATIVE | NEW YORK’S 12TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney is recognized as a national leader with extensive accomplishments on financial services, national security, the economy, and women’s issues. She is a senior member of both the House Financial Services Committee (where she serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit) and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the Ranking House member of the Joint Economic Committee. In the House Democratic Caucus, serves as a Senior Whip. She was appointed Vice-Chair of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee in 2011.
PHIL MARSOMCOMPLIANCE MANAGER | VF CORPORATION
Phil Marsom is VF’s Corporate Social Compliance Manager with responsibilities for the Americas and Europe. Brands included in the Compliance program include: The North Face, Wrangler, Lee, Vans, Nautica, Jansport, Reef, amongst others. The VF Compliance program is also responsible for Licensees of VF’s brands.
Phil has been working in Compliance since 2002. Previous responsibilities as Engineer, Plant Manager, Sourcing Manager, and Quality Control Manager help bring a wide range of manufacturing experience to his Social Compliance responsibilities. He is also currently a Board member for Fair Factories Clearinghouse and on the American Apparel and Footwear Association’s Social Responsibility Committee.
SHIREEN MUSAPROFESSOR | FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (FIT)
Shireen Musa is a full time tenured faculty member in the International Trade and Marketing Department of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). She teaches International Corporate Responsibility, Global Sourcing and Import/Export Regulations. Shireen received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing, with a concentration in International Trade, from FIT, MBA in International Business from Saint Peter’s College and her Customhouse Broker’s License from the U.S. Government. She has multi-industrial corporate experience functioning as an International Trade Manager. Shireen enjoys educating and mentoring students. She serves on FIT’s Sustainability Council and is active in planning FIT’s annual Sustainability Conference. Shireen is also active in developing new courses for FIT and presents at sustainability conferences.
SIMONA C. ROMANOSCHISENIOR DIRECTOR OF NEW PROGRAMS AND SERVICES | INTERTEK GROUP
Simona has been with Intertek since 2001. She is currently the Sr. Director of New Programs and Services, where she leads the design, development and implementation of innovative sustainability programs, aimed at managing reputational risks in global supply chains through data and knowledge management, assurance and verification services for social, security, quality and environmental supplier performance. In this capacity she has been working with medium to large size public companies, as well as industry associations, in the development of policies and practices that apply market leverages and create efficiencies that enable sustainable improvement in international supply chains.
Simona was born in Romania, where she received a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Technical University in Iasi. She holds a PhD degree in Textile Chemistry from Louisiana State University.
RACHEL PHILLIPS RIGBYINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OFFICER AND PROJECT LEAD | U.S. DEPT OF LABOR
Rachel Rigby with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) oversees research activities pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, including the development of DOL’s annual List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. Prior to assuming these responsibilities, she managed grants and conducted research on child and forced labor in the South Asian subcontinent. Ms. Rigby joined ILAB following several years in the nonprofit sector. She holds an MBA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a BA from Grinnell College and has studied and volunteered extensively abroad.
LAURA CHAPMAN RUBBODIRECTOR, CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, INTERNATIONAL LABOR STANDARDS | THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
With 17 years of experience in CSR, Ms. Rubbo plays a key leadership role at Disney in managing strategy, policy and programs for Disney’s supply chain labor standards program. Her responsibilities include overseeing the global factory monitoring program, external stakeholder engagement, industry collaboration, external communications and reporting, social investments, and issue analysis. Ms. Rubbo is a Board Member of Social Accountability Accreditation Services and a Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Society & Business Lab. Prior to Disney, she worked at BSR and Gap Inc. She has a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and German from the University of Connecticut.
ANDREW SAVINIMANAGER OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN THE SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT AND AUDITS TEAM | INTERTEK GROUP
Andrew Savini a native of Oahu, Hawaii is a Manager of Business Development in the Supplier Management and Audits team for Intertek Group, based in New York City. In this position, he manages the development of new market opportunities for supply chain risk management related to areas of social responsibility, along with related topics for managing supply chain risks.
As a supply chain compliance, audit and quality assurance professional, Andrew has international business experience in upwards of 30 countries on behalf of major corporations and their reputational risk programs. In his previous organization STR (now UL), he utilized his proficiency in Mandarin Chinese to manage Asia regional sales for the organization’s CSR solutions based out of Hong Kong. In addition to New York and Hong Kong, Andrew has lived in Shanghai, Boston, Honolulu, Miami and Beijing. He has led design efforts of non-financial due diligence and risk mitigation programs for dozens of companies in various sectors, including food and agriculture, electronics, textiles, toys, footwear, pharmaceutical and automotive. Andrew has two bachelor degrees in International Relations and Economics from Tufts University.
DAVID SCHILLINGSENIOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR | INTERFAITH CENTER ON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
David Schilling has worked at ICCR since 1994 and is Program Director of Human Rights. A United Methodist minister and the son of missionaries teaching in Korea, he grew up in Wisconsin. He credits a year studying at The American University in Beirut with giving him a global perspective. When he returned to the U.S., he began to work against militarism, the Vietnam War, racial inequality and economic injustice. He met and listened to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X; he worked closely with Cesar Chavez building support within the religious community for the farm workers struggle for justice while serving as a minister in northern California. He co-directed the disarmament program of Riverside Church in New York City and was program coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA.
David’s position with ICCR has continued this work. He has pushed for corporate accountability on issues of human and labor rights in the contract supplier system. He has participated with ICCR members in delegations to China, Central America, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, visiting factories and meeting with workers.
He sees the corporate responsibility movement as key to fighting systemic injustice, and ultimately, “influencing the influencers” to do the right thing. “There is impatience with the way things are, while recognizing that patience is needed to bring about change,” he said of his work.
He is a regional advisor to the Institute for Human Rights and Business, chaired by Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. David was a member of the Independent Monitoring Working Group for six years which supported independent monitors at Gap supplier factories in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala; a member of President Clinton’s Anti-Sweatshop Task Force and the Global Reporting Initiative’s Working Group on the Apparel, Footwear Industry.
David has a bachelor’s degree from Carroll College in Wisconsin in religion and sociology; a masters of divinity from Union Theological Seminary; a graduate of the International Fellows Program, Columbia University and an advanced professional studies certificate from Pacific School of Religion.
ARATI SHROFFBANGLADESH DESK OFFICER | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Arati Shroff is currently the Bangladesh Desk officer at the U.S. Department of State.
She previously served in the Economic and Consular sections at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Arati worked in investment banking in New York and Hong Kong and was a consultant for the World Bank Group in India. Arati earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS in International Economics and Development. She speaks Chinese, Arabic, and Hindi.
HIDEKI SUZUKIENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE GROUP | BLOOMBERG, LP
Hideki Suzuki, ESG Data Analyst at Bloomberg Equity Fundamentals Department to develop ESG/ SRI research and data products for institutional investors.
Hideki Joined Bloomberg as a research assistant in fixed income and derivatives pricing group and worked for 6 years before joining the Equity Fundamentals Department and worked as a Banking and Insurance Sector Analyst. Prior to joining Bloomberg LP in 1999 he has interned at the UN-CSD (UN Commission on Sustainable Development)’s National Information Analysis group for a year, learning the fundamentals of natural resource use for sustainable development.
Hideki is a Member of the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network. He holds a B.A. in History and Economics from Fordham University, New York.
AVEDIS SEFERIANPRESIDENT & CEO | WORLDWIDE RESPONSIBLE ACCREDITED PRODUCTION
Avedis H. Seferian joined WRAP in 2004 and became its President and CEO in April 2012.
He began his career in the research field, working for a business development organization before migrating over to legal research. Prior to joining WRAP, Mr. Seferian was with a small law firm in Washington, DC. He has also taught in various capacities in the business and legal arenas, and is an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland University College’s MBA program.
Mr. Seferian speaks five languages and holds three degrees from three separate continents - a Bachelor’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University in India; an MBA from the American University of Armenia; and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in the United States, where he was a Law Fellow and made the Dean’s List.
Mr. Seferian is a member of the Virginia State Bar, as well as the American Bar Association. He resides in the Northern Virginia area with his wife and 2 sons.
DR. JOEL TICKNERASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL
Dr. Joel Tickner is Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he also directs the Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. He is a leading expert on chemicals regulation, regulatory science, and application safer materials in science and policy. He has served as an advisor and researcher for a number of companies, government agencies and non-profits in the U.S. He directs the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council, a network of 75 companies dedicated to advancing safer chemistry through supply chains.