Parker Brugge

Parker Brugge is Senior Director and Environmental Counsel for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Mr. Brugge represents CEA before the Congress, US EPA, and other federal and state government bodies on issues such as electronics recycling, energy efficiency, and other environmental public policy issues. Previously, Mr. Brugge practiced law in Washington, DC for nearly 15 years at Patton Boggs and later O’Connor & Hannan, where he assisted corporate, governmental and non-profit organizations in working with USEPA, state regulatory agencies and the Congress on a broad array of environmental regulatory, legislative and litigation issues and strategies. Between partnerships at these two law firms, Mr. Brugge served as the chief executive for the American Wood Preservers Institute, the trade association that represents the United States wood preserving industry. Mr. Brugge earned his law degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering.

Scott Cassell

Scott Cassell is the Executive Director of the Product Stewardship Institute, which pursues initiatives to ensure that all those involved in the lifecycle of a product share responsibility for reducing its health and environmental impacts. Prior to founding the Institute in 2000, Scott served seven years as the Director of Waste Policy and Planning for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. He is also a founding Board Member and past-President of the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association, whose mission is to reduce the toxicity of the municipal waste stream. Scott has worked on product and waste management issues for the past 25 years for a start-up solid waste management company, a non-profit statewide environmental group, and several other state agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. He was also a syndicated newspaper columnist in Massachusetts. Scott has a masters degree in environmental policy and dispute resolution from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an undergraduate degree in Geology and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Julian Carroll

Julian Carroll is Managing Director of EUROPEN the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment. Since his appointment in 1993 EUROPEN has grown under Carroll’s leadership to become the recognized voice of industry on issues of packaging and environment in Europe. The Organization acts as a catalyst of stakeholder dialogue to promote greater understanding and acceptance of the function and vital contribution of packaging to resource efficiency and sustainable development. Before assuming responsibilities at EUROPEN, Julian Carroll was Director of Corporate Affairs Europe for Lawson Mardon Group, a Canadian company now part of Alcan Packaging. In this position he had responsibility for group corporate environment policy where together with several other industry executives he saw the need for a pan-European industry body such as EUROPEN and helped to found it in 1991. Mr Carroll was born and grew up in Australia and later studied business administration at the University of Oregon.

Chuck Derrow

Chuck Derrow joined Zebra Technologies in 2001 as the Manager of Compliance Engineering focused on EMC, Safety and Environmental product compliance where he started on his journey to understanding WEEE and RoHS and how this legislation affected Zebra Technologies and its products. His responsibilities include managing the certification effort for all Zebra SPS products being placed in 80+ countries. He is Zebra’s technical lead in the area of product environmental compliance, and he and his team act as consultants to all design teams developing the next generation Zebra products. Chuck graduated from Purdue University with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering Technology.

Ross Farnsworth

Ross Farnsworth is a Division Merchandise Manager on Wal-Mart’s Home Entertainment team. With a team of buyers, he leads the merchandising strategy by assorting, presenting and planning the promotional strategy of computers, computer accessories, printers, ink and photo products for Wal-Mart Stores’ U.S. division. Additionally, Mr. Farnsworth serves on two internal committees. As a member of Wal-Mart's Electronics Sustainable Network, he leads the “End of Life” team effort which includes “Take it Back” initiatives (creating opportunities to safely recycle electronic products). He is also a member of the Home Entertainment Collaboration team helping oversee the Home Office segment, shaping and tracking merchandise strategy and execution. Mr. Farnsworth joined Wal-Mart in 1995. Starting in the International Division, he had the opportunity to work and live in Mexico (1997-1999) and later in Argentina (1999-2000) with his wife and four children. Since his return from Argentina, he has worked in both the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club USA merchandising areas. His 12 year career at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been focused in the electronics merchandise arena. Before joining Wal-Mart, Mr. Farnsworth worked for Venture Stores, a division of May Company in St. Louis. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University.

Richard J. "Tad" Ferris

Tad Ferris is a Partner at Holland + Knight and a principal with the firm's China team, focusing on China regulatory and government relations matters. Tad helps multinational corporations, associations and other entities develop and implement successful investment strategies that minimize product environmental regulatory and other risks in the China market. Tad's practice focuses on Chinese environmental, health and safety legal issues. As such, Tad advises clients on a wide range of regulatory and government relations issues associated with doing business in China. These issues include environmental compliance planning, hazardous substance restriction ("RoHS"), product registration, waste electronic and electrical product ("WEEE") recycling, hygiene regulation, pre-market certification and associated testing requirements, chemical registration, product design standardization, regulated materials transportation, product import and export, end-of-life product and materials disposition, worker health and safety, employment/labor management, emergency planning, and associated negotiations with government agencies and affiliates. Tad holds a Juris Doctor degree, a Masters of Law degree in Comparative and International Legal Studies from Duke University School of Law, a Masters in East Asian Studies from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, and a Bachelors Degree in International Relations from Clark University. He studied with the National Taiwan University Faculty of Law and has lectured at the World Bank, and Peking, Soochow, National Taiwan, and Yale Universities and Hellenic College on comparative law topics.

Pat Franklin

Pat Franklin is founder and executive director of the 15-year old Container Recycling Institute, located in Washington, DC. A former teacher and political activist, she has served on numerous local, state and national boards and commissions including the Virginia Forestry Board, the National Recycling Coalition Board, the American Forum Board, and the National Parks and Conservation Association Advisory Board. Pat received her Bachelor of Arts from the College of William and Mary and did graduate work at George Washington University in Environmental and Resource Policy. Pat has written and spoken extensively on the subject of beverage container recycling and deposit systems.

A. J. Guikema

Arnold J. Guikema is an environmental consultant with Tetra Tech, Inc. in Ann Arbor, MI. Prior to joining Tetra Tech in 2000, Mr. Guikema's educational background and industry experience was in chemical engineering. In 2001, Mr. Guikema designed and implemented the International Material Data System (IMDS) training program for North America. This program has now trained over 3,000 automotive suppliers on the use of the IMDS system and on ELV (End of Life Vehicle) requirements. In the past five years, his producer responsibilities team has provided turnkey management of ELV compliance for several hundred automotive companies utilizing both onsite and remote-site staffing. Since 2003, the producer responsibilities team has applied its ELV approach from the automotive industry toward the RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances) requirements for the electronics industry, providing the same range of trainings and turnkey solutions for meeting this requirement. In the past year, Mr. Guikema's team has been modifying these trainings and solutions to help clients to comply with REACH.

Garth T. Hickle

Garth T. Hickle is the product stewardship team leader with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). He has been with the MPCA since 1996 working on product stewardship for various products including packaging, electronics and carpet. Prior to the MPCA he worked as a lobbyist and as staff at the state capitol. He sits on the board of directors for the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) and on the board of advisors for the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). Mr. Hickle is also an adjunct faculty member at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design teaching courses in sustainable design and product policy. He has completed graduate work at Vermont Law School and Hamline University

J. Micheal Huls

Mr. Huls is President and founder of Huls Environmental Management, a California Registered Environmental Assessor since 1990, a co-founder of the California Resource Recovery Association, a co-founder of the National Recycling Coalition, a founding Trustee of the California Resource Management Training Institute, and a member of the Board of Directors of the South Bay Business Environmental Coalition. Mr. Huls’ experience spans 35 years and ranges from implementing award winning recycling systems to storm water management programs. He has developed innovative and sustainable zero waste programs for many businesses and municipalities. For Verizon Communications, he consulted on extended producer responsibility efforts and was responsible for increasing old phone directory recovery from 6% to over 50% in four years in Verizon’s California market. The author of many environmental studies and reports and a featured speaker at the First Annual International Forum on Environmental Legislation and Sustainable Development held in Beijing in 2005, he can be contacted at michael@hulsenv.com.

Hans Korfmacher

Hans A. Korfmacher is Director of Environmental External Relations for Gillette GBU, Procter & Gamble. He is responsible for the strategy and planning of product take back services within the Gillette Global Business Unit. In this responsibility he takes care about the developments of product take back legislations around the world and advises the organization on the implementation processes based on his significant experiences in this business area. He ensures, that Gillett’s strategy is consistent all over the world. Mr. Korfmacher was involved in the development of the European WEEE Directive since 1994 and has significant experience on take back processes and legislation. He is President of the European Recycling Platform (ERP SAS, Paris) since it was formed as joint venture company by Gillette/Braun, Electrolux, HP and Sony in 2004. Before he joined Gillette he worked nine years for 3M in Germany and Europe. He has a degree on chemistry from the University of Oldenburg.

Christine McCoy

Christine McCoy has worked in the solid waste and recycling field for nearly 15 years and is currently the Solid Waste Planner for the City of Alexandria, Virginia where she's responsible for managing the City's commercial recycling program, as well as strategic planning. Prior to joining the City, Ms. McCoy worked for the Rural Community Assistance Partnership where she managed more than $4 million in U.S. EPA and USDA grant programs providing drinking water, solid waste, and wastewater assistance in rural and tribal communities throughout the U.S. Christine has also held positions with GBB, Inc. and Eastern Research Group, Inc., the American Forest and Paper Association, and the National Recycling Coalition. Christine is currently a board member of the Virginia Recycling Association, and past member of the National Recycling Coalition's board of directors. Ms. McCoy also serves on regional boards and committees including Metropolitan Council of Government's Recycling Committee, Northern Virginia Regional Commission's (NVRC) Waste Board and Legislative Committee, and EPA Region 3's Resource Conservation Challenge Committee. Ms. McCoy has a masters degree in geography from Louisiana State University where she wrote her thesis Sustainable Solid Waste Management on Small Islands of the Caribbean: The Case of St. Thomas-St. John, United States Virgin Islands; and a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Illinois. Christine is also a member of the Solid Waste Association of North America, and she is certified as a Recycling Technical Associate and a Landfill Technical Associate.

Anne Peters

Anne Peters is president of Gracestone, Inc., a consulting firm based in Colorado providing comprehensive services in recycling and resource management. She has been active in recycling, solid waste, and energy conservation projects for over 25 years, with a strong specialty in electronics recycling – policy, programs, project development, and market research. In electronics recycling, she has worked for public, private and non-profit sector clients, including OEMs, NGOs, and state and local government. Most recently, Gracestone aiding an Asian OEM set up its first electronics recycling system in the U.S. She has advised OEMs on implementing environmental compliance, policy, and practices. Currently, she is advising the Spokane, Washington area on complying with the new WA Electronic Products Recycling Law, and she is volunteering to help electronics recyclers in her home state of Colorado address problems associated with “sham” recycling. She is co-chair of the Policy Committee of the Colorado Association for Recycling, and a member of the Boulder County Zero Waste Technical Committee. Ms. Peters has published extensively in this field, and has spoken at local, state, national, and international conferences on the subject. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA from the University of Santa Monica. To reach her, email annep@indra.com.

Kris Pollet

Kris Pollet is an attorney and the principal of Pollet Environmental Consulting in Brussels. Mr. Pollet has worked at the European Commision and as political advisor to two UK Members of the European Parliament. He provided public affairs and lobbying advice in a boutique EU law firm, and subsequently in a global law firm, where he focused exclusively on EU environment law and policy. A recognised expert on technically challenging and complex regulatory matters, Mr Pollet advises clients on a wide variety of environmental issues.

Eiko Risch

Elko Risch is Division Manager of Continuous Improvement & Sustainability Development Promotion for the REI Strategy Group of Ricoh Electronics. Ms. Risch was a project leader for the Ricoh Electronics, Inc Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL) initiative in 2000. She has been the organization lead from concept development through design and implementation of this initiative. Through the process of introducing this new concept to the organization, involving the entire organization, and adapting and practicing these concepts in real life, her entire team has experienced many valuable lessons which have contributed towards making Ricoh Electronics, Inc., a lean and sustainable company.

Leonard Robinson

Leonard E. Robinson was appointed to the position of Chief Deputy Director for the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in September of 2004. He has over thirty 30 years of experience in the environmental management field and has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Currently serving as DTSC’s Chief Deputy Director, Mr. Robinson oversees the day-to-day operations of the: Office of Legal Affairs; Hazardous Waste Management and Statewide Compliance Program; Site Mitigation and Brownfields Reuse Program; External Affairs; Legislative Affairs; and the Science, Pollution Prevention and Technology Program. Mr. Robinson is spear-heading the “California Take It Back! Partnership”. This Partnership is a consortium of: State and Local Government; retail stores; non-profit agencies and utilities that provide free; local and convenient locations for California consumers to recycle their universal wastes. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Robinson was the Environmental/Safety Manager at TAMCO Steel. While at TAMCO Steel, Mr. Robinson started a program that recycled used oil filters into steel reinforcing bar (rebar) for use in the construction industry. Another recycling program started by him was named “Project Isaiah,” a program where firearms delivered by southern California law enforcement agencies were melted and also recycled into rebar.

Sarah Westervelt

Sarah Westervelt is the e-Waste Project Coordinator at the Basel Action Network (BAN). Her work includes administering and promoting programs such as the Electronic Recycler’s Pledge of True Stewardship and other market-based solutions, educating the public about the global toxics issues associated with exporting e-waste, as well as highlighting the worst-case scenarios. Sarah co-authored recent exposés including films and reports documenting horrific “recycling” of the world’s e-waste in China and Nigeria. Through programs, policy analysis, and education, the e-Waste Project provides support to states, local jurisdictions, manufacturers, and waste generators of all sizes and types to go beyond inadequate federal policies, and to better understand existing international laws that pertain to the trade in toxic wastes, as well as the principle of environmental justice. Sarah has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Systems Renewal from Antioch University, and worked for years as a consultant in organizational development before joining the Basel Action Network in 2001.