Speaker Bios

Barbara Alfano is the PCB & Sustainability Section Chief for Environmental Protection Agency Region 4; she loves working for the agency.  Barbara joined the EPA in 1988, after working as a national wetland specialist for six years in St. Petersburg, Florida. Most of her EPA experience includes Superfund and Brownfields assessment and cleanup. For five years, she served as the regional EPA Brownfields Coordinator. She currently manages a mix of regulatory and grant programs in the PCB & Sustainability Section. Her background includes growing up in Pennsylvania and graduating from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Barbara feels privileged to collaborate with diverse communities in the southeast to protect human health and the environment.

Kellie Ballew is the Vice President of Global Sustainability & Innovation for Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a global provider of sustainable floor coverings and the world’s largest carpet manufacturer. In this role, Kellie partners with Shaw leaders to leverage market insights and technical expertise to inform, influence, and support business decisions. Acting as an internal consultant and subject matter expert to the enterprise, Kellie helps drive continued sustainability and innovation throughout the company. A 25+ year Shaw veteran, Kellie earned her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Fiona Bell is Director of Communications and Government Affairs for Novelis North America. In this role, she partners closely with the Aluminum Association, local, state and Congressional contacts on policy issues which impact Novelis’ 17 locations in North America. Novelis, headquartered in Atlanta, is the leading producer of flat-rolled aluminum products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum.

She and her team are also responsible for leading all internal and external communications forthe North America region, including leadership communications, employee communications andmedia relations. Prior to joining Novelis, Fiona served in communications roles for International Paper, Gerdau Ameristeel and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. She also serves as a board member for The Georgia Recycling Coalition and The Atlanta Women’s Foundation. Fiona and her husband, Scott, have three children.

Jennifer Bogs is the Director of Global Sustainability at Crown Holdings, Inc., where she leads the implementation of the Twentyby30 sustainability program and guides the company’s overall global sustainability strategy. Crown Holdings, Inc., is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies, as well as transit and protective packaging products, equipment and services to a broad range of end markets.  Jennifer started her career as an environmental scientist and still misses the field work. She has since held roles of increasing responsibility in environmental compliance and sustainability in the manufacturing world, spending most of her time in food and beverage manufacturing. Jennifer holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, and a J.D. from The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Myles Cohen is a well-known and highly regarded recycling and sustainable packaging executive with an in-depth experience in recycling, waste, sustainable packaging, public policy & gov’t advocacy.   He has served as a senior executive in leading large multi-national for-profit organizations, while also serving in voluntary executive, board and officer roles in not-for-profit trade associations working on recycling, environmental policy and advocacy work on behalf of the recycling industry which earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award by one of the largest state recycling associations. He has been a sought-after keynote speaker, panelist, or moderator at multiple industry events due to his expertise and foresight regarding recycling, waste, and sustainability issues.

Prior to founding Circular Ventures, LLC Cohen served as president of both Sonoco Recycling and also as president of Pratt Recycling, also serving on Pratt’s Executive Committee.  While serving in those corporate roles, he had also served as a Board member as well as an Executive Committee member for ISRI (the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries), which is the pre-eminent trade and advocacy association for recyclers, with 1,300 member companies representing scrap paper, plastic, tires, electronics, ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals.

Jacqueline Dost, Director of Solid Waste, Carroll County GA has served in many different capacities within the Carroll County Community.  Many in the GRC community are familiar with Jacqueline as she served as the Executive Director of Keep Carroll Beautiful from 2007 to 2016 and served as the Volunteer Executive Director in a volunteer role prior to 2007. During her time at Keep Carroll Beautiful she engaged in activities that were centered around educating the community on the importance of taking responsibility for improving the environment in four key areas: Litter, Recycling, Beautification, and Education. Jacqueline currently serves as the Board President for KCB.

In Jacqueline’s position as Director of Solid Waste she is responsible for the 10 convenience centers within Carroll County where residents drop their trash and recycling off.  She also oversees the post closure of the Carroll County Landfill as well as manages the County Transfer Station and the 6 solid waste department employees.

Tamsin Ettefagh, Chief Sustainability Officer, PureCycle Technologies has 34 years of experience in the areas of recycling and plastics recycling; from implementing a recycling collection program, to running the recycling operations for a MRF, to purchasing raw materials for plastic recycling companies, to selling recycled resins for plastic recycling companies. She has consulted for agencies, banks, potential plastic manufacturers on market conditions, types of supply and how to evolve and diversify markets for recycled resins. Ms. Ettefagh is currently working as Chief Sustainability Officer.

Ellie Filston is the Waste Reduction Coordinator in the University of Georgia Office of Sustainability,where she coordinates university-wide outreach and education with a focus on recycling and compost. She works closely with frontline staff, student interns, and key administrative staff to reduce waste from procurement to disposal and work towards achieving a more circular economy. Prior to moving to Athens, she worked in the Dean of the College Office at Wake Forest University where she managed special projects related to equity, education, and student wellbeing. Ellie was an Office of Sustainability intern for plant-forward dining while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Wake Forest University. She is a current master’s in public administration student at UGA and hopes to use her degree to work at the intersection of sustainability and immigration policy.

Dr. Jasmeet Kaur is the Senior Sustainability Manager in North America Operating Unit of The Coca-Cola Company. She is responsible for providing leadership and direction for the Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit, with respect to the development and execution of World Without Waste program for Coke, focused on meeting the 2030 goals for sustainability. She works across functions to assess Coca-Cola’s impact, establish improvement strategies, and enable effective business system execution. Jasmeet has 10+ years of experience in E2E innovation, product development, commercialization, project management and execution, business case development, sustainability, supply chain and strategic technology scouting initiatives. She is also a subject matter expert in the areas of new age digital decoration technologies, new packaging materials and PET recycling.   Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Jasmeet worked as a Senior Product Development Scientist in 3M’s Industrial Abrasives Division in Minnesota. She has 5 granted patents and 2 pending patent applications.  Jasmeet is currently the president of Coca-Cola’s Corporate Toastmasters Club 310 North. She is on the board of SERDC (Southeast recycling development council). She is an active member of ISBT, IOPP, SPC and APR organizations.

Jasmeet earned her PhD in Polymer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology. She completed her masters and undergraduate degrees in India. Jasmeet lives in Sandy Springs, GA along with two beautiful kids, 10-year-old son, 8-year-old daughter, a loving husband, and a labradoodle Simba. Jasmeet loves to travel, do container gardening and healthy cooking. She also plays an Indian classical instrument called harmonium and sings religious hymns.

Stephen Klemann, AKA…”SK”, has over 27 years’ experience in the solid waste and recycling industry.  He is the Director of Sales for Closed Loop Partners a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity and catalytic capital, as well as an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. A true champion of growing and innovating recycling and solid waste infrastructure, SK supports the operations or business development of multiple material recovery facilities throughout vast areas of the country. He has served regional leadership teams for public, private and equity held companies. SK’s career began on the back of a rear load truck at a young age and he never looked back. He discovered an overwhelming passion for the solid waste industry that excites him even to this day!  SK has enjoyed working in nearly every position throughout the value chain, from collection to site/transfer station management, in glass processing, at material recovery facilities, in business development, and in equipment operations.

In his spare time, for over 30 years, he enjoys being an accredited USA Swimming, NYS, AAU Certified Swimming Coach and has taken athletes of all ages to AAU Junior Olympics, NY State and regional championships.  SK and his family enjoy time at the lake, in the competition pool or wherever adventures lead them and their schedules. You can stay up to date on SK’s projects and all Closed Loop Partners updates on Twitter and LinkedIn. Also, sign up for the Circularity News newsletter. Connect with SK directly here.

Rachel Musetti is the Recycling Coordinator for Georgia State University’s Office of Sustainabilityand develops programs and policies dedicated to improving recycling and waste diversion efforts for the university. Currently, she is helping the university transition from single-stream recycling to source-separated and is developing hard-to-recycle hubs to increase diversion rates. She is a SWANA Certified Practitioner in Zero Waste Principles and Practices.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Rachel gained her passion for waste reduction and community organizing as an undergraduate at Emory University. She served as the Zero Landfill Waste intern at Emory’s Office of Sustainability while earning her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science. After graduating, Rachel served as an AmeriCorps member for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, where she developed and coordinated multi-faceted education and outreach programs to help Nashvillians reduce waste, recycle right, and compost correctly. She devised and launched Nashville’s first Zero Waste Leadership Training Program to foster community involvement and inclusive leadership across Davidson County.

Abbey Mullaney Patterson is the President of AMP Consulting, LLC and a representative of NAIMA (North American Insulation Manufacturer’s Association).  For over a decade Abbey managed municipal contracts as Market Development Manager for the second largest waste and recycling company in the U.S.  In that position she became the intermediary between locally elected officials and the waste company, allowing her to better understand the political and economic drivers associated with waste and recycling collection services.   Abbey has also been involved in recycling and sustainable practices for sporting arenas and events.  She designed and implemented recycling and waste management infrastructures for three Olympic Organizing Committees – Atlanta in 1996, Sydney, Australia in 2000 and Salt Lake City in 2002.  Abbey draws from her 25 years of experience in the industry to provide zero waste solutions for both the public and private sectors.

Brad Rickard, Landfill Administrator, has worked with the Clarke County landfill since 1998. He became a SWANA Certified Compost Manager in 2005 and the compost facility was permitted in 2011.  For this calendar year, they expect to compost over 6,000 tons of leaf and limb, over 6,000 tons of biosolids and over 2,500 tons of food waste.

Edel Rodriguez is head of North American sales for AMP Robotics. He has nearly 25 years of sales and business development experience and was most recently vice president of sales for Spec Engineering, a process engineering firm providing technology solutions to manufacturers in the food, beverage, plastics, and chemical industries. Rodriguez has also held domestic and international sales leadership roles at companies including Elcan Industries, Virto Group, and ArmorStruxx. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Miami and served as a military intelligence officer for the U.S. Army.

Michael Timpane is a principal and Vice President of Process Optimization and Material Recovery for RRS. With over 40 years in executive field operations and development roles with the largest public recycling companies in the U.S., Michael has gained a reputation for thought leadership, management, and technical execution in recycling processing, landfill diversion planning and technology, recycling systems pricing, facility development, material streams, recycling/organics system economics , recoverable commodities, and process improvement. Topical Expertise: Recycling Infrastructure Development, Evaluation Single-/Dual-Stream/Mixed Waste Processing, RFPs -Negotiations and Contracts, Material Collection and Processing Costs, Derived Commodity Value, and Operations and LEAN Manufacturing

Matt Todd is a senior consultant for RRS. His 25 years of waste and recycling experience derive from direct public sector service and private sector business and consulting. His expertise in solid waste and recycling programs, end markets, grant programs, and the circular economy has placed him in front of various organizations, including corporations, municipalities, NGOs, private recycling companies, and universities. Matt has guided organizations toward sustainability, identified opportunities for community recycling improvements, and assisted trade organizations to execute material recovery strategies Matt lives in Durham, NC and has a BS in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech.

Mason Towe is the Waste Reduction Manager in the University of Georgia Office of Sustainability. He supervises the Waste Reduction Services team, which provides waste, recycling, and compost collection services on campus, as well as strategic planning for campus-wide Waste Reduction goals, policies, infrastructure, and education. Prior to UGA, Mason worked for the Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division as an expert in recycling, compost, and other waste reduction education and outreach. UGA Office of Sustainability is currently diving into the concept of “Campus As A Living Laboratory,” starting with waste reduction as an operational function that can serve as a learning model for students, faculty, and staff, as well as a research and education opportunity to enhance on-campus facilities and services. Mason also currently serves on the board of the Georgia Recycling Coalition. Mason graduated from UGA in 2016 with degrees in Economics and Sociology, minor in Environmental Law, and certificates in sustainability and environmental ethics.

Abigail West works in Athens, Georgia, as both an artist and as the Reuse Coordinator for Athens-Clarke County, managing the Teacher Reuse Store and organizing a monthly Repair Cafe. As an artist, she makes work from reclaimed materials, transforming unwanted “trash” into beautiful and functional works of art. View more of her work at abigailwest.net.

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