Speakers
Amy CHRISTIANSEN
Founder
Sana Jardin
Amy Christiansen is the founder of the social impact luxury fragrance house, Sana Jardin.
Sana Jardin is an award-winning vegan perfume brand that builds financial resiliency for rural Moroccan women through a social enterprise model. Sana Jardin pioneered a ‘Beyond Sustainability™’ movement, which in addition to sustainable sourcing and packaging, is a vehicle for the economic development of women. The Sana Jardin cooperative trains floral harvesters to become microentrepreneurs by upcycling agricultural waste. The women receive 100% of the proceeds from their co-operative products.
Sana Jardin has been featured in Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN. The fragrance house is sold in 160 retailers globally including Selfridges, Blue Mercury Credo and Harvey Nichols.
Amy holds a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. She has 25 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, working to address issues of economic inequality through various posts including President Clinton’s Foundation, the Cherie Blair Foundation For Women and the Robin Hood Foundation. Amy is an Ambassador for the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, an Advisory Board member of Nest and a Board Member of Funtasia.
Alicia GRANDE
FOUNDER & CEO
GRANDE COSMETICS
A GRANDE GIRL BOSS
With a lifelong passion for beauty, Alicia Grande founded Grande Cosmetics in 2008 as the first “functional cosmetics” makeup brand. Alicia’s road to beauty success was navigated early on, when as a teen she dove into beauty retail, but it was when Alicia discovered a lash enhancing serum that truly worked for her most discerning client – herself after experiencing postpartum hair loss – that her entrepreneurial spirit kicked into high-gear.
Early in her beauty career, Alicia began her own radio show, “The Health Buzz,” on which she interviewed top experts and doctors about the latest beauty trends and innovations. Those innovations are what inspired her next big beauty adventure, the founding of Grande Cosmetics and the highly-coveted, award-winning product that started it all: GrandeLASH-MD Lash Enhancing Serum. A revolutionary serum that promotes longer, thicker-looking lashes.
A THRIVING BRAND
Over 15 years later, Alicia is the CEO at the helm of the #1 Lash & Brow Serum Brand in the US*, that has expanded internationally into multiple categories, including best-selling, beautyenhancing formulas that help promote bigger and better natural lashes, brows, lips, hair and more. Her female-founded brand employs a diverse staff of women of all ages and backgrounds to help keep Grande Cosmetics’ assortment of functional cosmetics robust, fun and inclusive. The brand proudly retails at grandecosmetics.com, Sephora, Ulta, Amazon and Salon Centric.
Believing that beauty starts from within, Alicia has followed her second passion by creating “Grande Gives Back”- a philanthropic initiative that has rasied over $700,000 to date for various charities including Working for Women, Dress for Success, Gabrielle’s Angels, Feeding America and many more.
The industry has rewarded her for her hard work with Grande Cosmetics winning over 100 significant beauty awards as a brand from leading publications such as ELLE, NewBeauty, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Shape, and Harper’s BAZAAR. Alicia’s most recent recognition from the beauty industry is the coveted 2023 CEW Female Founder Honoree award.
For more information about Grande Cosmetics or to interview Alicia Grande, please contact Jessica Colucci: [email protected]
Jenn HARPER
Founder and CEO
Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC
An award-winning social entrepreneur, Jenn Harper is the founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC. Cheekbone Beauty aims to help every Indigenous person see and feel their value in the world while developing sustainable colour cosmetics that won’t end up in a landfill.
Jenn Harper is an Anishinaabe woman and is a member of the Northwest Angle #33 First Nation in Kenora, ON. Throughout her life, Jenn has struggled with accepting her Indigenous roots. She was estranged from her Indigenous family for much of her child and adult life. After learning about her grandmother’s experience in residential school, she understood how her family was affected by generational trauma. Harper has been making a name for herself in the beauty industry for a number of years but gained popularity quickly after appearing on CBC’s hit show, Dragon’s Den in 2019. Since her appearance on the show, Jenn has been featured as Chatelaine’s “Woman of the Year in 2019”, Canadian Business’s “2022 New Innovator’s List”, and Entrepreneur Magazine’s “100 Women of Influence in 2022” list.
She continues to be deeply involved in all aspects of Cheekbone Beauty operations, including product innovation with the Cheekbone Beauty chemist and sustainability experts to reimagine beauty products, starting with raw ingredients all the way to how all products are packaged. As part of its sustainability mission, Cheekbone Beauty is associated with organizations such as Pact Collective, 1% for the Planet, and B.Corp. These partnerships show the brand’s commitment to both people and planet.
By early 2023, Cheekbone Beauty will be available in 50 Sephora stores across Canada as a Sephora Clean and Planet Positive brand. It will also be available in 600 JCPenney stores across the United States.
Giving back to the Indigenous community is critical to Cheekbone Beauty’s mission. To date, Cheekbone Beauty has contributed upwards of $200,000 in product, monetary, and project-focused donations to the organizations across North America and will continue to do so.
Joy HOOVER
Founder
ESOS
Joy Hoover is an executive leader and organizational development authority known as a thought partner, consultant, and speaker, digitally, on-air and in-person. As a safety activist for the last 13 years, Joy has been a tireless champion for social justice driving systemic change by creating access to essential holistic resources and spaces of belonging. Joy has demonstrated abilities building collective movements across all sectors to empower people who are often marginalized and underserved.
Joy is the founder & driving force behind three nationally renown social impact startups and recently won Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2022 Iconic Women of Distinction Awards! Other recognitions Joy’s received are Vegas Inc’s Women Inspiring Nevada 2021, the Soroptimist International of Las Vegas 2020 Ruby Award, and the Clark County Law Foundation’s 2019 Champion of Justice Through Service.
Joy has been featured in hundreds of print and media articles globally including: NPR, LA Times, Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, Vice, Cosmetics Design, The Street, and dozens of local and regional news outlets.
Joy is an accomplished Tedx speaker and loves engaging with audiences ranging from 50 to 10,000 people. She’s been invited to speak to some amazing companies including: Lululemon, Rimini Street, Hard Rock, Zappos, Spark Women’s Retreat, The Justice Conference, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Lewis and Clark Law School, University of Nevada Reno, Porsche, the City of Las Vegas, and more.
Equipped with 17 years of marriage, 15 years of entrepreneurship, and 10 years of therapy, Joy and her husband Phil (and their fierce little ladies Vivian and Ruby) are leading a movement of humans who give a sh*t. They’re currently fulfilling that mission through their latest social enterprise ‘Esōes Cosmetics’. Esōes is the first-ever personal safety smart cosmetics which include patent pending products that combine an ecosystem of solutions to fight drug facilitated sexual assault and violence.
Evelio MATTOS
Creative Director
IDPdirect.com
Evelio Mattos
Packaging Unboxd podcast
Creative Director of IDPdirect.com
With over 15 years of experience under his belt, Evelio is a salt & peppery seasoned vet who’s just getting started.
He’s seen the rise and fall of keepsake packaging, navigated the more is better mentality of the 2010s and even helped define sustainability in the early 2020s.
Armed with cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and his eye on the future, he’s a real slick operator. With a style and flair reminiscent of Harvey Keitel’s portrayal of the Wolf in Pulp Fiction, he’s a force to be reckoned with, helping you make the impossible possible.
So get in, buckle up, grab your popcorn, and ride into the future.
John MORGAN
Director of Packaging Engineering
Olaplex
John is a beauty industry packaging innovation expert with extensive experience working with global companies such as Olaplex, Amway, L’Oréal and Estee Lauder. John has led numerous strategic initiatives throughout his career, helping FMCG companies realize their product innovation vision by bringing together their marketing functions with internal manufacturing & supply chain, as well as best in class external suppliers. He is an imaginative thinker that possesses the rare ability of balancing his natural analytical and creative talents to bring value to a broad spectrum of initiatives. He has a passion for bringing product concepts to life and possesses the know-how to get it done. From front-end innovation strategy, and product conceptualization, to supply chain management and go-to-market execution.
He has championed projects such as establishing an enterprise-wide packaging innovation strategy for Amway and overseeing the complete product line renovations of Garnier Haircare and MAC Cosmetics Skincare.
Having this knowledge enables him to quickly identify customer needs and deliver impactful solutions for all stakeholders involved.
Liz MORRIS
Global Brand Manager-Packaging
Tiffany & Co
Liz Morris is the Global Brand Manager-Packaging at Tiffany & Co and has been with Tiffany & Co since 2017. Before coming to Tiffany, she had her own company, Sanitation Creations, and holds multiple patents for a waterless toilet. She has focused her career for the past 10+ years on sustainable packaging solutions. She has a MBA and a Master of Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in Packaging Science.
Laurie PRESSMAN
Vice-President
Pantone Color Institute
Laurie Pressman is the Vice-President of the Pantone Color Institute. In addition to managing a global consortium of color and trend experts, Laurie presents on color and trend to design audiences worldwide and works directly with leading brands on their brand visual identity and product color selections. Laurie is also involved in the development of Pantone’s color research and color trend forecasting products and sits on the Home Products Board at FIT and the Fashion Advisory Board at Savannah College of Art and Design.
Lisa RUSSAC MCDONOUGH
Print Production Director
Coty
Lisa has been the Print Production Director at Coty, Inc, LLC for the past seventeen years overseeing the Consumer Beauty and Luxury brands based in NY. She is a seasoned creative operation professional with 35+ years of experience in design and print production. She is a well-respected leader with extensive knowledge of pre-press production, color matching, and print processes. Lisa reviews all phases of the design for print feasibility to identify and course-correct potential print challenges while working with engineering, and the designers are part of her expertise.
Nicole RYCROFT
Founder & Executive Director
Canopy
Nicole leads the strategic direction of solutions-driven not-for-profit Canopy, and is committed to ensuring that the power of the global marketplace leverages tangible conservation gains for the world’s forests, species, climate, and frontline communities. Canopy has transformed unsustainable supply chains, kickstarted commercial production of innovative solutions, and greened the practices of 750+ large companies including H&M, Li and Fung and Penguin Random House. Nicole is a member of the UBS Global Visionaries Program, an Ashoka Fellow, recipient of a Canadian Environment Award Gold Medal, recipient of the Meritorious Service Cross of Canada, and winner of the 2020 Climate Breakthrough Award.
Tom SZAKY
Founder & CEO
TerraCycle
BIOGRAPHY OF TERRACYCLE FOUNDER & CEO TOM SZAKY
Tom Szaky is founder and CEO of TerraCycle, an international leader in innovative sustainability solutions, creating and operating first-of-their-kind platforms in recycling, recycled materials, and reuse. Across 21 countries, TerraCycle is on a mission to rethink waste and develop practical solutions for today’s complex waste challenges. The company engages an expansive multi-stakeholder community across a wide range of accessible programs, from Fortune 500 companies to schools and individuals.
In 2019, TerraCycle launched Loop, a circular reuse platform that enables consumers to purchase products in durable, reusable packaging. Since its debut, Loop has developed into the leading global reuse platform and is available in France, Japan and the U.S. Loop is a key step in helping to end the epidemic of waste that is caused by ‘single-use’ consumption.
Tom and TerraCycle have received hundreds of social, environmental and business awards and recognition from a range of organizations including the United Nations, World Economic Forum, Fortune Magazine, Time Magazine and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Tom is the author of four books, Revolution in a Bottle, Outsmart Waste, Make Garbage Great and The Future of Packaging. Tom created, produced and starred in TerraCycle’s reality show, “Human Resources” which aired on Pivot from 2014-2016 and is syndicated in more than 20 foreign markets on Amazon and iTunes.
CONTACT: Lauren Taylor, Senior Vice President, Communications
609-656-5100 x3705. [email protected]
Marcial VARGAS
Global Science & Innovation Lead
Quantis
Born and raised in Costa Rica, Marcial Vargas has been interested in environmental protection from an early age. After joining Quantis in 2014, he started developing the ‘Absolute Sustainability’ science, supporting sustainability leaders to understand environmental issues in order to build resilient strategies and working on the development of international standards for sustainability management.
Diana VERDE NIETO
Co-Founder
Positive Luxury
Diana Verde Nieto is the Co-founder of Positive Luxury an ESG platform that help luxury companies adapt and transition to a new climate economy by assessing their ESG performance, forecast social and environmental risks and opportunities and future proof their business. Diana is a pioneer in ESG and a globally recognised figure in the sustainability field. Diana holds a degree in Global Leadership & Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and she has been trained by Former USA Vice President, Al Gore at the Alliance of Climate Protection and subsequently being honoured by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. Diana is an advisor to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Grass Roots Soccer, an adolescent health organisation that leverages the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilise youth in developing countries