Lauren joined Serlin Haley in 2019 after serving for six years on staff in both the California Assembly and Senate, most recently as Capitol Director for Assembly member Phillip Chen (R-55, Orange County). She graduated from the University of California at Davis in 2013, where she majored in political science with a minor in war and peace studies. A trivia buff and a “huge foodie,” she spends her free time doing improv comedy and seeking out the world’s best lattes.

Ross Bergman has spent 15 years focused on sustainable manufacturing and waste diversion. With wide ranging experience in product development, operational waste diversion, certification programs, greenhouse gas accounting, and corporate sustainability strategy, Ross sees sustainability as a toolkit to drive business growth, not get in the way.

Ross now leads the Recycled Material Standard at the GreenBlue Institute, creating a traceable supply chain that maximizes the utility and value of recycled materials. Ross has presented on webinars and live conferences such as the Living Product Expo, Northeast Recycling Council, Dupont Global Packaging Sustainability Summit, and Propelify.  

Meredith Burtman is the Market Development Manager for Exxtend™ technology for advanced recycling, responsible for leading business development for the Americas team.  She collaborates with partners across the value chain working closely with converters, brand owners, and retailers to deliver innovative solutions to support brand sustainability goals. 

Meredith has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University.  Since joining ExxonMobil in 2008, she has held a wide range of leadership positions within the chemical products business line including roles in manufacturing, operations management, process technology, business planning, and marketing. 

Mason Chambers is a Software Engineer at Industry Intelligence Inc., where he spearheads AI operations across multiple departments. With a strong background in full-stack development and a talent for creative problem-solving, Mason has revolutionized content generation and data analysis through his work on industry-specific applications. His expertise spans cloud architecture, machine learning, and LLMs, making him a versatile technologist capable of tackling complex challenges in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape. A graduate of Elon University, Mason will soon be pursuing a Masters Degree in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from the University of Southern California, further deepening his expertise in cutting-edge technologies. Mason brings a wealth of practical experience in implementing solutions that transform raw data into actionable intelligence, offering valuable insights for the packaging industry's technological integration efforts. His innovative approaches and constant pursuit of knowledge position him at the forefront of AI advancements in business applications. 

Andrew (Andy) is a registered federal lobbyist who has testified before the U.S. Senate and lobbied in over 25 state capitols. Prior to joining Serlin Haley, he served as vice president of government affairs for the Toy Industry Association, where he oversaw TIA’s advocacy programs at both the state and federal levels. Andrew also has directed the national government affairs program of the Consumer Specialty Products Association.

Andrew received a Bachelors of Science in Public Affairs from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington, Indiana and a Masters of Business Administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Heathcote is a subject matter expert on mercury vapor and UV LED curing systems as well as their use across a broad range of graphic arts, product decorating, and industrial coating and converting applications. 

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and her MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.  Jennifer is a current Board Member of RadTech North America and is VP of Business Development at GEW (EC) Limited.

Allison is the Vice President of Product Management for Berry Global’s Flexibles division overseeing the nearly $1B flexible packaging films business.  She leads an organization of product managers and a sales operations team that drives the product line’s strategy, innovation roadmap and profitability trajectory.  Allison has been with Berry over 10 years and most recently managed Berry’s $400M North American Hygiene business, which is comprised of a portfolio of component films and nonwovens.  Prior to joining Berry Global, Allison spent eight years at Newell Brands working in the Rubbermaid® Consumer and Commercial business units.

Allison has over 20 years of experience in B2B and B2C markets, with particular expertise in working in cross-functional roles in finance, marketing, supply chain and business excellence.  She is skilled at devising winning strategies and assembling teams that execute and deliver results. 

Allison’s passion for people and advancing their capabilities extends beyond herself. She has two daughters who fuel, inspire and motivate her to build connections and opportunities for those around her, especially women and girls. She was a founding member of Ignite, a Berry employee resource group, whose mission is to connect, educate and advance women through personal and professional alliances. Allison continues her commitment to advancing and supporting the talents of others. She chaired and served on the board of Charlotte nonprofit EmpowHERment that aims at developing young women to be leaders in their communities where she resides today. Allison also served on the Emerging Leadership Council of the Flexible Packaging Association, where she helped to develop strategies that tackle the most critical industry challenges including talent, sustainability, consumer education and upcoming EPR legislation implications. Allison resides in the Charlotte, North Carolina metro with her husband and their two daughters.

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With more than 20 years of packaging and chemicals industry experience, Jason knows first-hand how the flow of market intelligence can impact business success. He applies that knowledge to help industry clients reach their goals.

Treijon Johnson is currently the Director of Sustainability Accredo Packaging, Inc. He is responsible for building upon the sustainability foundation at Accredo by refining and delivering the company’s sustainability strategy. Prior to Accredo, Treijon spent the previous 7 years developing sustainable packaging between Mars Wrigley and Unilever Global R&D. 

Dr. Chau Mai is the CTO and Founder of BioPolatis, where she leads the development of innovative, 100% compostable bioplastics made from organic waste. A pioneer in sustainable materials, she invented a new type of bioplastic and developed cutting-edge reactive extrusion technology for in-situ continuous processing.

Before founding BioPolatis, Chau focused her research and development efforts on designing and scaling up biofuel production, utilizing catalysis and chemical reaction engineering. She also worked on developing composite materials and recycling lithium batteries. With over 15 years of experience in R&D, specializing in catalyst design for biomaterial synthesis, Chau’s expertise in green chemistry, catalyst design, and polymer composites drives breakthroughs in biodegradable materials and sustainable development. Her passion for sustainability underpins her contributions to the field.

Perry Malik is the Fresh-Lock by Presto Products International Sales Manager. He has more than 25 years in the Flexible Packaging marketplace both in USA and Internationally, bringing value-added innovation and collaboration to customers and markets. 

Teo's career in P&G encompasses 30 years experience leading the Package Development function for brands as Pantene, H&S, Charmin, Bounty, Crest, Oral-B where he had the opportunity to create iconic packages like H&S and Crest Whitestrips and led the flexibles innovation program for Procter & Gamble's Tissue/Towel brands in North America.

Sarah recently joined Amcor as the Director of Sustainability for the Flexibles business group in North America. In her previous role at McKinsey & Company, she collaborated with large corporate clients to develop and implement their decarbonization and sustainability strategy plans. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

Chelsey Quick is VP Business Solutions for Industry Intelligence - a market intelligence provider to the packaging industry that delivers actionable intelligence empowering individuals to connect the dots between market drivers and see their industry from all angles. 

Chelsey focuses on collaborating with clients to develop solutions to their daily information challenges. Working with leaders across the packaging industry to provide information they require to stay informed and aligned on news that impacts their business.

Im Rangwalla has over 30 years of experience in EB processing especially applications of EB for packaging applications. Im has presented and published several papers at various conferences on EB processing and also has several patents in that field.

Currently Im works in the sales and marketing group as a Market Development Manager. He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, and also a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University Boston MA.

During his 24 years career, Esteban has experienced all aspects of the petrochemical value chain, through commercial and marketing assignments with Repsol Química in Spain, Tetra Pak in Panama, and New Castle Industries in Houston. That cycle of experiences, spanning chemical producers, polymer converters, and consumer product companies, was a key success factor for his transition to the chemical consulting industry, where Esteban worked under the umbrella of renowned firms like Townsend Tarnell, Nexant ChemSystems, CMAI (now part of IHS Chemical), and Wood Mackenzie, honing his price research, reporting and forecasting, market research, and analysis and feasibility studies skills.

During his tenure at CMAI, Esteban was responsible for discovery and analysis of supply, demand, cost, and price dynamics for polyethylene and polypropylene in the Americas. He was also the lead in several proprietary studies, including feasibility studies, market analysis, and due diligence reports.

Before founding ChemPMC, Esteban headed Wood Mackenzie’ polymer practice, designing and implementing the company’s polymer services, which features scenario-capable long-term supply and demand models, logistic demand forecasting tools, global trade grids, as well as seasonality driven short term supply and demand models, and in the process trained a global team of analysts located in Houston, London, and Singapore.

Esteban has been a featured speaker at North and Latin American chemical and polymer associations meetings including APLA, IPA, ANIPAC, Canadian Plastics or CERI, as well as consulting firms and producers-led events. Esteban holds a Chemical Engineering Degree from the Institut Quimic de Sarria in Barcelona, Spain as well as an MBA from Rice University’s Jones School of Business.

Claire Sand is a Global Packaging Leader with over 35 years of food science and packaging experience. Sand's mission is to enable a more sustainable food system by advancing science and value chain innovations that increase food shelf life and prevent food waste. She manages cross-functional teams, implements innovative solutions, creates compelling business and technology strategies and business cases, and creates implementation roadmaps for the packaging and food industries.

Dr. Sand is the owner and founder of Packaging Technology and Research, LLC, as well as Gazelle Mobile Packaging Inc. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University and CalPoly, and a monthly contributor to Packaging Digest. She is an IFT Fellow, the Riester-Davis-Brody Lifetime Achievement in Food Packaging Award recipient, a member of numerous Editorial Boards, the author of the Packaging Value Chain, and the cochair of pacfoodwaste.
 
Claire has previously worked at Total Quality Marketing, Nestle, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Safeway, and academia, as well as in basic research, development market research, and marketing in Germany, Colombia, and Thailand.
 
Dr. Sand received her  doctorate in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Minnesota, as well as a master's and bachelor's degrees in packaging from Michigan State University.

Clint Smith has over 12 years experience working for global market intelligence agencies, 8 of which at Euromonitor International, providing strategic insights on international markets and consumers. He has worked closely with numerous Fortune 500 B2C and B2B multinational companies, including packagers, packaging associations and raw materials suppliers of packaging.

Tim White is the Chief Strategy Officer of the Five Star Family of Companies.  A circularly-integrated group of flexible packaging and recycling operations located in Houston, Texas.  Tim focuses on supporting the development and implementation of the Companies initiatives and strategies around the circular economy including mechanical and advanced PRC applications and related recycling strategies as well as a range of related corporate and business development activities. Prior to Five Star, he spent over 25 years in mergers and acquisitions, with a focus on developing middle-market company strategy in advance of private equity investments.  Tim is a New Hampshire native and splits his time between Houston and Boston.

Dining

Enjoy a meal at Omni Charlotte Hotel during your stay in Charlotte, NC. Guests and locals alike enjoy local flavors at our Charlotte restaurants. No matter the time of day, our hotel restaurants serve up an unbeatable dining experience for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Start your day off right with a meal at the hotel before visiting Charlotte’s best attractions.

Wellness

Maintaining your healthy lifestyle while you travel can be challenging. With our state-of-the-art fitness center and other fitness options, we can accommodate your fitness routine and healthy habits.

Experiences

Omni Charlotte Hotel is here to help you make the most of your trip to our area. Whether it’s your first time in North Carolina or you’re a frequent Charlotte visitor, there’s always more to explore. Located in downtown, we provide a convenient and central location to access the best of the city. Walk to vibrant restaurants, shops, and museums, and easily get to Bank of America Stadium and the Charlotte Convention Center. From the premier U.S. National Whitewater Center, where you can learn to raft and zipline, to the thrills of Carowinds theme park and Charlotte Motor Speedway, adventure is around every corner. Our concierges have chosen the premier attractions you must see while here, so start planning your unforgettable visit now.