Annual Fundraiser: Speakers Announced!

Calling all Net Impacters!

Final speakers are confirmed below for our 2017 Annual Fundraiser on Tuesday, March 7th from 6-8pm! We’ll gather at Indeed Brewing Company to discuss waste minimization and zero waste, and of course, good beer.

We have a large lineup of speakers to hear from and connect with, so be sure to get your tickets now! We are getting close! We’ll be in touch later this week with the final food lineup, and don’t forget that we’ll have door prizes (Chinook Book, Common Roots Gift Certificate, Stainles Steel Pint Glasses) as a raffle for attendees.

Come join us to hear from these leaders in the industry:

• Anna Kerr from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – Anna has worked for the MPCA since 2005. She began her MPCA career in water quality, spending eight years in the stormwater program: first in municipal stormwater permitting and later as the Stormwater-TMDL Coordinator. Anna joined the solid waste program 3 ½ years ago, and currently serves as the Greater Minnesota Solid Waste Planning Coordinator. She primarily works on policy and planning issues focused on implementation of the Waste Management Act. Anna was the primary author of the 2015 Solid Waste Policy Report to the Legislature, leads the implementation of recycling grants for greater Minnesota communities, acts as a liaison between the MCPA and the Solid Waste Administrator’s Association, and has assisted with flood relief and debris management in Southern Minnesota.
• Kayla Walsh from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – Kayla has a background in environmental communications. She works in commercial recycling and compost market development at the MPCA. Kayla provides technical assistance to composters across the state so they can manufacture and sell a high quality, Minnesota-made product. Among other things, she also leads a recycling communications team. Kayla also looks at how sustainable procurement and reuse will help us reach statewide recycling goals.
• Brian Garhofer from The Actives Factory – Brian Garhofer has over 30 years of industry experience focusing on business development, strategic planning, and operations for early stage and growth companies. While working with the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resource and Research Institute assisting their scientists in the development and commercialization of applied research, Brian was able to take a University developed technology and create The Actives Factory, a company focused on extraction, processing of birch bark, a waste product of the timber and paper industries, into natural bioactive compounds for use in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetics, and agriculture industries.
• Chanelle Crosby from Be Zero – Chanelle Crosby is the Education Director at 501(c)(3) education-based nonprofit Be Zero, where she creates and manages programs that inspire, educate, and activate individuals to dramatically reduce their individual plastic and trash footprint and to create simple and sustainable lifestyle habits. She is the Founder of Think Feel Be Consulting, a lifestyle and sustainability practice created to help all people live sustainable lives in everyday life. Chanelle is a zero waste advocate and minimalist, 5 Gyres Ambassador, and budding community farmer with a particular interest in food sovereignty. / chanelle@bezero.org | bezero.org | http://thinkfeelbe.co/
• dik Bolger, from Bolger Vision Beyond Print – As the Chief Executive Officer of Bolger Vision Beyond Print, dik Bolger is engaged in all aspects of the company; providing a full service concept for our clients, sales and marketing,  quality measurements for performance, and the initiatives to establish the company as a community oriented, compliant and environmentally friendly organization. He is very involved with major clients and in presenting Bolger to new prospects. dik is committed to being a responsible steward of the environment as part of the company’s business objective and philosophy. Believing that companies must give back to their communities, dik was a founding member of the Minnesota Keystone Program, whereby companies contribute a percentage of their pre-tax profits for the benefit of local charities. An advocate for community organizations and the arts, dik has been active on Boards throughout the Minneapolis area including past service:  University Cancer Center, Past Board Chairman, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Past Chairman, Fresh Air Radio and The Playwrights Center, Past Chairman.
• Kellie Kish from the City of Minneapolis – Kellie has worked as the Recycling Coordinator for the City of Minneapolis since 2013 and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Minnesota Composting Council. Kellie’s responsibilities for the City include development, implementation and outreach for the City’s residential waste reduction, reuse, recycling, organics programs. She oversees the container rental program, approves event recycling plans, coordinates enforcement of the City’s multi-unit recycling ordinance, and aides other city offices in educating staff and implementing new programs such as the Green to Go ordinance and plastic bag ban.
• Leo Raudys from Raudys Strategies – Leo Raudys has worked in sustainability for over 25 years as a government regulator, corporate environmental leader for a Fortune 100 multinational retailer and as a business development executive for an NGO. He’s a strategist and speaker who advises companies, investors and NGOs on regulatory and sustainability strategy and stakeholder relations. Leo teaches corporate environmental management at the University of Minnesota and received degrees in biology, psychology and ecology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Minnesota. You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter @LeoRaudys.

Come and learn about the waste minimization and zero waste journeys of these leaders, ask your questions, and take advantage of the opportunity to network and meet others.

We’ll provide a light dinner. And of course, enjoy your favorite Indeed beer. So take advantage of this awesome opportunity and get your tickets now!

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you soon.